Technology for virtual teams
In reality, any individual or organisation can establish a virtual team, all that is needed is to
engage with someone or a group working on the same task as you but located
elsewhere. Building a high productivity virtual team however is a very different endeavor, it
requires planning, foresight, integration, training and ongoing support from the top down and the
bottom up.
Often when discussing virtual teams and work sharing with clients and partners the conversation
seems to start by hinging around technology, there is such a high focus on such things as the
choice of video conference platform, what tools can be used for instant messaging, whether
broadly available, and largely public, social media platforms are allowed such as Skype,
Facebook, Twitter etc. These conversations tend to run parallel to determining the technical
skills of the team members, so, for instance, what level of engineering or business expertise they
need.
Only once the technological tools have been picked and the skills requirements identified in an
organisation chart do managers then think about the type of person required, what personality
types may be appropriate and what their history is with both virtual teams and they
organisation. Conversations around the tools and technology and the technical skills of the
personnel tend to overwhelm the personality and interpersonal skills considerations most of the
time.
Technology for virtual teams
Tools and technology for virtual teams is a highly researched and much discussed topic, the
contribution of the research has been one of the contributors to the growth of effective virtual
teams as it has led to development of some excellent tools specific for virtual teams and of
course the adaptation of a whole range of tools developed for broader use to the virtual team
domain.
Broad categories of technology for virtual teams to use include;
Video conference and telepresence equipment
One to one video meeting software, typically hosted on a personal computer or portable
device
Desktop sharing software, sometimes stand alone and sometimes incorporated as part of a
video platform
Instant messaging tools, some of which include video capability
Asynchronous messaging tools such as email
Research has shown that it is best to select a limited palate of tools for any particular virtual team
so as to avoid team members having to check multiple platforms continually or risk losing
messages on unchecked platforms. Despite the general recommendation that the richer the
communication platform the better, there are some uses which are more appropriately suited to a
less rich, though still synchronous platform, for example it is generally recognised as easier to
review a document, whether that is a drawing, text or layout over a desktop sharing platform
with voice enabled by either a conventional telephone or as part of the platform than it is to
review the same document using a video conference platform. Equally, complex and technically
detailed message content is often best conveyed by email than verbally, this approach allows the
writer to consider their words before sending and the recipient to analyse the message on receipt
before following up with a verbal discussion.
Using public platforms for communication imposes a number of additional risks on businesses,
the data hosted on the platform may become the property of the provider and regardless of
ownership, access is under the control of the provider, if their platform is down for short periods
you will loose access to potentially time critical data, as such, hosting applications on a platform
under the control of your business is generally regarded as preferable, though public platforms
can still work well for communications and messaging.
Steps To Build a High Productivity Virtual Team
There are a few steps to consider when planning and building a high productivity virtual team
which we have outlined below:
Plan your work – Its can sometimes feel cliche, but planning the work you intend to
undertake, how, where and why it will be done is the first step in building a high
productivity virtual team. If you don’t really know why you are using a virtual team you
will always struggle to get the best from it. Equally, if the team members don’t really
know why they are there, they will not be as focussed on their work and, productivity will
suffer – So, spend the time planning your work, and do the planning before the work
starts.
Engage the best people you can – Again, this is a seemingly obvious comment, but it is
surprising how often a virtual team will simply use whoever is available, whether they
have the right skills and aptitude to work in a virtual team environment or not. Highly
productive virtual teams will comprise personnel who are highly effective communicators
and collaborators, as well as being technically proficient at their assigned task, you need
to seek these people out in your business and actively engage them in your virtual teams.
Ensure quality leadership – The leadership of both the virtual team its self and the
organisation overall need to be united in supporting the efforts of their workforce,
whether they are in a virtual team or co-located team environment. Leadership of virtual
teams is a specialist skill that is not possessed by all, to build high productivity virtual
teams you need highly skilled leaders of virtual organisations, leaders who can
communicate and lead across the boundaries of time, distance and culture.
Provide suitable training – Where skills and knowledge gaps exist, typically in areas
such as communications and cross cultural working, it is vitally important that training is
provided for those that need it. This can take the form of classroom training, one on one
training, mentoring or coaching, dependant on the needs and role of the individuals
involved. Building and releasing productivity in your virtual teams requires the team
members to possess all of the core skills, not just the technical ones.
Deliver ongoing effective support – One off training is rarely enough when it comes to
virtual team interaction. As circumstances change and projects move from phase to
phase, personnel will leave and join the virtual team. Each change will impact the
communication and trust dynamic and, as such, adjustments will be needed to the
structure and character of the team. These changes require support from an organisational
level, to ensure the virtual team continues to be given access to the right skills and
personnel to maintain its productivity.
Deal with conflict quickly – Every business and team will experience conflict from time
to time. Some conflict is productive and valuable, resulting from disagreements over
tasks and leading to a better overall outcome, but some conflict is negative and damaging,
leading to a loss of productivity, fractures to relationships and an erosion of trust. It is
important in a virtual team environment that the leadership of both the team and the
organisation remain vigilant to damaging conflict, and move to resolve things quickly
and efficiently in the interests of the overall team.
Appropriately reward success – Success in all of its forms should be celebrated. In a
virtual team environment, however, it is important that the celebrations are fair, equitable
and sensitive to the cultural and societal norms of the personnel in each location. For
some members of a virtual team, a personal reward may be appropriate, for others it is
recognition of the team or even the extended organisation that will be most effective.
Getting the reward structure right will help with ongoing productivity in both current and
future virtual teams.
Avoid a blame culture – When things go wrong it can be easy to lash out and blame
others for problems. In a virtual environment, this often means blaming unseen personnel
in “the other” office. When problems do occur, seek to understand the causes of the
problem, both technical and relational, and then put fixes in place to ensure the problem
is less likely to occur again. Avoid apportioning any blame to collective groups, or even
to individuals, this will only damage relationships and lead to reduced productivity in the
long term.
Building and maintaining high productivity virtual teams is a task which will continue for the
entire time you are running virtual teams in your business, but, getting it right can lead to
incredibly effective outcomes. You need to work diligently to ensure your team gets the best
support it can to be the best it can.
Virtual Team Dynamics is the term used to describe how the personal characteristics and
interpersonal behaviours of members of virtual team impact the ways in which they interact, how
they communicate and how they share the tasks required to successfully undertake their assigned
work. Whether the virtual team is a continual, ongoing business arrangement whereby offices
interact without a finite time frame, or a virtual project team where the team is formed for a fixed
period to undertake a specific task, after which they disband, establishing an environment of
positive virtual team dynamics can help you be more successful.
The dynamics of virtual teams will, in many ways, determine the relative success or otherwise of
the particular team, one with positive and supportive virtual team dynamics will tend to have
more successful outcomes and be seen as a model team by their community, while one with poor
virtual team dynamics is likely to be problematic and to be less successful in its endeavours.
Successful Virtual Team Dynamics
Successful virtual team dynamics will include features such as a general sense of trust between
virtual colleagues, they will be inclined to trust that their colleagues can be depended on to do
the agreed work to the agreed quality in the time frame they need it. The team members will
generally believe that the approach of virtual teaming is one that they all benefit from, where
they do not feel their employment or social status is being put at risk by sharing their work with
others located elsewhere, and potentially where they see the act of sharing their work to be
positive and bringing more opportunities to them than otherwise.
Groups with successful virtual team dynamics will also typically exhibit a greater tolerance to
ambiguity, demonstrated by a willingness to accept that their virtual colleagues, will, on
occasion, not be able to either communicate fully what they need or what their issues are, or may
need a little more time to complete a task. Strong team relationships will in these circumstances
see the team members assisting one another to complete work on time in a positive and proactive
way.
Problem Virtual Team Dynamics
Opposite to successful virtual team dynamics are virtual teams where their dynamics are
problematics. Typical symptoms of such teams are a general lack of trust between team
members, which could even extend to open animosity or active distrust, in such an environment
it is extremely difficult for team members to feel that the work they are sharing with others is
going to be done to the right quality, time and cost as they need, they will be constantly checking
up on each other and will be suspicious of anything originating from the other teams. Also,
members of teams with poor or problematic virtual team dynamics are more likely to see the
virtual team approach as one which will be a win loose relationship, where they themselves will
be disadvantaged by sharing the work to other offices, either as a potential beginning to the
overall loss of opportunities or the reduction of their status in the organisation’s social structure.
Problem teams will also be less accommodating of deficiencies and issues from their virtual
colleagues, they will be less likely to asset their colleagues and more inclined to try to exploit
problems in other locations for their own gain.
Building Positive Virtual Team Dynamics
Building a virtual team which exhibits the characteristics of positive, strong virtual team
dynamics should be the aim for the leaders of any business employing the approach. A positive
dynamic will almost always give a better business outcome to a negative one. Some simple
stapes to ensure this success are to select personnel who are experienced in working virtually and
who have a positive reputation as the core of your team, these personnel should then be
supplemented by others who have exhibited the right characteristics of being generally trusting
of others and who believe that the approach being taken is a positive one for them and for the
organisation.
As the team is being assembled, the organisation should also ensure its internal processes and
practices are also conducive to a positive virtual team environment, processes should support
virtual work and those working in them, career progress should not be hindered by being part of
a virtual team and the organisation’s reward structure must not reward behaviour which could
undermine a virtual team approach to work.
Getting the virtual team dynamics right in your organisation, through selecting and empowering
the right people, and through setting the organisational conditions to the correct balance, will
ensure the best possible opportunities for success for your organisation or project.
