Creating a Five Star Virtual Team

Virtual TeamIt is 7:00 AM in New York City, 1:00 PM in Paris and 5:30 PM in Mumbai- time for our weekly conference call!  This is virtually the only “reasonable” time to schedule a meeting where all team members based in the cities above can communicate simultaneously.

Yes, being a part of a virtual team can be challenging due to schedule conflicts, lag time in communication, and language/cultural barriers, but they are not going away.  In this article, we will explore common conflicts and best practices that will help you create a “Five Star” virtual team.

Virtual teams are groups of individuals who work across time, space and organizational boundaries and who interact primarily through electronic communications to reach a common goal.

As global organizations seek to leverage the expertise that exists across geographic boundaries and time zones, virtual teams will continue to grow.  Nearly a half, or 46 percent, of organizations polled use virtual teams, according to survey results released July 13, 2012, by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

In virtual teams, the personal, cultural and social aspect is missing.  If you have been on a virtual team, then you may have experienced one or more of the common conflicts listed below.

  1. Common Conflicts in Virtual Teams
  2. Uneven knowledge dissemination.
  3. Reaching consensus is more difficult.
  4. Longer to make decisions.
  5. Mistrust (e-mail lags). Slow response to emails can cause mistrust.

-Misinterpretation (no socio-emotional cues). Non-verbal cues which have been shown to carry considerable weight in correctly interpreting messages and communication are missing.

-Relaxed inhibitions. For various reasons, people often behave with far less restraint in a virtual environment than in the physical world — a phenomenon that psychologists call the “online disinhibition effect.”

Best Practices for a Five Star Virtual Team

Now that we have identified the common conflicts, you can begin to implement the best practices.

  1. Build Trust. Transparency builds trust. When issues are discussed openly and resolved based on their technical merits (and not on biases, bad information, or politics), that transparency will engender a sense of fair play, leading to an atmosphere of trust within the team.
  2. Create a virtual site as the team’s primary focal point. Virtual teams need a shared workspace— specifically an intranet Web site — as the center for their activities. The workspace should contain shared files, project updates, and information on the various team members, as well as online discussion threads organized by topics. Managers can encourage active participation in the virtual workspace by regularly posting important information and documents there, even the group’s critical-path schedule of activities.
  3. Begin with Face-to-Face meeting. It is a good practice for a virtual team to begin with a face-to-face meeting where the team purpose, roles, decision making processes, and norms are discussed.  This face-to-face meeting allows relationships to form. As an alternative, if meeting in person is not possible, then set up a group Skype or a conference call and make time for introductions and learning about the individuals on the team.
  4. Set Ground Rules. Create a kick-off meeting agenda that outlines the ground rules that should be set for virtual teams. Rules and structure need to be carefully constructed up front and enforced. Establish ground rules for communicating such as using email to share reports and chat rooms to discuss other issues related to the project. Encourage frequent communication to make up for the lack of richness.
  5. Performance Expectations. Managers must take extra care of defining performance expectations for team members,  Manager must also remove performance barriers and provide the necessary resources (e.g., up to date equipment)
  6. Respect Time. Be respectful when scheduling meetings across time zones. If you are going to have recurring phone calls, consider alternating times so that the same team members are not always working late at night or early in the morning. (www.timeanddate.com/worldclock)

Whether you are the leader or a member of a virtual team it is equally important to be aware of common conflicts and best practices so that you can achieve your ultimate goal effectively. 

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