How effective can virtual teams be for your organisation?
Today’s workplaces have gone global and virtual!
With technology and universal connectivity blurring the lines between geographies, companies are finding it easier to build virtual teams, work on ideas, run projects or deliver to clients from almost anywhere.
Studies indicate that virtual teams that are run effectively help companies become profitable sooner, and bring down nearly 40% of the business running costs. They also help them reap several other benefits including-
- Reduced costs – This is a key advantage to be gained from running a virtual team. In the absence of a physical work location, several expenses relating to office spaces, real estate services, utilities and executive travel can be eliminated. Employee costs and other operational costs as well can be minimized as related tasks can be outsourced to low-cost regions.
- Ability to access and leverage global talent – When running a virtual team, companies can look to hiring talent from beyond their country of origin, and access qualified and specialist resources who bring together wider knowledge and expert capabilities.
- Increase productivity – Virtual teams are high in productivity as they operate with a flatter organisation structure, which enables quick decision making and higher task focus. This means considerable savings on time that would otherwise be spent on needless distractions such as travel, paperwork and endless meetings.
- Drive innovation – Working with a global team that draws from diverse backgrounds and experiences allows for greater understanding of markets and enables innovation and improved capabilities.
- Ability to scale the business across diverse markets – With an ability to create presence in any part of the world, companies with virtual teams are able to reach out to newer opportunities and deliver across markets.
- Reduce time-to-market – With a team spread across varied time zones, projects can be run 24X7. This allows businesses to ramp-up their services, reduce product development time and deliver faster to clients.
- Increase employee retention – Employees within virtual teams often appreciate the flexibility in hours and location of work, and feel motivated in being part of a larger global team that caters to diverse markets across the world.
- Greater workforce flexibility – Companies that run virtual teams are able to scale up or scale down their team size as per their business needs. This allows for immense workforce flexibility and significant employee cost savings.
Virtual teams and work effectivenesss
With so many advantages on offer, it is tempting for companies to consider running their business through virtual teams. But given that the members will not be co-located they do need to plan well before they get started, and consider ways to drive rhythm and connect, to help them work work cohesively and effectively.
Broadly, companies with high functioning virtual teams have certain inherent ways of working, which have proven to be very useful in ensuring faster and better quality delivery.
Communication and Trust
Communication is a key area of focus within virtual teams. As humans, we desire face-to-face communication, and thrive in environments that help foster trust and positivity in relationships. In virtual teams, since the team members are not co-located and may have actually “worked together for years but never met in person”, communication becomes an “essential foundation” of work.
Leaders in such environments invest very early to keep communication a regular activity. They usually follow a communication charter that enables in-person meetings and periodic virtual team building exercises, allowing the team to get together, know each other better, and create a shared vision. These allow the team to work with a set of guiding principles and be effective in planning their goals and delivery. The charter can also encourage the team to reconnect regularly and communicate across a range of work areas.
Clarity drives goals
Co-ordination on goals and clearly stating tasks and responsibilities is a great way to drive clarity within virtual teams. Managers within virtual teams spend a great deal of energy planning and breaking down the details of task design, and simplifying work flow to the maximum extent posssible. This ensures clarity on work processes and allows all team members to involve themselves effectively.
Often a “deliverables dashboard” is used to help create a collaborative hub where team members can see the projects their colleagues are working on, and contribute their inputs to take the project forward. It also offers an effective means for managers to track progress from a distance, and step in and direct efforts without attempting to micro-manage the team.
Rhythm and shared language
Working within virtual teams can drive strong team discipline and enforce a rhythm in their functioning. Typically, virtual teams establish and share meeting agenda well in advance and lay out clear guidelines on communication protocols such as – start and finish time, call preparedness, environment and quality, and, equitable management of load as they work across timezones .
Further, they also create a shared language that allows cross-cultural teams to reduce ambiguity and work through any communication challenges with respect and friendliness.
Overall, the idea of working as a virtual team is fast gaining traction in most organisations today, and will likely be a part of the established work order over the next decade. While there may exist some initial clallenges in establishing communication, rhythm and comfort, they undoubtedly bring in significant benefits to the workplace. Communicating with clarity, staying connected, respect for diversity in ideas and thought and workplace discipline are some of the core values that help these teams thrive and succeed.
How effective can virtual teams be for your organisation?
Today’s workplaces have gone global and virtual!
With technology and universal connectivity blurring the lines between geographies, companies are finding it easier to build virtual teams, work on ideas, run projects or deliver to clients from almost anywhere.
Studies indicate that virtual teams that are run effectively help companies become profitable sooner, and bring down nearly 40% of the business running costs. They also help them reap several other benefits including-
- Reduced costs – This is a key advantage to be gained from running a virtual team. In the absence of a physical work location, several expenses relating to office spaces, real estate services, utilities and executive travel can be eliminated. Employee costs and other operational costs as well can be minimized as related tasks can be outsourced to low-cost regions.
- Ability to access and leverage global talent – When running a virtual team, companies can look to hiring talent from beyond their country of origin, and access qualified and specialist resources who bring together wider knowledge and expert capabilities.
- Increase productivity – Virtual teams are high in productivity as they operate with a flatter organisation structure, which enables quick decision making and higher task focus. This means considerable savings on time that would otherwise be spent on needless distractions such as travel, paperwork and endless meetings.
- Drive innovation – Working with a global team that draws from diverse backgrounds and experiences allows for greater understanding of markets and enables innovation and improved capabilities.
- Ability to scale the business across diverse markets – With an ability to create presence in any part of the world, companies with virtual teams are able to reach out to newer opportunities and deliver across markets.
- Reduce time-to-market – With a team spread across varied time zones, projects can be run 24X7. This allows businesses to ramp-up their services, reduce product development time and deliver faster to clients.
- Increase employee retention – Employees within virtual teams often appreciate the flexibility in hours and location of work, and feel motivated in being part of a larger global team that caters to diverse markets across the world.
- Greater workforce flexibility – Companies that run virtual teams are able to scale up or scale down their team size as per their business needs. This allows for immense workforce flexibility and significant employee cost savings.
Virtual teams and work effectivenesss
With so many advantages on offer, it is tempting for companies to consider running their business through virtual teams. But given that the members will not be co-located they do need to plan well before they get started, and consider ways to drive rhythm and connect, to help them work work cohesively and effectively.
Broadly, companies with high functioning virtual teams have certain inherent ways of working, which have proven to be very useful in ensuring faster and better quality delivery.
Communication and Trust
Communication is a key area of focus within virtual teams. As humans, we desire face-to-face communication, and thrive in environments that help foster trust and positivity in relationships. In virtual teams, since the team members are not co-located and may have actually “worked together for years but never met in person”, communication becomes an “essential foundation” of work.
Leaders in such environments invest very early to keep communication a regular activity. They usually follow a communication charter that enables in-person meetings and periodic virtual team building exercises, allowing the team to get together, know each other better, and create a shared vision. These allow the team to work with a set of guiding principles and be effective in planning their goals and delivery. The charter can also encourage the team to reconnect regularly and communicate across a range of work areas.
Clarity drives goals
Co-ordination on goals and clearly stating tasks and responsibilities is a great way to drive clarity within virtual teams. Managers within virtual teams spend a great deal of energy planning and breaking down the details of task design, and simplifying work flow to the maximum extent posssible. This ensures clarity on work processes and allows all team members to involve themselves effectively.
Often a “deliverables dashboard” is used to help create a collaborative hub where team members can see the projects their colleagues are working on, and contribute their inputs to take the project forward. It also offers an effective means for managers to track progress from a distance, and step in and direct efforts without attempting to micro-manage the team.
Rhythm and shared language
Working within virtual teams can drive strong team discipline and enforce a rhythm in their functioning. Typically, virtual teams establish and share meeting agenda well in advance and lay out clear guidelines on communication protocols such as – start and finish time, call preparedness, environment and quality, and, equitable management of load as they work across timezones .
Further, they also create a shared language that allows cross-cultural teams to reduce ambiguity and work through any communication challenges with respect and friendliness.
Overall, the idea of working as a virtual team is fast gaining traction in most organisations today, and will likely be a part of the established work order over the next decade. While there may exist some initial clallenges in establishing communication, rhythm and comfort, they undoubtedly bring in significant benefits to the workplace. Communicating with clarity, staying connected, respect for diversity in ideas and thought and workplace discipline are some of the core values that help these teams thrive and succeed.
