Forward - thinking VT organisations

Teaming is one sure way of achieving results. The present cricket carnival aptly demonstrates the power of team spirit. Having discussed the value of typical teams sometime ago, today’s attention is on a specific type of team - Virtual Teams (VTs).

I had the privilege of working closely with two researchers who have done extensive studies on VTs. It is high on my research agenda as well, in discovering how VTs can add value to Sri Lankan organisations.

Success

A VT is an arrangement where members are geographically dispersed but technologically connected. A software development team with members based in Colombo, Bangalore, Boston and London is an example of a VT.

Rapid advancements in technology have enabled organisations to create Virtual Teams (VTs), since the 1990s. Organisations which rapidly create teams of talented people who respond to the needs of customers are destined for success in the competitive and complex global economy of today.

Many of the teams are globally distributed and made up of people from varying cultures. Unlike a traditional team, a VT works across space, time and organisational boundaries with links strengthened by a web of communication technology.

This new ‘nomadic’ tribe needs to be guided, and supported to ensure performance. As a global trend, forward-thinking organisations have readily embraced the underlying principles of VTs. Such thinking has enabled them to become agile and compete more robustly in the global market place.

Benefits

VTs evolved with the availability of appropriate technology. To what extent are today’s VTs different from the traditional notion of a team? What benefits and problems arise as a result of the creation of virtual formations? Geography, national culture, language and time are at the crux of developing VTs.

Nevertheless, these elements can also act as barriers to assembling talented global teams unless virtual teaming is used. Virtual teaming emerges as one of the more important management tools available to companies wishing to take advantage of the pool of global talent. For example, a new flagship mouse produced by Logitech is truly an effort of global teaming.

The mechanical engineering and design took place in Ireland, electrical engineering in Switzerland, corporate marketing, software engineering and quality assurance at the company’s Fremont California headquarters. Tooling took place in Taiwan and manufacturing occurred in China.

Common purpose

A widely dispersed design team is characteristic of any VT operating in the electronics industry – a shortage of quality local talent drives companies to create geographically distributed project teams, with members strategically located in regions that begin their days when others’ end.

Like other kinds of teams, a VT is a group of people who interact through inter-dependent tasks guided by a common purpose. Interestingly, many of the best practices for traditional teams are similar to those for VTs. Team performance, be it virtual or not, is primarily about discipline – leader, peer and self-imposed.

Moreover, trust, communication, leadership, goal setting and technology all emerge as factors vital for the formation of a successful VT.

Trust

In the case of VT, there are more barriers of communication than in a traditional team. People from different national cultures vary in terms of their style of communication and group behaviour.

This can include the motivation to seek and disclose personal information while developing friendship. Effective use of communication, especially during the early stages of the team’s development, plays an equally important role in gaining and maintaining trust.

VT members must learn to excel as active communicators. The success of the team depends on the ability of team members to exchange information in the face of the challenge of time and place.

It is a case of not only what but how as well.

The goals of a VT effectively become a unifying force, which incorporates the organisation’s strategy, the objectives of the various team members and the needs of team members.

Goals

Therefore, it is vital for all team members to participate in the goal-setting phase of a project. VT members should actively engage in constructive dialogue to ensure that clarity exists at all levels within the team concerning performance. Goals should be referred to frequently by team leaders to encourage VTs to stay on course. Losing sight of team goals opens up the possibility for undisciplined behaviour.

Technology is simply described as a tool that needs human input. No matter how sophisticated a technology might be, the success or failure depends on how it matches the user’s needs.

A team leader must be certain that VT members possess the skills, hardware, software and the computer knowledge to actively participate in team activities.

Some of the technological tools available are synchronous in nature, needing people to be available at the same time, independent of geography.

CMC

For example, the telephone, teleconferencing, video conferencing, chat rooms and other tools including voice-mail, email, faxes and computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) are all technologies employed in this context. CMC is an important development in computer-related tech nological applications in VTs. This is because, they allow people who are not located in the same place to structure and engage in a real-time dialogue about a project or task.

Software designed specifically for virtual teams, termed ‘groupware’, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Groupware creates a centralised conduit for all group-related communications, effectively minimising missed messages and wasted time. The work of VTs can also be enhanced by use of a designated web site. This act as a convenient space to store and distribute graphic materials, schedules, flow charts, reference materials and much more. What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with VTs? Are they suitable for Sri Lankan organisations to expand their horizons? Are there more promises and pitfalls?

My next column will address these aspects in detail.