What is a virtual team? What are the advantages? What are the challenges? How can we overcome them?

1. Managing Virtual Teams
Elena Stefanopol

2. What is a virtual team?
• "group of people who work independently with shared purpose across
space, time, and organization boundaries, using technology to communicate
and collaborate."
- according to a study published by the Academy of Management Executive

3. Types of virtual teams 1
Networked teams - generally geographically dispersed and may have members from outside
the organization, composed of cross-functional members who are brought together to share their
expertise and knowledge on a specific issue or topic.
Parallel Teams - are generally formed by members of the same organization. While delivering
on their primary assigned role in the organization, they take added parallel responsibility
Project/Product-Development Team - subject matter experts brought together from
different parts of the globe to perform a clearly outlined task
Work , Production or Functional Teams - when members of one role come together
to perform single type of ongoing day-to-day work, clear defined roles, independent work.

4. Types of virtual teams 1
Service Teams – 24/7 model made possible thanks to different time zones
Management Teams – in multinational organisations, strategic purpose
Action Teams – short duration of time, provide immediate response to a
problem
Offshore Teams - outsourcing

5. Types of virtual teams 2
Example
Heterogeneous
Culture
Homogeneous
Culture
Service Team 1 4
Global Project Team 2 5
Local Sales Team/
Consulting Firm
3 6

6. Why have virtual teams?
• Best employees may be located anywhere in the world
• Employees demand personal flexibility
• A flexible organization is more competitive and responsive to the marketplace
• Employees tend to be more productive – less commuting and travel time
• The increasing globalization of trade and corporate activity
• The global workday is 24 vs. 8 hours
• A continued shift from production to service/knowledge work environments
• Reduced costs (outsourcing or less travel expenses)
• Global know-how (access to different cultures, values, systems)

7. Challenges
• Effective Communication
• Accountability
• Ability to work independently
• Cultural Differences
• Lack of Human Interaction

8. How can we overcome them?
1. Expectations Setting – time availability, desired outcome, behaviours, back up plans, means of
communication
2. Team Building – personality tests, identify shared values, interests, connect on social media,
create a space where the team can communicate informally (Facebook, Whatsapp, etc)
3. Trust & Open Communication/ Transparency – create a positive space
where team members feel confident to share and ask for help
4. Follow up – especially made by the team leader but also encourage all team members
to do the same and increase accountability
5. Technology – use co-working platforms such as Trello or Asana for a clear overview of tasks
and progress.

9. Your turn to share 
1. Have ever managed/worked in a virtual team?
2. What were the challenges?
3. How did you overcome them?

10. Thank you!
Elena.Stefanopol@gmail.com