Virtual teams are teams of people who primarily interact electronically and who may meet face-to-face at times.
Examples of virtual teams include a team of people working at different geographic sites, a project team whose members telecommute, a university study group.
What is a team? One of the more accepted definitions comes from Kazenbach and Smith in Wisdom of Teams.
A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
What is a virtual team?
There are several different definitions of virtual teams,
but what these definitions have in common is that, in
addition to being a team, virtual team members are
physically separated (by time and / or space) and that
virtual team members primarily interact electronically. Jane Henery and Meg Hartzler
characterized virtual teams as follows: Members are mutually
accountable for team results. Members are dispersed
geographically (nationally or internationally). Members work apart more than
in the same location. The team solves problems and
makes decisions jointly. The team usually has fewer
than 20 members. Reasons for virtual teams center around the differences
in time and space for team members. Team members may not be
physically collocated. It may not be practical to
travel to meet face-to-face. Team members may work
different shifts For example, some team members may
be distributed around a region or around the
world. Work schedules may not permit travel time to
attend some meetings. Finally, the growth in
telecommuting will create the need to link up into
virtual teams. Four basic types of groups of people exist: Task groups Friendship groups Command groups Interest groups These groups also can exist as
virtual groups. For example, an example of a virtual
command group would be a national sales team distributed
throughout the United States. An example of a virtual
task group could be a small software development group of
people telecommuting to their office. A virtual interest
group could be a group of investors sharing strategies
and outcomes. A friendship group might be represented by
a virtual community. Certainly other examples exist and
some groups overlap as well. Note:
This researcher uses the term "virtual team" in
this web site as a "virtual task group" or a
"virtual command group" where team members are
focused on a specific set of goals. The following tips
come from Michael Kossler and Sonya Prestridge in their
article, Geographically Distributed Teams. Hold an initial face-to-face
startup Establish an interdependency
among team members For long-term or permanent
teams, establish a schedule of periodic
face-to-face meetings Agree not only on what, when,
and how information will be shared but also on
how team members will respond to it Establish clear norms and
protocols for surfacing assumptions and conflicts Make explicit the need for
virtual team members to nurture each other and
create relationships Recognize and honor diversity Virtual teams are
supported by both hardware and software. General hardware
requirements include telephones, PCs, modems or
equivalent, and communication links such as the public
switched network (telephone system) and local area
networks. Software requirements include groupware
products such as electronic mail, meeting facilitation
software, and group time management systems. See the
section on
Technology for
more examples. One way to think about virtual
teams is the following: virtual teams = teams +
communication links + groupware Several benefits of
virtual teams include the following: People can work from anywhere
at anytime. People can be recruited for
their competencies, not just physical location. Many physical handicaps are
not a problem. Expenses associated with
travel, lodging, parking, and leasing or owning a
building may be reduced and sometimes eliminated. Virtual teams are teams of people who primarily interact electronically and
who may meet face-to-face occasionally. There are several reasons to create virtual teams. Specifically, teams may
be distributed because of the new realities facing
organizations such as: Organization-wide projects or
initiatives Alliances with different
organizations, some of which may be in other
countries Mergers and acquisitions Emerging markets in different
geographic locations The desire of many people and
government organizations for telecommuting The continuing need for
business travel and information and
communications technologies available to support
this travel A need to reduce costs A need to reduce
time-to-market or cycle time in general (the increasing velocity
in business) Increasing traffic congestion, air pollution, and parking
problems, coupled with the desire to work
at home are emerging factors. In addition, many people
have difficulty working outside of the home. For example,
people who are handicapped or who have childcare /
eldercare responsibilities are candidates for
telecommuting or telework. Advanced technology is
available to support people on an any time, any where
basis, and at an affordable cost. Products range from the
simple telephone and fax machine to multimedia capable
workstations and collaborative software. The
internet provides the capability to
transmit and receive full motion video which enables desktop
conferencing. Collaborative software or computer
supported cooperative work (CSCW) is a fundamental
enabler Businesses can reduce costs by having people telecommute.
The demand for buildings and parking spaces can be
reduced and therefore costs. People, especially sales
people, can spend more time with their customers, instead
of commuting to an office and then traveling to customer
sites. People can also be recruited who live in different
geographical areas who have no desire to relocate.
Another business factor is that the cost of market
entry may be quite small,
especially in information based and other
technology-driven industries, where
startups can innovate and be disruptive.
Finally,
the pace of business is changing, especially in
computers, communications, and content enterprises.
Software products typically have a 12-18 month life, while
hardware products are released every 1 to 2 years. Both the U.S. Government and State Governments are
encouraging businesses and people to explore and adopt
telecommuting. It can reduce the demand for new highways
and bridges and reduce air pollution. Some companies are
already working on this.
Reasons for Virtual Teams
Types of Groups
Strategies for Virtual Teams
Technology Supporting Virtual Teams
Benefits of Virtual Teams
Virtual Teams
Factors Influencing Virtual Teams
Social Factors
Technology Factors
Business Factors
Government Factors