How to successfully manage virtual teams


Depending on the job and the industry, finding that perfect mix of attitude and skill in a candidate can be daunting. After you’ve sorted through stacks of CVs and conducted rounds of interviews, the last thing you want to happen is for distance to become an issue.

In the past, managers have had the luxury of overseeing employees who are always in close proximity to each other – down the hall, around the corner or even sitting at the next desk. But this way of working is no longer sustainable. Talent gaps are one reason, and employers sometimes need to fill positions when demand outpaces local supply. But more broadly speaking, removing location as a limiting factor gives organisations more freedom to hire the best and brightest, diversify their workforce and remain relevant in a volatile and agile economy.

The three biggest barriers to why more workplaces don’t make the most of virtual teams comes down to structure, culture and mindset, writes Cassandra Frangos, vice president for global talent and organisational development at Cisco. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Frangos says that despite more organisations accepting the idea of virtual teams, the reality is many still adhere to old-school “tied to the terminal” employment practices.

A top-down hierarchy is the biggest structural barrier, she argues, because rather than rely on decisions from small, autonomous teams, everything has to filter from one to many. This is often combined with persistent ideas about symbols of productivity and control in the workplace that are hard to shake.

YOU’VE DONE THIS BEFORE

Managing a distributed team can feel overwhelming, mostly because there’s more than physical distance to contend with, says Mark Mortensen, an associate professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD.

One of the biggest misconceptions about managing remote workers is that it requires an entirely different skillset. But a growing body of research and real-world examples are exposing the unique dynamics found among virtual and remote teams, and sussing out what makes them tick. Many of the same management and leadership principles apply. A global team is first and foremost a team, Mortenson says.

“We have a tendency to overcompensate and approach remote workers and virtual teams as these mythical beasts,” he says. “But they are still people working in an organisation to get stuff done – treat them as such.”

TIPS FOR MANAGING ACROSS DISTANCE

If you are cutting your teeth on leading a virtual team, remember the first rule of trying anything new: don’t panic. The same basic rules apply to other typical business situations, with a few unique twists and exceptions. How can you master managing the distributed team? Here are some good starting points:

  • Invest in relationships: Distance – geographical, temporal and cultural/linguistic – affects how we work through two main contexts: how we feel about people, and what we know about people. According to a study published in Organization Science, a shared sense of context – understanding how you do what you do and why – is a key driver of a team’s ability to coordinate and collaborate. This comes from sharing information and purpose, which means leaders need to facilitate not just a virtual workplace, but a virtual community.
  • Do regular logistics and tech checks: Setting people up to succeed off-site requires attention to IT support and infrastructure, Frangos says. This includes making sure all team members are comfortable using online collaboration tools and the tech works from anywhere, on any device. Security should also be taken seriously, and employees need to be educated about proper safety protocols.
  • Schedule regular meetings: A hands-off approach won’t cut it when managing a remote team. To help manage the team’s workload and expectations, check in with individual employees on a regular basis. Technology allows for instant communication, regardless of time or place. Just as managers and employees in brick and mortar offices have performance reviews, catch-ups and and all the trimmings, so should virtual teams.
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J Pine
J Pine
8 years ago

Sounds great in theory, not to sure about in practice.

Eg mobile phone coverage, flat batteries, client meeting overruns, roadworks/closed roads (fatalities) etc

Anne Barclay
Anne Barclay
8 years ago

I have both managed teams located remotely and been managed remotely. The main difference is in style and the need for more structure to consciously develop relationships and communication mechanisms. Also strongly endorse the comments about IT set up needing to work well. With these the working relationships can be at least as strong as when co-located. Good article

L Raeside
L Raeside
8 years ago

For those who are going to be working as part of a virtual team, I believe it is imperative that they are trained on how to use the technology/system and also have the understanding that there are many communication avenues available if the first doesn’t succeed. It’s also beneficial to company’s to listen to virtual users new idea’s on how to improve the virtual system or communication avenues as they may have a better understanding as they would use it on frequent basis.

Russell
Russell
8 years ago

It all depends on the organization culture and mindset of the top management as it is supposed to be driven from there. Also it depends on the organizational background and skillsets the company deals with. Like managing teams remotely is common in IT & Communications. Also for certain sectors, forget about hiring and managing candidates remotely, most organizations won’t even hire candidates from their own location who have had similar experience in another country. I’ve been in South Australia for 4 months and I have 6 years of demonstrated HR work experience in another country, however, organizations and the HR… Read more »

trackback
Frequent fliers: How to be out of town, not out of the loop | Stephenson Mansell Group
6 years ago

[…] Communication is key when managing a virtual team. Explore some further tips and strategies on how to establish the most effective team when distance i… […]

More on HRM

How to successfully manage virtual teams


Depending on the job and the industry, finding that perfect mix of attitude and skill in a candidate can be daunting. After you’ve sorted through stacks of CVs and conducted rounds of interviews, the last thing you want to happen is for distance to become an issue.

In the past, managers have had the luxury of overseeing employees who are always in close proximity to each other – down the hall, around the corner or even sitting at the next desk. But this way of working is no longer sustainable. Talent gaps are one reason, and employers sometimes need to fill positions when demand outpaces local supply. But more broadly speaking, removing location as a limiting factor gives organisations more freedom to hire the best and brightest, diversify their workforce and remain relevant in a volatile and agile economy.

The three biggest barriers to why more workplaces don’t make the most of virtual teams comes down to structure, culture and mindset, writes Cassandra Frangos, vice president for global talent and organisational development at Cisco. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Frangos says that despite more organisations accepting the idea of virtual teams, the reality is many still adhere to old-school “tied to the terminal” employment practices.

A top-down hierarchy is the biggest structural barrier, she argues, because rather than rely on decisions from small, autonomous teams, everything has to filter from one to many. This is often combined with persistent ideas about symbols of productivity and control in the workplace that are hard to shake.

YOU’VE DONE THIS BEFORE

Managing a distributed team can feel overwhelming, mostly because there’s more than physical distance to contend with, says Mark Mortensen, an associate professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD.

One of the biggest misconceptions about managing remote workers is that it requires an entirely different skillset. But a growing body of research and real-world examples are exposing the unique dynamics found among virtual and remote teams, and sussing out what makes them tick. Many of the same management and leadership principles apply. A global team is first and foremost a team, Mortenson says.

“We have a tendency to overcompensate and approach remote workers and virtual teams as these mythical beasts,” he says. “But they are still people working in an organisation to get stuff done – treat them as such.”

TIPS FOR MANAGING ACROSS DISTANCE

If you are cutting your teeth on leading a virtual team, remember the first rule of trying anything new: don’t panic. The same basic rules apply to other typical business situations, with a few unique twists and exceptions. How can you master managing the distributed team? Here are some good starting points:

  • Invest in relationships: Distance – geographical, temporal and cultural/linguistic – affects how we work through two main contexts: how we feel about people, and what we know about people. According to a study published in Organization Science, a shared sense of context – understanding how you do what you do and why – is a key driver of a team’s ability to coordinate and collaborate. This comes from sharing information and purpose, which means leaders need to facilitate not just a virtual workplace, but a virtual community.
  • Do regular logistics and tech checks: Setting people up to succeed off-site requires attention to IT support and infrastructure, Frangos says. This includes making sure all team members are comfortable using online collaboration tools and the tech works from anywhere, on any device. Security should also be taken seriously, and employees need to be educated about proper safety protocols.
  • Schedule regular meetings: A hands-off approach won’t cut it when managing a remote team. To help manage the team’s workload and expectations, check in with individual employees on a regular basis. Technology allows for instant communication, regardless of time or place. Just as managers and employees in brick and mortar offices have performance reviews, catch-ups and and all the trimmings, so should virtual teams.
Subscribe to receive comments
Notify me of
guest

5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
J Pine
J Pine
8 years ago

Sounds great in theory, not to sure about in practice.

Eg mobile phone coverage, flat batteries, client meeting overruns, roadworks/closed roads (fatalities) etc

Anne Barclay
Anne Barclay
8 years ago

I have both managed teams located remotely and been managed remotely. The main difference is in style and the need for more structure to consciously develop relationships and communication mechanisms. Also strongly endorse the comments about IT set up needing to work well. With these the working relationships can be at least as strong as when co-located. Good article

L Raeside
L Raeside
8 years ago

For those who are going to be working as part of a virtual team, I believe it is imperative that they are trained on how to use the technology/system and also have the understanding that there are many communication avenues available if the first doesn’t succeed. It’s also beneficial to company’s to listen to virtual users new idea’s on how to improve the virtual system or communication avenues as they may have a better understanding as they would use it on frequent basis.

Russell
Russell
8 years ago

It all depends on the organization culture and mindset of the top management as it is supposed to be driven from there. Also it depends on the organizational background and skillsets the company deals with. Like managing teams remotely is common in IT & Communications. Also for certain sectors, forget about hiring and managing candidates remotely, most organizations won’t even hire candidates from their own location who have had similar experience in another country. I’ve been in South Australia for 4 months and I have 6 years of demonstrated HR work experience in another country, however, organizations and the HR… Read more »

trackback
Frequent fliers: How to be out of town, not out of the loop | Stephenson Mansell Group
6 years ago

[…] Communication is key when managing a virtual team. Explore some further tips and strategies on how to establish the most effective team when distance i… […]

More on HRM