Critical Success Factors for Virtual Teams

Critical Success Factors for Virtual Teams Workplace Forum: working across physical and virtual worlds Jeroen van Bree, Martien Vlietman, Rixt Wierda London, 21 May 2001

Outline
Our study
Virtuality defined
Drivers for virtual teamwork
Critical success factors

Our study
Multiple case study: 12 organizations
Shell, Boeing, Xerox, Hewlett Packard, Philips, Ahold, Unilever, Heineken, Oracle, Baan, The Vision Web, IBM
On average 2 interviews per organization with members and facilitators of virtual teams
Objective: exploring current practices and success factors

What is a virtual team?
Separated by
space
time
cultural boundaries
Interaction primarily by means of electronic media
Face-to-face meetings seldom or never take place

Examples of virtual teams
Product development teams
Knowledge transfer teams
Management teams
Project teams

Virtual teams vs. virtual communities
A virtual community is a network of people with a common interest or who are active in the same professional field, supported by communication technology
A (virtual) team distinguishes itself from a (virtual) community in the following respects:
a team has a common goal
a team is limited in size
a team shares responsibility for a task

Drivers for virtual teamwork
Involve the best people in a project, regardless of their location
A production process that is spread out over the world
Sharing knowledge across boundaries
Reduce travel time and travel expenses
Work more efficiently
Efficiency drives virtual teamwork, technology makes it possible

Michael Heim http://www.mheim.com ‘ Today’s computer communication cuts the physical face out of the communication process. Even video conferencing adds only a simulation of face-to-face meeting.’ ‘ The face is the primal interface, more basic than any machine mediation. Without the direct experience of the human face, ethical awareness shrinks and rudeness enters.’

Efficiency vs. effectiveness Effectiveness Efficiency High Team Group Virtual Group High Low Low Virtual Team Leadership Competences Technology Setting objectives Communication Team- culture

Pyramid of virtual team success Success Factor Precondition Leadership Competences Technology Setting objectives Communication Team- culture

Technology (1)
standard tools: mobile phone and laptop for anyplace/anytime net access
standard applications: e-mail and teleconferencing
also in use:
electronic schedules
Intranets for sharing documents and knowledge
videoconferencing: very expensive, not available on the workplace, quality low, added value limited
real-time tools: application sharing and shared whiteboard increasingly being used

Technology (2)
equal technology support for all team members is essential
ICT needs to support:
communication
collaboration
coordination
information sharing
opportunistic interactions
“ the preponderance of face-to-face interaction, roughly 90%, are opportunistic, not scheduled” (Kraut, 1993)

Setting objectives
“ a virtual kick-off is not a kick-off”
objectives need to be set in a face-to-face meeting
goals are more important in a virtual setting, because:
the multi-cultural nature of virtual teams implies different norms and values
adjusting the direction of the team is more difficult

Competences
required competences:
English language skills
self-management
discipline
being results-oriented
additional competences:
technical skills
networking skills
social skills
competences should be taken into account when selecting team members

Leadership
“ motivation and evaluation is more difficult in a virtual team”
virtual team managers tend to focus solely on output, but need to act as a coach as well
manager needs to be sensitive to other signals, because behavior of team members is less visible
“ It’s difficcult to interpret delays, unreturned calls, hesistancies. Mole hills become mountains, oversights look like insults” (O’Hara-Deveraux & Johansen)

Communication
“ people find it much easier to reject something by e-mail than in a face-to-face meeting”
‘ rules of engagement’ are more important, because correcting behavior is difficult
the medium should be aligned with the message based on the media richness

Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel) Richness of a medium direct feedback natural language multiple signals personal touch lean rich face-to-face telephone e-mail letter memo newsletter chat virtual world shared whiteboard

Team culture
“ cultural differences are magnified”
trust is more difficult to establish in a virtual team, but is essential
face-to-face meetings are necessary to create a common ground
team culture (practices) should be created to supersede national cultures (values)

Summary
virtual teamwork offers opportunities for organizations to work more efficiently
the technology in use still has its shortcomings
effective virtual teamwork requires a new way of working, with close attention to:
communication
(people) management
values and goals

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Critical Success Factors for Virtual Teams

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