Article describes the practical and human side of creating and running a virtual project team. Advice is based on interviews with people who run their business through virtual employees and partners.

1. IDEAS & TOOLS
F O R Q U A L I T AT I V E R E S E A R C H
SUMMER 2010
VOLUME 8 • NUMBER 4

2. • BUSINESS MATTERS •
Grow Your
Business with
B Y K AY C O R RY A U B R E Y
VIRTUAL TEAMS
Usability Resources Inc. • Bedford, MA • kay@usabilityresources.net
It
has become so common that we scarcely notice anymore: com-
puters, inexpensive telephone service and the internet allow
many of us solo professionals to run complex full-service qual-
Virtual teams itative research operations out of our home offices. We partner ad hoc
with others whose expertise complements our own, and we stay in
are a good way touch largely via electronic communications. This kind of “virtual”
for you to take on work arrangement is, for many of us, just the way we do business.
And for good reason: this model offers small businesses unique oppor-
bigger projects, tunities for growth with very low investment.
This article covers practical tips and best practices on how to create
reach out into new thriving virtual teams. I am focusing on the type of ad hoc groups
markets and offer most of us work within — small teams (no more than five people) of
equals who know one another and come to work together on a project
outstanding value basis. I gathered the advice below from interviews with 14 people
to your clients. from my LinkedIn network who have extensive experience in either
leading or taking part in virtual teams. Several are QRCA members;
others are consultants from other industries, high-level managers and
virtual company owners.
Working Virtually Offers
Compelling Advantages
Working virtually offers so many advantages — companionship (albeit
mostly by electronic means), low overhead and access to a large pool
of people with very specific skills that you can match to the needs of
a particular project. As Susan Saurage of Saurage Research remarks,
“You get a better mix of talent, and the client expects it. I dip into my
network of 18 people with specific talents on whom I can rely — qual,
quant, web evaluation, segmentation strategy — and people who have
these skills, plus who know my industries. I want to draw on the right
56 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org

3. people when I need them, but I do Susan Abbott of Abbott Research they are really good at,” she says.
not need them 40 hours a week. agrees that human relationships “Sometimes we build goodwill by
QRCA has been wonderful in help- trump everything else when it comes mentoring: you back me up, and I
ing me find the right people.” to choosing virtual teammates. “I will share with you what I know
If you are a solo practitioner, being have to like and trust the person,” about online research.”
part of a network of people with she states. “If I can’t find people I Small teams work best, and ideally
whom you have good working rela- like, I don’t bid. You need to find people should already know each
tionships allows you to expand your partners who share your values, and other before they start working as a
operation when a really big project it is really important to talk about virtual team. To minimize coordi-
presents itself. Lisa Figlioli, a solo these values upfront.” nation headaches, each person on
public relations consultant in Cos your virtual team needs a unique
Cob, Conn., scales her business up Use Your Moderator Skills and clearly defined role, as well as
as needed by tapping into a network a set of deliverables for which to
of colleagues she has worked with
to Find Good Partners and be responsible.
for over a dozen years. “It’s all very Run Well-Oiled Teams Even on a team of equals, you
loose,” she says. “We are all sole Finding the right business partner need a leader. This person is usually
proprietors, mirror images of each is like a research project. Look for the one who closed the project sale
other. When an opportunity comes highly experienced people with and assembled the group. The team
my way, I get a sense of what the distinct skills who can function leader is responsible for coordina-
project might be, I choose my people, independently. Liz Van Patten tion and serves as client interface
and we pitch together as though recommends that you “write down and traffic cop. The virtual team
they work for my company.” the things you are concerned leader must have the people skills to
about, what matters to you, and ensure that high-quality work gets
The Cornerstone of a Virtual use these questions to guide your done on time without coming across
initial conversation.” as a micromanager. Tasks and deliv-
Team Is Picking People You Once you have chosen your team- erables need to be broken into small
Like and Trust mates, spend time learning about one enough chunks, and the leader needs
It takes effort to set up a virtual team another and building the relation- to hold someone responsible for each
that can present itself as a cohesive ship, maybe by working together one. The leader also needs to keep in
unit. According to Dr. Aline Yurik, on a smaller project. Susan Abbott’s continuous contact, perhaps by talk-
who founded the master’s program approach is also very much relation- ing with each person on the team
in virtual team management and ship-driven. “I want to know the every day to ask how things are
communications at Brandeis Univer- type of work they enjoy and what going. The leader serves as the “glue”
sity, trust is a key factor in determin-
ing team success. “People on virtual
teams can work together for years
and never see each other, yet they
have forged deep and trusting rela- TOP 10 TRICKS FOR SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL TEAMS
tionships,” she says. “In any work
situation, we develop trust when we 1. Pick teammates you know, trust and like and who are committed
find similarities between ourselves to the success of your project.
and others, by doing things together, 2. Select highly seasoned people who can work independently and
by being responsive, by completing deliver quality work without being prodded.
tasks on time.” 3. Do a test run with a new potential partner by working together on
Many partnerships last for years, a smaller project.
like marriages. Liz Van Patten of Van 4. As you compose your virtual team, each person should have a
Patten Research notes that it took clearly defined role, to avoid coordination headaches. Some overlap
time for her to find the people who is good so that you can fill in as needed.
were right for her. “Choosing busi- 5. Break larger deliverables down into smaller chunks, and check in
ness partners is a lot like picking with team members regularly to make sure they are on track.
your friends,” she comments. “It’s 6. Get everyone to sign off on “rules of the road” that define how
like gold when you find someone you your team will communicate with each other.
work well with; everything flows so 7. Hold weekly check-in meetings with your team.
smoothly. I like to get to know the 8. Detect conflict early and deal with it.
person on a trial basis, shoulder to 9. Try to meet in person with your client and team at least once during
shoulder, to gain some history and a project.
see if we understand each other’s 10. Practice your presentation (including technology) before giving it
personal style. I need to know if I to your client.
can work with them.”
Q U A L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U LTA N T S A S S O C I AT I O N 57

4. Grow Your Business with Virtual Teams C O N T I N U E D
for the team: keeping everyone on owner of Life Meets Work, a com- Technology…
track, establishing norms and guid- pany that trains organizations in You Need More than Email
ing interactions. how to transition workers to virtual My interviewees describe a range of
Deliverables should flow through environments. Kyra recommends vir- inexpensive or free tools as “indis-
the team leader for review before tual team members sign off on a set pensable” for virtual teams: WebEx,
they are sent out to the client. Susan of “rules of engagement” that for- Google Docs, Doodle, BaseCamp
Abbott remarks, “As the project malize how the team communicates. and Tom’s Planner. Virtual teams
leader, I always tell people what I For instance, everyone might agree need internet-based project-tracking
need, when I need it and in what that after two emails on a particular technologies such as “to do” lists,
format. I always build time into the subject, the parties need to pick up a team calendar, contacts, milestones
schedule to fix anything I do not like the phone. Another rule might be and customer notes. Teammates
before sending the deliverable to the that the subject lines of all team should be able to log into this system
client; for instance, I’ll set a Tuesday emails have a set format: “Review: at any time to see what others are
deadline for a Friday deliverable.” proposal xyz.” These little things go working on, what progress they are
The more-established virtual teams a long way toward saving everyone’s making, what they are talking about
follow style guides and templates. time, minimizing conflict and facil- and what help they need. Online
At the outset of a project, the team itating clear communication. project-tracking systems also cut
should also insist on getting clear down on email.
requirements from the client, as well On the other hand, some teams
as a statement of work and a formal
Detect Conflict Early, and
Deal with It Immediately thrive with limited technology. Anne
change-control process. And as in Tobin’s human resources company,
any project, you need to manage It is crucial for virtual teams to
have an early warning system to Tobin Connex, is totally virtual. She
client expectations aggressively. stays in continuous contact with her
detect and address conflict. Pay close
attention to changes in writing tone, consultants and clients via the phone
Maintaining Open and face-to-face communication.
communication patterns and other
Communication and Group behavior to detect conflict and emo- “My business is all about relation-
Cohesion Takes Time tion. Changes in behavior — a mem- ships and proving your value,” she
Even small teams need infrastructure ber stops responding to IMs or says. “I need to make sure I have up-
to operate smoothly. Rituals help. For emails, shows up late for meetings to-date information on my clients so
example, you might have a weekly or starts sending in flat single-page I can do the HR work they require.
phone huddle to touch base. It is status reports instead of lively three- Managing a virtual team requires a
always a good practice for everyone page memos — may signal trouble. lot of follow-up on my part. I regu-
to contribute to a weekly status Aline Yurik advises, “Notice any larly attend customer staff meetings.
report that is sent to the client. The changes in behavior or attitude. You I am able to keep a lot of balls in
process of pulling together a status need to bring conflict to light, even the air.”
report allows team members to reg- more so on a virtual team because
ularly evaluate their performance, people don’t see each other.” Your Rolodex Is Your Gold
measure their progress against the When you suspect problems, call It is difficult to have a virtual busi-
schedule and clear up conflict and the person and hear him out. Identify ness without many contacts, both
misunderstanding. the people involved and engage in a vendors and partners. You need to
In the physical work environment, positive open-minded talk with each be established in your field. Paige
we spend a lot of time understanding party. Tell them you are sensing ten- Arnoff-Fenn’s virtual marketing
and interpreting the social envi- sion and invite them talk about their firm, Mavens & Moguls, has been
ronment and norms of the people concerns. Once you understand these featured in two Harvard Business
around us. In a virtual environment, and have discussed possible solu- Review case studies. Paige also feels
“you need to put all of this on tions, arrange a meeting to resolve she is essentially in the “relation-
paper,” advises Kyra Cavanaugh, the conflict. ship business.” She spends most
of her time traveling to meet with
customers, networking and gen-
erating more leads and business.
“Once you have a seat at the table
Changes in behavior — a member stops and have their trust, you see all
responding to IMs or emails, shows up your customer’s problems,” she
points out, “and this opens up even
late for meetings or starts sending in flat more opportunities. In today’s
single-page status reports instead of lively climate, your real asset is your
Rolodex, your relationships; this
three-page memos — may signal trouble. is the gold.”
58 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org

5. Virtual teams
should meet before
a presentation —
to transfer knowledge,
get their messaging
aligned and practice.
Virtual Client Management
How do you make sure your virtual client
relationships work well? Some virtual
teams get into trouble because they fail
to make clear to the client the team’s chain
of command or to explain each member’s
role. Bonnie Cooper oversees complex
projects for the Massachusetts Medical
Society. Her first piece of advice to virtual
teams is to make sure your client under-
stands how your team is organized. Bonnie
recommends that you tell them, “‘Here’s
who we are, here’s how we operate, here
is our escalation path, and this individual
is responsible for your project.’ You need
to give them a context.” All communica-
tion should flow through the designated
team leader, who should also have the
ability to triage client needs and get a
quick response to them.
A lack of business systems can be
another area of weakness for virtual teams.
“So often, I need to spend time learning a
vendor’s systems, which is time-consuming
and frustrating,” Bonnie says. The virtual
team should have business systems that
allow them to track their work, know
where things are and get a quick and
accurate status of where things stand
against the Statement of Work.
Presentations can be another area of
challenge for virtual teams, especially if
members are working independently and
do not check in with one another in their
analysis and reporting. Bonnie works with
vendors who have lots of virtual team mem-
bers (both employees and consultants),
and they don’t all take time to be sure
that everyone is on the same page. “You
can tell quickly when the team has not

6. Grow Your Business with Virtual Teams C O N T I N U E D
prepared as a group,” she says. interface designer, there is always a don’t have the chance to pick up on
“They stumble, they disagree, hand- risk that things will get lost in trans- the nonverbal communication going
offs are not smooth, and they do not lation when she works virtually with on in the other end. You don’t see
seem to be paying attention in a vir- people who do not understand her people’s facial expressions (who
tual way. Teams need time to delib- expertise. To prevent this, when start- looks discouraged, who is making
erate so they have a unified voice.” ing up with a new client, she and her eye contact). “Sometimes this is just
Virtual teams should meet before team schedule a kickoff meeting unavoidable,” she says. “I have
a presentation — to transfer knowl- where they walk through a full- clients whom I have never met, and
edge, get their messaging aligned blown design exercise. The meeting it has been fine. But they have a
and practice. Particularly in the gives everyone a chance to get to sophisticated sense of visual design
realm of presentations, “the virtual know one another. This initial meet- and the design process, and they
element exacerbates any issues,” ing also provides an opportunity for shield me from the internal politics
Bonnie says. As they practice, the “group therapy,” where clients can of the work we are doing.”
team should also test the technologies voice frustration with their product’s Using virtual teams to build your
they plan to use. On the day of the appearance and usability. business will not be without chal-
meeting, it is a good idea to convene There is such a thing as being too lenges. But it represents a good way
at least a half an hour before the virtual. When she can, Debbie likes for you to take on bigger projects,
actual meeting to make sure every- to be physically present at key points reach out into new markets and give
thing is set up and working; even a in a project, such as initial design outstanding value to your clients.
bad phone connection will throw reviews. “The worst thing is to be For summaries of all the inter-
everything off. talking about visual issues remotely, views I conducted on virtual teams,
Another area of challenge is stay- and you have no idea what they see please visit www.virtual-team-
ing in tune with the client’s mindset. on their end, for example with color success.com.
To Debbie Falck, a graphic and user- shifts,” she comments. Further, you
60 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org