virtual teams report

Copyright© 2010 AIM Strategies® Applied Innovative Management®. All rights reserved. www.aim-strategies.com

AIM STRATEGIES ®

VIRTUAL TEAMS

TRENDS REPORT :

CHALLENGES OF VIRTUAL TEAMS


• Report Background

• Key Findings

• Demographics

• Future of Virtual Teams

• Upcoming Events

• About AIM Strategies ®

Table of Contents


Report Background

The lessons learned from past clients inspired us to

submit a book proposal in August of 2009 regarding

difficulties and techniques in managing a virtual

team. A month later the proposal was accepted

and we began interviewing virtual team members

and leaders to collect their stories for the book.

The interviews were conducted to enhance our

knowledge of virtual teams and the challenges that

they face in preparation for writing our upcoming

book A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams.

At the completion of the interviews we began an

analysis of the trends summarized in this report.

Their stories confirmed our experiences and our

findings from our past client work. However, we

also learned some surprising new trends around

how virtual teams communicate and the conflicts

and challenges they face.


• Use qualitative data as it provides a

richer amount of information

• Each interview was approximately

1 hour, and limited to 2 hours

• 19 open-ended questions were

asked in a semi-structured format that

allowed for a natural flow of

conversation

• Interview topics include:

communication, conflict, trust,

accountability, cross-cultural

communication, team set up, lessons

learned, and the future of virtual teams

Data Gathering

• Label the 150 interviews with a set

of common key words and concepts

such as “misunderstanding”, in an

electronic format

• Use a custom computer program

developed onsite utilizing Extensible

Markup Language (XML) to

automatically categorize the data

• Calculate statistics regarding how

many interviewees mentioned a

particular issue or concept

Data Analysis

Report Background


Key Findings

With teammates located worldwide, members observed fewer

established time boundaries and often worked around the clock

(52%). Coordinating across time zones caused communication

problems (44%) while another obstacle was excessive multitasking

(18%) during conversations.

Trend 1

Top Challenges – Communicating when every time zone is your time zone

Even in the virtual environment, occasional face-to-face

communication was found to be vital for certain aspects of team

interaction, such as team set-up (24%) and conflict resolution (27%).

On the other hand, one aspect of building relationships, through

trust, did not require face to face communication as trust was

reportedly enhanced through regular contact with other team

members (63%), among other techniques discussed.

Trend 2

Building a Human Connection while replacing hallway chats


Key Findings

Cross cultural elements play a role in the effectiveness of virtual teams.

The most common communication barrier found stemmed from

misunderstandings related to the use of English (47%) which included

both varying interpretations of the same words in different cultures

as well as differences in overall competency levels.

Trend 4

Cross Cultural Communication – Lost in Translation

The sources of conflicts differ from on-site teams, as the lack of visual

cues cause an increase in miscommunication (33%) or inconsistent

expectations (21%). Virtual team members used a variety of resolution

styles such as using the phone (40%) and mediation (18%).

As easy as it is to hide behind a screen and ignore phone calls and emails

when a conflict arises, only 7% of respondents used avoidance techniques.

Trend 3

Conflict – When conflict arises, VT members do not hide behind their screen


Key Findings

The speed of communication and timelines of deliverables vary

significantly as compared to on-site teams. Virtual teams

experience shorter deadlines (17%) often on a weekly or even

daily basis, as well as more frequent checkpoints in between

deadlines. Ninety percent (90%) of teams met “all hands” once

per week, while some met team-wide three or more times per

week (8%).

Trend 5

Speed of virtual team delivery – slow and steady does not win the race


Future of Virtual Teams

Looking toward the future, the global economy is fundamentally transforming the way

business is conducted. According to 70% of respondents, virtual teams will increase in

prevalence and will be considered the norm (9%) in conducting business.

This trend will be experienced in part due to increased cost effectiveness

and the pressure of globalization. As this shift occurs, new technologies

will improve the performance of virtual teams (47%).

In addition, new techniques will be developed to overcome the unique

challenges encountered by virtual teams (11%), as more business

leaders become exposed to this type of environment.

The Future of Virtual Teams

2%

4%

6%

9%

11%

47%

70%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Decreased Quality

Outsourcing

Increasingly Important

Flexibility

Improving

Technology

Increasingly Prevelant


Upcoming Events

Presentation Date, Location, NY

Book Campaign Date, Location, NY

Book Publishing Date, Location, NY


VT Trends Report www.aim-strategies.com/AIMVTTrendsReport.pdf

VT Book this August www.amazon.com/Managers-Guide-Virtual-Teams

AIM Company Website www.aim-strategies.com

Email: [email protected]

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About AIM Strategies®

AIM Strategies® Applied Innovative Management® is a results-driven Human Capital

Consulting firm specializing in the areas of: Virtual Team Training, Cross Cultural

Coaching, Team Building Facilitation, Global Leadership Development, and general

Transformational Change Services. Known for an innovative approach, which clearly links

with the client’s business strategy, AIM Strategies® can help you to develop global leaders

with the skills necessary for business success in the 21st Century. We are confident that

the solutions we develop fit your needs and culture. Please visit www.aim-strategies.com

to learn more about how our services unlock the people potential of your organization.

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