CASE STUDY 4: STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING

EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL TEAMS: TRUST IS THE KEY

BY: M NEHA REDDY
MBA 1ST YEAR
SECTION-B

VIRTUAL TEAMS: A virtual team is a group of professionals

who use digital tools to communicate and collaborate. Virtual
teams are commonly spread, working remotely in different areas
of the city, state, country, or even the world, even if they are
physically located in the same physical place. Organizations use
Virtual teams because:
 Cost savings
 Leverage Global Talent
 Increased Productivity & Higher Profits
 Reduced Time to Market
 Newer Opportunities

1. What factors made the authors conclude that Virtual Teams

are here to stay?
Ans. Virtual teams are here to stay because they have many
advantages from the organization and employees perspective.
These virtual teams bring all the people over the world to work
for a particular project. The main advantages of the Virtual
teams from employees view are
 Flexible scheduling
 Lack of commute
 Cost savings
 Able to care family and loved ones
 Reduced anxiety/stress
 Improved health(mental, physical & spiritual)
 Freedom to travel
 Able to live where ever they want
 Reduced office politics
According to research 52% of virtual employees say they
are more productive, while 48% believe they work more
efficiently.

Advantages from organizations view are:

 They are most cost efficient
 Global talent pool
 Easily scalable
 Round the clock availability
 Happier and more productive employees
 More relevant meetings

Because of all these advantages of virtual teams the author

concluded that virtual teams are here to stay

2. What are the guidelines the authors have offered to enhance

the effectiveness of the virtual teams?

Ans. The guidelines that the author have offered to enhance the
effectiveness of the virtual teams are:
 Trust
 Organizational strategies
 Technological cues
 Human resource policies and procedures
 Selecting and preparing team leaders
 Structuring the team and its mission
 Supporting team tasks and socio economical needs.
 Substitutes for direct leadership
 Leadership actions to create trust
 Team composition

1. Trust : One of the social norms is trust, which develops as

the team grows. Trust boosts information flow, improves
cooperation, and aids in the resolution of problems and
conflicts, as well as the achievement of team goals.In a
virtual environment, trust takes the place of control, which
implies that employees must trust one another to avoid the
 risk of others acting in their own interests rather than the
team's. This is one of the reasons why trust is regarded as
one of the most important factors in a virtual team's success.
2. Organizational strategies:

Technological cues:
 Make sure the software you choose has a user-friendly
design and connects with the tools your team already utilizes.
 Look for techniques that make encounters feel more human.
The capacity to build virtual meeting rooms, for example.
 Invest in tools that will help you manage your workflow and
collaborate with your staff. This can help you prevent
information silos and confusion.

Human resource policies and procedures:

If members' impressions of ability, benevolence, and integrity

are the foundations of trust, organizations should proactively
manage these perceptions to increase trust levels by what they
do and how they do it. Strategic measures such as paying
attention to supportive policies and procedures, providing
appropriate technology, carefully selecting and educating team
leaders and members, and clearly defining tasks, roles, and
accountability help to build institutional trust.

Selecting and preparing team leaders, Structuring the team and

its mission, Supporting team tasks and socio economical
needs,Substitutes for direct leadership are few of the things that
organization should keep in mind when making strategies.

 Leadership actions to create trust:

Regular check-ins, such as a weekly virtual meeting, should be

established. This will let virtual team members communicate
more effectively.
Consider purchasing a project management software. It will
bring your team's communication, documentation, and
collaboration together in one place.
It is critical for a team leader to earn the trust of their virtual
team. This can be accomplished through communicating in a
straightforward, honest, and true manner. It's also crucial to
improve team bonding. This will boost member trust and
promote productive collaboration.
Ensuring that all members of the team are informed of the
team's goals and how they are measured. Working remotely may
be isolating, so making the virtual team feel supported is critical.
by Hold regular one-on-one meetings and maintain an open-
door policy.
Providing regular feedback on virtual employees' work will help
them stay motivated. It's also essential for spotting any possible
issues. Make your team's health a priority by scheduling regular
check-ins and redistributing workloads as needed.

Team composition:

The most critical factors in forming a successful virtual team are

trust, communication, leadership, goal setting, and technology,
as well as providing assistance, getting acquainted, and
becoming organized. The selection of the suitable candidates,
who will be able to work successfully in virtual reality, should,
nevertheless, be the first step in the process.

A virtual team member should have familiarity with new media

and groupware technologies, self-management competence, self-
sufficiency, interpersonal sensitivity and interpersonal trust, and
dependability. Following the selection of team members, the
next stage is to develop a shared understanding of the team's
objectives and determine the level of virtualization that will be
most effective in achieving these objectives.

With these guidelines given by the authors the effectiveness of

the virtual teams can be enhanced.