3 opportunities & 3 challenges Of Virtual working

Posted on October 15, 2008 at 11:59 am by admin

Opportunities

1. Eradication of traditional organisational boundaries
Access to knowledge, skills, expertise and talent is no longer restricted by geographical, cultural and organisational boundaries. In troubled markets this enables organisations to adopt flexible working structures.

2. Reduced overheads
By working virtually organisations can achieve efficiencies through:

- Reduced business travel costs
- Reduced office costs by utilising home-working (and virtual offices) and/or serviced offices
- More efficient teamwork. For example, no travel time means meetings can be shorter and more frequent.

3. Enhanced performance
Some research indicates that virtual teams can outperform traditional teams. This creates the opportunity for organisations to improve performance and gain a competitive edge. Areas in which virtual teams outperform traditional teams include:

- Idea generation
- Decision making

Challenges

1. Collaborating across the boundaries of locations and cultures
Working virtually requires people to apply a different set of skills and behaviours to those that have served them previously. Traditionally team dynamics are governed by the rich social interaction that occurs between the team members every day, when you are working virtually this interaction diminishes. For example, when we use technology to communicate we experience a partial, or complete, loss of the social and non-verbal cues that would normally guide our behaviour. Add to this cultural nuances and time differences and the interpersonal dynamics become extremely complex.

2. Using the technology to communicate effectively
Virtual working is not all about the technology, it is about how people engage with it, and utilise it. One challenge is overcoming people’s technology barriers in terms of connectivity, ability and willingness to participant. Research shows certain technology is advantageous for certain tasks; it is a matter of selecting the right technology for the task. Learning new ‘virtual’ facilitation skills are essential if communication technology is to deliver its potential.

3. Creating and sustaining effective virtual teams
Statistics show less than 30% of virtual teams succeed. Successful virtual teamwork requires all members to be mindful of the common goal, and attain instant rapport and trust. This is despite the fact they may never have set eyes on each other, or had any experience of working together. In order to combat these challenges virtual teams need a fresh and innovative approach to working that compasses new skills processes and behaviours that enable effective communication, and build trust and team cohesiveness.

Business psychologists Bluestone Talent Management can help your business or team evolve, by providing people development solutions to help you capitalise on the opportunities, and address the challenges, of virtual working. For information on our virtual/dispersed working programmes, including virtual leadership development and effective team working, contact:

Rosalie @ Bluestone Talent Management
Email: rmillardevans@bluestonetm.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 8334 8082
Mobile: +44 (0)7854 569629
Web: www.bluestonetm.com