Virtual teams are increasingly commonplace, with companies pulling in employees from around the world to work on projects.  Doing so effectively however is often far from straightforward, but new research from Curtin University provides some tips on how to make your virtual teams thrive.

The research examined various aspects of virtual teamwork, whether via email, video conferencing or other virtual tools.  The study especially focused on how these tools and the design of tasks affected the functioning of the teams.

“There are many benefits of virtual communication and collaboration including being able to draw experts from all over the globe, lower maintenance costs for office spaces, working in different time zones, increased flexibility, less time spent communicating and better work-life balance,” the researchers explain.  “Despite the obvious benefits, there is evidence to suggest that virtual teams can lead to team performance decline. Our research aimed to examine whether a potential negative impact of working virtually on overall team functioning can be mitigated, or even reversed, by the team’s work design.”

Smarter teams

The researchers were able to identify instances where virtuality did not result in the functioning of the team, and indeed instances where working virtually seemed to enhance team performances.  The key appeared to be how work was designed, with elements such as job autonomy, feedback and social support crucial in the best performing virtual teams.

Feedback, for instance, was invaluable in reducing the negative consequences of the lower interactivity common in virtual environments, whereas higher autonomy supported team members in switching between various communication channels.  Social support was vital in compensating for the lack of trust and cohesion that we so often get from physical team work.  Last, but not least, task interdependence was also vital, as this was found to boost the motivation, creativity and learning of team members.

“We found that when teams have more complex, ambiguous, non-routine, and pressured tasks, it is quite challenging to achieve high levels of performance as a virtual team,” the authors conclude.  “It is especially important in these more difficult situations to provide support and autonomy to virtual teams so they can work together well as a team.”