Top Challenges of Managing a Virtual Team
Top Challenges of Managing a Virtual Team
Global virtual teams add plenty of value to projects, but the challenges of managing a group of global professionals are unique.
Devoted Effort
Survey respondents say that 85% of their organization’s employees serve on global virtual teams, and nearly 20% of these employees spend more than half of their day interacting with team members.
Multi-Team Tasking
22% of survey respondents participate on at least four global, virtual teams.
Essential Element
85% said virtual teamwork is critical to their productivity, with 54% indicating it is “extremely” critical.
Eclectic Asset
79% said their virtual team capitalizes on its cultural diversity, with 21% indicating this statement is “extremely” true.
Missing Standard
Only 28% said their virtual teams have a charter for high performance.
Under-Educated
Just 22% have received training to increase productivity while serving on a virtual team.
Top “Extremely Beneficial” Forms of Communications Among Virtual Team Members
Regular face-to-face meetings: 51%, Video-conferencing: 37%, Conference calls: 34%
Cloud Connection
37% of survey respondents use online meeting platforms at least half of the time.
Seldom Seen
41% said they never meet their virtual team members in person, and 28% said they do so only once a year.
Remote Issues, Part I
51% said a lack of face-to-face contact with team members makes it challenging to understand the full context of what people are communicating, and 48% said it can make it difficult to manage conflict.
Remote Issues, Part II
45% said a lack of face-to-face contact with team members makes it challenging to establish trust and build relationships, while 39% said it makes it hard to have an effective dialogue.
