As technology evolves, companies need to adapt to those changes to continue to be successful. There are many benefits to utilizing virtual teams. The article, “Why Virtual Teams Are The Future Of Workplace Culture” stated that, “In order to understand how the virtual teams are becoming the future, it is important aspect to know the eminent business sense they make, for organizations.” One being that you can find the right talent anywhere in the world. It can be hard to be moving people to one central location to all work, so this saves companies money and all the hassle by letting people work from where they are already located. Using virtual teams is more reliable than outsourcing because when outsourcing, the organization/ company does not have direct control over the quality and performance. Virtual teams and technology in general is a game changer for the workplace. It has helped with companies’ efficiency and staying connected to your co-workers. The article also stated that, “technology and accessibility to global talent has made it possible to make this a sustainable phenomenon of having offshore employees.” This helps show that this isn’t just a short-term impact of virtual teams becoming a more prominent presence, they are sustainable.
This can also help attract future employees by how companies can offer them flexibility and empowerment. They won’t have to travel frequently or to far places, because they can stay local. If they see these aspects of your company, it’ll make your company more appealing.
This connects to what we discussed in class about virtual teams and virtual enterprise collaborations being the future of work. HP and Microsoft are just two examples of companies that are using virtual collaboration solutions. They are doing this through file sharing, cloud storage, workflow tools, and video conferencing.
Source:
https://inc42.com/entrepreneurship/virtual-teams-future/
I agree that Virtual Teams are essential to the future of innovative workplaces. They foster innovation through a dynamic, efficient and productive workspace all online. These are especially beneifical to new startups because of the lack of immediete funding and office space. Also, like you said, you have access to a global network of talented people. By embracing the technology and new means of starting a business, startups may find even more success. I agree that the idea of virtual teams may just be the future of the workplace. However, the issue is that alot of the disadvantages may potentially outweigh the advantages. Since the virtual environment is so secluded, it may lead to employee’s feeling “alienation or disconnected.” There can be alot of miscommunication within digital media. You are missing out on social cues and gaining people skills. This may hinder the entire business, which relies on effective communication. Another issue is that there may be a lack of productivity. Though this doesnt go for everyone, if your sitting in a comfortable, safe home environment, people may not feel inclined to work as hard since theyre not being monitered. There are so many advantages and disadvantages to virtual teams, but your over arching statement does still reign true in my opinion. The truth is that we are moving out of old business practices, and we need to start adapting to the digital environment.
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional-development/blog/challenges-managing-virtual-teams-and-how-overcome-them
I agree that virtual teams have many benefits. It reduces costs for employees because of reduced travel expenses for employees, allows employees greater flexibility, and also allows employers more flexibility in who to hire. Many times employers can only hire those who are in close proximity but virtual teams allows employers to hire across the country or even internationally. Today’s technology makes virtual teams possible because there are many platforms that allow people to work together from wherever they may be located. Some examples would be Microsoft Teams, Skype, and google drive. Virtual teams does have some disadvantages. Some people prefer in-person interactions because it creates a more in depths and more meaningful interaction. Communication through technology does not allow people to get to know each other as well and could potentially effect the work they produce.
I love the aspect of virtual teams. It can reduce the carbon footprint if average workers who do not have to take unnecessary commutes to the location of their work ALL the time. It can also be more convenient in the aspect of not getting anyone sick. If a worker is sick they do not have to physically be in a meeting or at work, but can be virtual teams and get the work done from home. Virtual teams can also give you a broader access to different talents from all over the world instead of a company having to search for potential that might no be as efficient or effective locally. Virtual teams always consist of people who are professions in different fields that come together to get a project done so it’s not always virtual teams that are large groups. They infact are associated and known for being small teams. They can greatly improve business in those aspects of driving a company forward.
I agree with this article that virtual teams are the future for the workplace, and thinking about it even further, it can be the future for several different things. Virtual teams make it easier for companies to recruit future employees, as well as making it easier for establishing meetings. I do agree that nothing beats physical interactions when it comes to interviewing job candidates, however the idea of virtual teams makes life easier for the people conducting interviews and meetings. Virtual teams also make it more convenient for employees to discuss work related information while in different geographical settings. If a group of five employees have to accomplish a work project, then virtual teams allows them to work on it from their own homes or locations instead of them all traveling to the same office.
While virtual teams could be the way of the future, there are some cons with this concept that could effect the effectiveness of the job. WIFI reliability is probably the number one issue that could cause problems with virtual teams. Since different employees will be talking from different locations, each WIFI router they are connected with could be weaker than the other ones that are being used.
Virtual teams has the potential to be the future for communication in the workforce as long as technology keeps on increasing and developing
In addition to virtual teams being used for project collaboration in the workplace, we also see forms of this being used in the hiring process. Many companies now are relying on other virtual tools to help them select candidates from their massive pool of applicants. Some of these tools include personality test screening, cognitive tests, even coding and other forms for technical tests to get a better sense of their applicants without the need for additional effort from the recruiting staff. Although this causes concerns for those applicants that appreciate a face-to-face interaction with their potential employer, this doesn’t completely dispose of the need for human consideration. Just like a virtual team dynamic, where technology simply provides a means of communication, hiring procedures that utilize some sort of virtual test also optimizes resources by relying on technology to get rid of unnecessary interactions. If perhaps you have gone this far without coming across some of these tools, will you be prepared for the day where your work relies on it?
https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/interview-hire-virtual-team-01936775
Virtual teams are truly the future of the work place. Many people disagree and say the lack of face to face communication and interactions take away from true communication and a truly connected workplace environment. That is a valid point. Communication in the workplace is very important and could help build as well as ease if necessary workplace relationships and friendships. It is also easier to build bonds and connections with coworkers and their bosses. There’s really nothing like human interaction. However, in a growing technological age you have to see the benefits of technology first, especially when more than likely your competitors are already on it. Virtual teams are beneficial, like we said in class, through the lack of money you need to allocate towards real estate, a bigger hiring pool, and more diverse candidates. One major disadvantage is lack of cultural communication but due to the increased revenue you are bring in and saving, it would be smart for companies to allocate that money to their employees to have them meet a couple times a month to get to know each other and eliminate those miscommunications.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertsher/2019/10/02/making-virtual-teams-feel-like-theyre-in-the-same-room-the-appneta-approach/#4e2df95918bb
The idea of virtual teams in the workplace has been an ongoing discussion. There are many ways in the workplace on how you are able to collaborate with a team. Some say that face to face communication is the most effective and others disagree. Communications can be found to misinterpreted sometimes if not communicated properly. It is very important to be able to be vocal with your ideas. People believe that having a diverse group of people helps gets their ideas out there. That is why many people like using virtual teams because it brings a lot of different people together. However, there are some times where ideas come up in the spur in the moment and it is easier to communicate in person with someone. It also would be easier to do in person because sometimes there could be a time-zone difference which would very hard to make deadlines.Those are some pros and cons on using virtual teams in the workplace.
https://us.experteer.com/magazine/what-are-the-challenges-of-working-in-virtual-teams/
While I do agree that face-to-face interaction is more effective and personable, virtual teams and interactions are here to stay. It has its disadvantages and loopholes, but with technology and time, we’re overcoming these challenges. Virtual teams are becoming more popular as businesses are able to cut down office space costs and interact with talented people in the field. Instead of reverting back to the old, traditional ways of doing business, this article addresses that we face right now in virtual teams which are communication, trust, and productivity and provides solutions in order to be able to resolve these problems to make virtual teams a successful concept. Virtual teams is becoming a widely accepted way of running businesses nowadays, and it will only get better with technology and effort.
“When you overcome the challenges, you’ll enjoy the rewards of leading a cohesive virtual team—i.e. setting goals and reaching them; watching your team members develop and lean into their strengths; and benefiting from a healthy team dynamic that ensures the right decisions are made and implemented” says Julie Wilson, founder of the Institute for Future Learning and instructor at Harvard University.
Source: https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional-development/blog/challenges-managing-virtual-teams-and-how-overcome-them
I agree that virtual team can bring many advantages to a business. However, some weaknesses need to be considering when creating virtual teams for businesses. The largest weakness is that lack of strong relationship. Employees in virtual environment where does not encourage communication may lead to conflict and inefficient teamwork. A virtual team may potentially hurt companies’ reputation that people would think them are “unreal” companies and lose the trust from potential customers. The security and compliance are also potential threats to virtual teams, such as accidentally losing data or releasing data to public (Advantages and disadvantages of a Virtual Team). These accidents can lead to serious consequence in certain industries, like health care. As students above mentioned, virtual team allows employees work in different locations and different times which is an advantage of virtual team; however, it would be difficult to notify all employees when a technology issue happens, and to take actions.
Resource: https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/virtual-workplace/advantages-disadvantages
I commented on this post but forgot to add my source.
Source: https://hbr.org/2014/12/getting-virtual-teams-right
At my summer internship, I had the opportunity to work with people from all over the globe and I was able to do this through a software that allows for Virtual Teams known as WebEx. Each week, people from all over the world and in countries such as Argentina, Canada, China, Japan, and the US would get on team calls that went over the past week’s progress, highs, lows, things could be changed and done better, and future action items. Personally, I had a great and seamless experience working with Virtual Teams as an intern and got to learn about other work cultures and how they differ from ours in the United States. Cultural experience is definitely one of the most important things that I gained and constantly look back on.
After doing some research on the web, I learned about what makes Virtual Teams such a success. Many things need to take place in order for it to work. The people that comprise the team should have high emotional intelligence, good communication skills, and an ability to work independently. The team should also have 10 people or less because this is the optimal number for a team to get work done efficiently that does not meet in person. Also, each person in the team should have a distinct role in the team environment but should be willing to be open and share responsibilities.
While having the right team is important, it is also imperative to have the right leadership. Some of the most important things to keep in mind when leading a Virtual Team is to foster trust, encourage an open and inclusive dialogue, have actionable goals and guidelines, and overall, just be an inclusive leader and team player all in one. In summary, I have learned a lot about Virtual Teams through personal experience and research and am excited for more integration of it in the workplace.
As the company’s coverage continues to expand, virtual teams have become a development trend, many companies have established their own virtual teams, they tend to be small, but team members span multiple different geographies, because the virtual team is in different regions, unlike the traditional team, everyone can see each other. Therefore, the virtual team needs a complete system of team structure, communication mechanism, division of responsibilities and work quality assurance, to ensure that the team’s work goes smoothly, I think this will be a difficult point, but I really like the virtual team, which will become a new way of our future job!
Source: https://hbr.org/2014/12/getting-virtual-teams-right
I agree that virtual teams can have many benefits. Virtual team is an emerging new age trend that can help make businesses today grow and become successful. As you stated one main advantage of virtual teams is the major cost savings. This is true, avoiding the huge expenses on real estate such as spaces, utilities, and electricity, can all add up. However, there is also a cost of technology. The only way to communicate and to have a successful virtual team is to have technology. Messaging and videoconferences, to name a few, must be supported by an efficient use of technology installation, which can get expensive.
Another great advantage of virtual teams is the ability for organizations to higher outside of their country’s origin. This can really expand on organization on many levels. One being a diverse variety of different skills. This can majorly benefit a business on their increased knowledge and innovations. However, there are some disadvantages to this as well. Working with others through only technology can create conflicts, lack of trust and collaboration. There could be language barriers that cause miscommunication. Face to face interactions have so much more depth and meaning to it that communicating through technology lacks the verbal cues. Having friendly relationships with coworkers creates a bond and trust that can make a business very strong and successful.
Overall Virtual teams are a great way for a business to grow and prosper. There may be some disadvantages, but virtual teams open up much more opportunities. This is just a new trend that has only just gotten started so there is much time and room for future improvements.
Source: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/virtual-teams-advantages-and-disadvantages.htm