www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: Welcome to “A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams, Bringing Reality to Your VT. Hi my name is Yael Zofi. I am the speaker for today. I will highlight several techniques from my research work and my latest book which has the same title as this presentation: A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams. Many of you work in the virtual environment and know that it is important to keep communication lines open and make colleagues aware of your own availability and workload. ASK: But what happens when you can’t see your colleagues and they can’t see you? The virtual world lacks context. Which brings up some challenges, such as What happens when one or more of your team members) do not respond? How do you engage your excessive multi taskers and “Lost” or “Silent” riders, and by that I mean those members who may stop responding to your emails and phone calls, and, of course you cannot stop by their desk? SAY: Of course, be careful to not mistakenly label someone as a ‘lost’ or ‘silent’ rider which we will talk about later in this presentation. [CLICK for next slide: About the Speaker]
Current: Virtual Teams Expert & Cross Cultural Coach Founder & CEO, AIM Strategies® Professor at New York University
Prior: Global VP of LD/PMP with J.P. Morgan Change Mgt with PwC & Accenture
Selected Clients: AT&T, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase, CIGNA, Nokia, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, MetLife, Philips, SG & Viacom
Featured In: Forbes, CNBC, Business Week, Silicon Valley Business Journal, Wall Street Journal, Halogen Talent Management, Harvard Business Review, Watch IT TV, Blog Talk Radio, Investors Business Daily, Life Meets Work, Selling Power, Mind Tools, Ezine, Execunet, All Business, Entrepreneur & Bloomberg.com
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: Virtual team arrangements have become increasingly popular as companies rethink their human capital resources and real estate expenditures. The virtual team is only the latest accommodation to the realities that govern work process. The virtual team is unique, however, because the most appropriate expertise is pulled together from many locations and even organizations—and yet team members may never meet in person. With virtual work arrangements recruiting talent and expertise is possible, regardless of where people are based. SAY: Here are some benefits of virtual teams (Page 3 of A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams) Technology Enablers Online communication capabilities and technologies are continuously improving virtual team operations. Among the key enabling technologies are mobile devices, text messaging, instant messaging, cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS), file and application sharing, electronic bulletin/message boards, group decision support systems, real-time calendar/scheduling systems, and e-mail. Online learning, distance learning, and e-learning software enable learning anywhere, anytime. Virtual business networking (LinkedIn) and social networking sites (Facebook) and video/web conferencing further increase online communication. Technology memory recording tools track every step of complex processes; keeping records (documentation) and learning from past processes enables speed (doing things faster) and memory (preserve shared experience). Document management systems enable online libraries for information sharing, thus saving space and time. Cost Considerations Cutting down on personnel, office space (real estate), infrastructure, furniture, and supplies that are no longer needed saves money. In high-rent cities, businesses can rent shared office space on an as-needed basis with all amenities, including reception, support staff, technology, and telecom services. Virtual teams eliminate the need for having dedicated conference meeting space and on-site training facilities, and related travel and accommodations costs. Environmental benefits include reduced commuter gas consumption and a smaller carbon footprint. Think green! People Expertise Global workforce means talent is anywhere and everywhere—and the workforce is mobile. Expertise is available and can be outsourced for numerous functions (web design, blog development, search engine optimization (SEO), advertising, technical media/financial writing, technical market research, administrative, public relations, marketing, and sales support).
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: After taking a look at your virtual teams survey results. Many of you said your biggest challenges in a virtual team were Ineffective communication Working from home Information management
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
DISCUSS THE TRENDS DRIVING INCREASED COLLABORATION. Describe the four main trends and ask for comments. Ask participants to identify which trends are affecting their WP now. Instructor’s Note: Be prepared to give examples. (Refer to the “Trends Driving VTs” section for additional information.) Globalization of business: �- Growth of cross-boundary strategic partnerships�- outsourcing work to vendors Workforce demands: �- Need for rapid innovation to keep up with the speed of change�- need for cost reductions and greater efficiencies�- need to create greater value for customers Behavior and expectations of younger colleagues: �- Less and less people are willing to put up with the idea that an employee is a “production unit” �- Looking for a function that provides also fulfillment and meaning Technology and social media: �- Technology accelerates the speed of change�- advances in collaborative technology create new opportunities for collaboration Facilitate a discussion. Transition: These generations pose another trend – CAN BE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO A VT (tie into next slide) NOTE TO FACILITATOR: Facilitate discussion here about sharing information – what is driving collaboration ASK: Now people want to share information also: new generation what are their expectation and collaboration? DISCUSS: generational Differences (pull from SMP) ANSWER: young generations participate into web + social media sharing done virtually more accustomed info readily available. TELL STORY from my experience about people text rather then call/communicate Research shown: people expect to have information
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: AMGTVTs P. 7-8 of Book Definition of VT – across the street, or across the world (50 foot rule, 15 meter): A VT is a team – whether across the street or across the world – whose members simultaneously work together (to a common purpose) while physically apart. SAY: Teams have always existed as long as organizations have formed. What’s different now is that you don’t necessarily sit next to your colleague. So the definition has changed. POINT OUT: In fact, for my book I interviewed 150+ VT managers/Members and there was not 1 consistent definition for what is a VIRTUAL TEAM. SAY: many people define VTs as (Book P. 11 – Kinds of teams): Remote, Dispersed, Project Teams, Parallel teams, Service teams, Offshore teams – etc. POINT OUT ABOUT CLIENT: Even when I spoke to several of you during the calls planning this session, folks use words like REMOTE, DISPERSED, GLOBAL BUT: TEAMS have always existed - - - THEN & NOW… TRANSITION: before we jump into details, I would like to show you a video on TEAMS THEN AND NOW that depicts where we have been and where we are going - - - impacting ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES (not just at work). And - - - this is the ‘NEW NORMAL’ for many organizations as we will see later with the research and data . [CLICK for next slide: Teamwork video] �CLICK to play the video [Click for next slide: Question regarding teamwork]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: AMGTVTs P. 7-8 of Book Definition of VT – across the street, or across the world (50 foot rule, 15 meter): A VT is a team – whether across the street or across the world – whose members simultaneously work together (to a common purpose) while physically apart. SAY: Teams have always existed as long as organizations have formed. What’s different now is that you don’t necessarily sit next to your colleague. So the definition has changed. POINT OUT: In fact, for my book I interviewed 150+ VT managers/Members and there was not 1 consistent definition for what is a VIRTUAL TEAM. SAY: many people define VTs as (Book P. 11 – Kinds of teams): Remote, Dispersed, Project Teams, Parallel teams, Service teams, Offshore teams – etc. POINT OUT ABOUT CLIENT: Even when I spoke to several of you during the calls planning this session, folks use words like REMOTE, DISPERSED, GLOBAL BUT: TEAMS have always existed - - - THEN & NOW… TRANSITION: before we jump into details, I would like to show you a video on TEAMS THEN AND NOW that depicts where we have been and where we are going - - - impacting ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES (not just at work). And - - - this is the ‘NEW NORMAL’ for many organizations as we will see later with the research and data . [CLICK for next slide: Teamwork video] �CLICK to play the video [Click for next slide: Question regarding teamwork]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
(10 min) POINT OUT: AIM Strategies ® conducted a STUDY in 2010 on 150 VT managers and members. These interviewees were from various industries; each spoke about different elements and topics surrounding VT management. Based on this data, AIM Strategies ® recognized trends that exist with many VTs. SAY: Data from these interviews helped to formulate elements of my book, A Managers’ Guide To Virtual Teams & the stories and scenarios VT managers shared come to life in the book Feel free to download a free copy of the data on my website: aim-strategies.com or my blog aim-strategies.com/blog FOR NEXT TIME: Might want to mention that the complete study is available and free to DL on my website or via my blog TRANSITION: Of particular interest were several interesting trends. .. [click for next slide: Virtual Team Trends]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Work with anyone, anywhere, anytime Average length of time in one job – US 4 years* More flex time requests Flex location incentives Increase in remote team members – skills recruitment Trust is now TASK based over interpersonal Technology * Center for Health & Sciences, July, 2013
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
65% 52% of virtual team members work
beyond business hours
prefer face-to-face communication
85% see virtual teams becoming increasingly prevalent
90% have team-wide meetings at least once a week
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: 52% of VT members work beyond the hours associated with a typical work day. Not only do members work outside normal business hours to fulfill their own responsibilities given the many phone calls and/or meetings that occur during the workday, they also participate in conference calls with teammates across the globe during early mornings and late evening 65% prefer face-to-face communication to virtual communication as a way to improve relationships. 85% see virtual teams as becoming increasingly prevalent in the near future. 90% of teams in our study held meetings each week, while some met team-wide 3 or more times per week. The speed of communication and timelines of deliverables vary significantly as compared to onsite teams. � Transition: We can infer, based on the studies, that communication is important and the absence of human interaction in a virtual world can cause team dysfunction. Let us look at variables that cannot be changed for instance, time zones. [click for NEXT SLIDE: Every Time Is Your Time Zone charts]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
13%
18%
31%
31%
44%
52%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Isolation
Multitasking
Constant Meetings
Workload Awareness
Communication
Work Round the Clock
Challenges on a Virtual Team
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Trend 1: Communicating When Every Time Zone Is Your Time Zone SAY: Globalization creates work-life balance challenges and lead to burnout if not managed carefully. POINT OUT: Inefficient communication lead to increase overhead cost and conflict. MENTION THAT: Balancing the right amount of information sharing without reaching information overload was tricky, as some members found themselves in constant meetings or swamped with hundreds of emails a day, and didn’t have enough time to complete certain tasks. CONCLUDE WITH: The biggest challenges to virtual teams were: Working around the clock, communication, workload awareness, and constant meetings. TRANSITION: The second chart in the next slide discusses the difficulty in working with lack of F2F interactions. [click for next slide: Building Human Connection]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
24%
27%
37%
65%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Forming Phase
Conflict
Communication
Relationship
Interactions that Benefit from Face-to-Face Communication
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Trend 2: Building A Human Connection While Replacing Hallway Chats FACILITATOR NOTE: Need to make a point about the core of human relationships is about the human connection. Technology can connect us through the medium, but need to connect, to create a community SAY: Little F2F interaction goes a long way. Some felt that the lack of opportunity for informal interaction, like hallway chats, made it harder for them to develop close relationships with their co-workers. IMPORTANT POINT: Just one in-person meeting drastically improved all areas of interaction, more than recovering the cost of travel through the subsequent increase in efficiency and performance. MENTION THAT: Many teams found it to be valuable to meet in person at least once or twice a year, particularly during the forming phase of a new team. Some respondents said that meeting colleagues for the first time helped them resolve pre-existing conflicts - indicating that human interaction is a strong bond. TRANSITION: And finally, English, even though we all speak the same business language, can get ‘lost in translation’ [click for next slide Interactions Lost in Translation]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Sources of Conflict
4%
4%
4%
6%
8%
13%
21%
33%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
PhoneCommunication
MisunderstandCulture
Lack of Trust
No Face-to-Face
WrittenCommunication
Interpretation ofLanguage
InconsistentExpectations
Miscommunication
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Trend 3: Conflict – When Conflict Arises, VT Members Do Not Hide Behind Their Screen SAY: During conflicts, its easier for Virtual Teams to avoid resolving the issue, however 93% of participants stipulated that confronting conflict was not only important but key for successful performance. PAUSE AND THEN SAY THAT: Most common sources of conflict were miscommunication of information and inconsistent expectations of quality or team norms. MENTION THAT: The preferred technique for handling conflict was a phone call, as opposed to video, even in extreme conflicts. And yet while using the phone was the most common technique, 18% of respondents highlighted that email should not be used to defuse conflict, as opposed 2% who advocated email use. POINT OUT: More importantly 18% of VTs and managers suggest the use of mediation as a tool for resolving conflicts.
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
10%
40%
45%
47%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Accents
Time Zones
Cultural Differences
Problems with English
Global Obstacles
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Trend 3: Cross Cultural Communication – Lost In Translation SAY: The mixture of cultures in the work-environment steered various obstacles for VT members. The most common difficulty pertains to differences in understanding of language. Which includes different levels of competency as well as different interpretations. POINT OUT THAT: Understanding and being aware of cultural differences can alleviate conflict and improve relationship. MENTION THAT: Once the team members began learning about their colleagues’ cultures and became comfortable communicating across time zones, they reported improved performance. �TRANSITION: … [click for next slide: Additional research – currently available about VTs - next]
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved. Source: IDC, 2011
Source: TechCast (June 2013)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
By 2015, 1.3 billion people worldwide will be working remotely, representing almost 40% of the entire global workforce. (IDC, 2011) LINK: _______________________________ IDC
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Source: Dasha (2012 April 06)
Root5 Systemics Research (2013, July)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
1st # SAY: This involves around CCC and VT management that as more and more teams going virtual, CLIENT (SAY THEIR NAME) needs to do this too and succeed by having strong VT management and CCC understanding to smooth VT growth. Data source: people representing companies of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations. Dasha. (2012 April 06) http://www.wrike.com/blog/04/06/2012/The-Past-Present-and-Future-Remote-Collaboration-Where-Does-Your-Team-Stand _______________________________________________________ 2nd # Say: This revolves around the VT management idea that this survey result shows workers are working more and more remotely and it is important for the success of current companies to improve their virtual team management. Data source: (The survey done from corporate websites, graduate theses including by military officers, and academic research) Root5 Systetmics Reasearch (2013, July) http://root5systemics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Virtual-Teams-Survey-13.pdf
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Source: UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2014)
Source: UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2014)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
1st # SAY: This involves around CCC and VT management that as more and more teams going virtual, CLIENT (SAY THEIR NAME) needs to do this too and succeed by having strong VT management and CCC understanding to smooth VT growth. Data source: people representing companies of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations. Dasha. (2012 April 06) http://www.wrike.com/blog/04/06/2012/The-Past-Present-and-Future-Remote-Collaboration-Where-Does-Your-Team-Stand _______________________________________________________ 2nd # Say: This revolves around the VT management idea that this survey result shows workers are working more and more remotely and it is important for the success of current companies to improve their virtual team management. Data source: (The survey done from corporate websites, graduate theses including by military officers, and academic research) Root5 Systetmics Reasearch (2013, July) http://root5systemics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Virtual-Teams-Survey-13.pdf
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Siemens Enterprise Communications (2012, Oct. 24)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: This revolves around the communication tool idea and CCC that email is hard to understand, and that an effective communication medium is important. Data source: Siemens Enterprise Communication (2012 Oct 24) http://www.siemens-enterprise.com/us/Home/Internet/Internet2010/us/Home/about/press-releases.aspx?rs_itemid=39C32C85-9954-4F0D-8502-C856F1281995
www.aim-strategies.com Yael Zofi/AIM Strategies® H2H Connection Copyright AIM Strategies. All Rights Reserved.
Root5 Systemics Research (2013, July)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
SAY: this revolves around the theme of context communication, CCC and the importance of proper VT training. As more and more teams going virtual, ABBOTT needs to consider this too and succeed by having strong VT management and CCC understanding to smooth VT growth. Data source: (The survey done from corporate websites, graduate theses including ones by military officers and academic research) Root5 Systemics Research (2013, July) http://root5systemics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Virtual-Teams-Survey-13.pdf
ASK: Any questions on how to engage your team members in your virtual team? ASK: Or maybe, how to engage your team members in virtual team meetings? Or of something cross cultural related? [click for next slide: Thank you]
