Virtual Teams - the way of the future
You have probably heard it said somewhere:
"Labour costs are 60% less over there and we can get as many skilled people as we want. We must Offshore this development and that support service - it will save us loads!"
We wish the reality was that simple.
There are very real and important benefits from building Virtual and Remote Teams, including:
- Access to the best resources wherever they are
- Rapid involvement of the right people
- Team sizes can be scaled up or down quickly
- Enhanced productivity - using the right people in the right roles
- Recruitment and retention can be improved as can work-life balance
- Effective strategic alliances across organisations
- Closeness to the customer
- Responsiveness - "follow the sun" continuos capability
- Reduced fixed capital overheads - less prime cost real estate
- Potential for lower net labour costs
However
- You cannot manage in the same old way
- Time and money must be invested in building and maintaining relationships
- Communication is more complex and totally critical
- "Command and Control" approaches will not work with remote control
- Mistakes, misunderstandings and rework are inevitable
- Cultural differences are amplified
- Team Leaders and team members need different attitudes and competences