MANILA, Philippines--Advances in technology have paved the way for different modes of doing and organizing work. Coordinating and working with co-workers without meeting face-to-face is now a reality for more organizations. But how does one manage virtual teams?

The Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (Ateneo CORD) asked three Filipino managers to shed light on the challenges that they faced in managing virtual teams and the management practices that they consider to be valuable in ensuring their effectiveness.

Ensure clarity of objectives and accountability of team members


According to one manager, managing virtual teams boils down to having clear objectives and knowing how to communicate. He points out that having clear objectives makes the division of work easier. Managing a global virtual team demands that processes are setup and that people have a hand in determining what these processes will be. Deliverables and schedules have to be laid down clearly as well.

Pay attention to team composition


It is especially important to find the right mix of people for the team. Having someone in charge keeping tabs on everything and effectively relaying information to others is important. The selection of individual team members is vital, too. Although people can be good technically, this does not ensure that they would be good communicators. This means that not everybody is cut out for virtual work, with its long hours, the need to cope with the demand of learning how to communicate virtually and the fact that members must work independently. Thus, it is important to choose team members who are self-motivated.

Information systems support


Clearly, a virtual team needs support in terms of sharing and storing information. Some of these are readily available through standardized software development protocols. Special attention should be paid to security issues as well. The virtual manager has to be knowledgeable in these to ensure that the team can work effectively.

Adjusting management style


The management style of the leader in a virtual team might also considerably change, especially when team members are culturally different. The virtual manager should be culture sensitive. It is also important that the virtual manager acts as a coach rather than a director, perhaps because virtual team members are more independent when it comes to getting their work done. A manager should make it a point to look out for people's work-life balance by negotiating schedules and upholding rules such as making sure meetings have an agenda and that people stick to the allotted teleconferencing time.

Capability building


Training people on conducting work virtually is, likewise, important. Some programs that are helpful are trainings on handling conference calls and writing e-mails that are short and to the point. To maintain a balance between work and family, employees can be encouraged to work from home depending on their set-up.

Teambuilding


Setting face-to-face get-togethers at least once a year, especially if the team is a permanent one, that is, working together for more than three months, also help alleviate the feeling of isolation for team members. Although work can indeed be accomplished with no physical interaction, personal familiarity with their virtual teammates somewhat makes the workload lighter. Familiarity helps when conflicts and disagreements within the team occur. A manager adds that when disagreements happen over the phone, it will be hard to mend working relationships if the personal relationship is not that strong. Worse, the whole team might suffer.

Nevertheless, holding team-building sessions can be expensive, though, so virtual team-building can be an alternative. PowerPoint presentations accompanied by pictures of team members broadcast over the network using a popular teleconferencing client is one creative form of virtual team building. Making and sharing casual videos is another way.

It is clear that virtual teams present management challenges beyond those that traditional work teams encounter. Virtual teams require leaders who have the ability to manage different cultures, are sensitive to team dynamics, are creative in building team cohesion despite the separation in space and time. In an increasingly technologically driven society, leaders may soon have no choice but to step up to the unique challenge of managing virtual teams.

(Villaluz is a graduate of the M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology program of the Ateneo de Manila University , Khanser is Director of the Capitol University Research and Extension Office in Cagayan de Oro City. This article is an abridged version of a study featured in Leading Philippine Organizations in a Changing World [Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2008]. Feedback at ateneocord@admu.edu.ph.)