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Virtual Teams A Very Real Proposition |
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Written by Paul Bacon
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Getting the most from global dispersion
It may surprise you all to learn that I am not an expert in geography. However, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that the world is getting smaller. Of course, I am not talking about physical parameters - it is still a very long way from my apartment in Tianjin to the house where I grew up in England. Rather, I have in mind the rapid development of technology and the way in which it has made global communication faster and easier, removing boundaries and rendering borders irrelevant.
Geographically dispersed teams are on the rise, and increasingly their focus is shifting east. The fact that you are most likely reading this article whilst sat in your office at a multinational organisation in China is testament to this. The traffic heading east is also beginning to be matched by Chinese companies expanding into western markets, with Haier and Lenovo being obvious examples of this. The expansion, both eastward and westward, coupled with rapid developments in communication technology means that today, more than ever, you are increasingly likely to be dealing with geographically dispersed teams, and this situation is only likely to grow in the coming years. To illustrate this change I need just to think back to my first job after graduating from university. This may have been a mere five years ago, but the contrast to today is stark. Back then the majority of my colleagues were - physically at least - much closer. They were all sat at desks just a few meters away. For many organisations today this is no longer the case. The shift from ‘location' driven teams to geographically dispersed or ‘virtual' teams is typical of modern business. Considering the majority of Network HR readers come from multinational organisations I guess that you already have a fair understanding of what I am talking about.
New World, New Challenges
With teams spread across the globe, HR faces a whole new set of challenges. Building a conventional ‘location-oriented' team is a relatively simple process. Team-members experience plenty of ‘face time', which allows them to strike-up friendships and forge deep understandings of what makes each other tick. Virtual teams are different. Building them and developing key relationships is not so simple. With a virtual team you are taking a giant step into the unknown - an information abyss. Therefore, the pertinent question here is how can you begin to fill this void and develop those key relationships?
The first factor is trust, which we can examine in two distinct ways: cognitive trust and affective trust. A 2006 report, The Psychology of Effective Business Communications in Geographically Dispersed Teams, commissioned by Cisco Systems explained these as follows "Cognitive trust refers to the calculative and rational characteristics of others, such as reliability, integrity, competence, and professionalism. Affective trust involves the emotional aspects and social skills of others, e.g. the care and concern for the welfare of others and an emotional connection." I like to think of the two as ‘trusting with your head' and ‘trusting with your heart' - both are vital to forging a strong unified team.
Communication Duality
It goes without saying that clear communication will be the key to the success or failure of your virtual team. However, we need to examine communication in two ways: (i) task-oriented communication (ii) social contact. HR can help with both of these. Task oriented communication is where HR can focus upon building cognitive trust. A HR manager can set the ball rolling by showing members of the team that their new colleagues are well qualified and extremely capable. It may be tempting in this situation to go for the most advanced technological options you have at your disposal. However, it is important to remember that the people rather than the technology are the key factors in a virtual team. Therefore at times a low-tech approach can be just as productive. A simple email with information about each teammember, detailing their qualifications, work-experience and even positive testimony from managers and co-workers will go a long way to forming a strong base.
Introductions by email also avoid two major hurdles in virtual team building. The first is time. Let's use the example of Chinese automotive producer Chery. They have facilities in countries as widespread and diverse as Uzbekistan, Iran, Uruguay, Russia, Indonesia and Egypt. When it is 3pm in Beijing its 4am in Montevideo, 9am in Cairo and 12pm in Tashkent, so no matter what technological solutions they have, direct communication is not so straight forward. I am sure staff at Chery could also tell us a lot about another obstacle virtual team building. During the course of my Business English training for ClarkMorgan I spend lots of time training Chinese staff on telephone and teleconference skills. Almost every time I do so, I hear a comment similar to this "I have no problem speaking with native English speakers like those in the US and UK, but I find it difficult to understand colleagues from India, or South America." You can bet that in Buenos Aires and Bangalore they are also probably saying the same thing about Beijing. Written English, of course, is free of such potential stumbling blocks and therefore makes great tool for introductions.
Affective Team Building
Helping to develop cognitive trust is important for HR. However, if you wish to build affective trust within your team, then you need to focus your team building talents on social contact. With your local team here in China I am sure you set aside time for relationship building. A virtual team has the same need for this, but theirs' is exacerbated by the lack of everyday direct contact. Because your virtual team does not have the opportunity to chit-chat at lunchtime or shoot the breeze during a tea-break, you need to factor a way of socializing into their schedule.
"Virtual team building is like swimming. When you learn to swim you can begin in the shallow end, but as you get more comfortable you move deeper and begin to get more from your experience."
How do you go about this? Again, an introductory email is a great start. This time though, you can try to be more detailed. The issue here is finding common ground. Team members may have different cultures, different values and different native languages, but it is also probable that they will also share at least some hobbies, interests or similarities. HR can cultivate these by circulating a questionnaire via email asking staff about themselves. This can include questions on hobbies, family and any other information your team feels happy to share. This way each member can read through the information at their own leisure and see what they have in common with each of their new counterparts. We did something similar at ClarkMorgan, where our team is dispersed in seven cities across China. Our HR executive, Audraie Lecocq - who I am sure you know from our excellent ‘Ask Audraie' section - asked us to complete a one-page Microsoft Word document telling each other about our hometown, hobbies, family and life in China. We all also attached photos of ourselves involved in our respective hobbies. From this I learned that Kobe Li, one of account managers in Guangzhou, loves disco dancing and basketball; that our co-founder and HR Director Andy Clark comes from the same county (province) as I in England and that our Beijing manager Jeff Lunz is a keen shopper.
In at the Deep End
An email can work well as a good introduction and can go a long way to establishing cognitive trust. However, to really develop affective trust and to forge strong inter-personal relationships you need to ensure your communication options are as ‘deep' as possible. What do I mean by ‘deep'? Well, I am referring to the variety of communication technology that you put at your employees' disposal. For instance, emails can be great because they are cheap, easy and not limited by time concerns. However, written forms of communication, such as email, sms messaging and instant messengers like msn or QQ are what I would term a ‘shallow' type of media because all they offer are words on the page. Deeper communication gives you more, such as verbal and visual connections. Virtual team building is like swimming. When you learn to swim you can begin in the shallow end, but as you get more comfortable you move deeper and begin to get more from your experience.
Most observers and managers tend to emphasise the importance of deeper communication mediums in task-related areas, but not for relationship building. This, quite simply, is wrong. In doing this, organisations are overlooking the fact that a team whose members trust each other both with their head and their heart is consequently far more likely to perform better in task related areas. At ClarkMorgan we often deliver training which focuses on how you communicate your message. We tell our trainees that when they stand face-to face with someone only 7% of the information stored by the brain comes from the actual words spoken - 38% comes from voice quality and 55% from visual cues. For instance just think what your voice says about you. If your words are delivered with energy and enthusiasm then your respondent is likely to feel just how invested you are in the conversation. Conversely if you use dulcet, boring tones the impression you create is reversed. Words on a page simply cannot communicate the type of warmth needed to build a strong relationship.
I am sure you have heard this old idiom, "a picture says a thousand words." This is so true for your virtual team. Providing them with visual communication will make it far easier for them to see deeper into each other's personalities and to forge the relationships and trust you need to them to have. Just think how much information your facial expression communicates about you. A big beaming smile or a harsh scowl say so much before you even open your mouth. Caroline Shearsmith, author of the Cisco Systems study, emphasised the impact that a wider variety of communication techniques can have on a virtual team "Relationship and trust problems could be alleviated via richer media used more often. This will simulate some of the proximity and casual conversations that would happen in an office around the water cooler." An example I like to use to illustrate the importance of ‘deep' communications is sense of humour. In a location driven team, in-jokes and shared office humour are big parts of building a strong team. Transferring this to your virtual team would be fantastic. However, you need to remember that with written communication you lose the tones of voice and facial expressions that let other people know you are joking.
Swimming in to the Sunset
As you put down this magazine and begin to think about your globally dispersed staff, I would to leave you one final thought. Imagine you are in Hainan. The sun is shining, the sea is blue and a gentle cool breeze is flitting through your hair. Now imagine walking into the sea - it is clear and warm. As you get deeper you kick your legs and begin to swim towards the horizon. Now, think about sending out clear and accurate information to establish cognitive trust, before then offering ‘deeper' communication tools to your staff to ensure they build the perfect virtual team.
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