Managing Virtual Teams: Tools, Challenges, and Productivity

This essay discusses the tools required for selecting people of virtual team, challenges in managing virtual teams, and measures to handle those challenges. It also covers how to manage productivity of team along with planning to schedule meetings as well as communication within the team. The essay also defines the leadership principles adopted by virtual leader and how they apply these principles in managing virtual staff members.

M503 Behavioural Competences in
Virtual Teams

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
Describing the tools that will be required for selecting people of virtual team...........................2
Describing challenges in managing the virtual team along with measures to handle those
challenges.....................................................................................................................................4
How to manage productivity of team along with planning to schedule meetings as well as
communication within the team...................................................................................................5
Defining my own leadership principles and how I apply these principles in managing virtual
staff members:..............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The term virtual teams are basically referred as the geographically spread team or can be
also referred as remote team. In this, the leader interacts with his staff members by using suitable
communication and collaboration tools. The members in the virtual teams are connected from
different regions and have diverse skills and knowledge for performing specific type of business
operations. The virtual leader generally practises digital communication tools such as Email,
instant messaging apps, Microsoft meeting, Skype and other type of collaboration tools. The
essay will take Marks and Spencer company into consideration. The firm is the leading British
retailer brand that offers quality product in range of food, clothing as well as homeware. The
organisation is headquartered in Paddington, London and founded in the year 1884. This essay
will describe tools for selecting members of virtual teams. In addition to this, the essay will also
determine challenges in managing virtual teams along with suitable solutions to overcome. It will
also cover the methods for managing productivity of team members and will schedule meetings
and communication within team. It will also discuss the leadership principles adopted by virtual
leader(Petrovskaya and Shaposhnikov, 2020).
MAIN BODY
Describing the tools that will be required for selecting people of virtual team
In order to build the effective virtual team, the leader of Marks and Spencer company
should employee the individuals from diverse specialised backgrounds carrying different sets of
skills and knowledge. Apart from this, the virtual manager needs to be self-motivated,
trustworthy and should be positive enough to take actions of any complex challenges. In order to
decide right selection of workers, the virtual team leader can take the necessary steps with the
support of effective collaboration tools that are discussed below:
Microsoft teams:
This type of virtual communication software is the easy way for initiating the go to video
calling platform(Ashmi and Kumar, 2018). It contains multiple type of features such as screen
sharing, note taking as well as instant messaging. In context to Marks and Spencer company, the
practising of Microsoft team application can allow me to indulge in face to face conversations
for the purpose of selecting the most suitable team members with the right skills and attitude. In
addition to this, this communication tool can support me to connect with all team members and
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have in-depth discussions for making global strategies. The features of this platform helps in
meeting with virtual team members without disrupting smooth flow.
Zoom:
The other communication platform which the company can practise is zoom platform.
This tool is recognised as another video as well as web conferencing platform which is used
widely by multinational companies in high level (Mutha and Srivastava, 2021). In context to
Marks and Spencer firm, the usage of Zoom platform can enable to use features such as chat
rooms, webinars and also can initiate phone call with team members. These features along with
share screens can benefit me to gain information about the behavioural patterns of worker in
most effective manner. It can also assist me to organise team building activities as well as
conducting reviews and check-ins in the most appropriate manner.
Ushare:
The other critical collaboration tools can be considered as combination of both Zoom and
Slack tools. This type of communication tool can support the virtual leader to chat with its
remote team members by using group chat, audio and video conferencing features. In context to
Marks and Spencer firm, this collaboration tool can enable me to effectively interaction with my
team members by sitting at any place. It's feature such as enterprise grade security, group chat
and also integration with other apps such as Google drive, Dropbox etc. can benefit me to store
my confidential data in effective manner. In addition to this, it can also support me to test the
skills during selecting my team members by taking different assignments in proper manner.
Google Hangouts:
The most famous digital communication platform is also known as Google Meet which
like other apps provides the facility of personal and group chats and also support the virtual team
leader to initiate audio as well as video calls with team members present in the different remote
areas (Popescu and Warmenhoven, 2019). In context to Marks and Spencer firm, this type of
communication tool can to take advantage of different features like Hangouts Chat, powerful G
suite support and it is also an cost effective option as compared with famous collaborative tools.
The Hangout chat can be great for me in terms of managing global team members as this app
supports 28 languages, can hold 8000 members per chat room, threaded conversations which will
make it easy to communicate with them without facing any type of barriers.
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Describing challenges in managing the virtual team along with measures to handle those
challenges
The data shows that remote work is often linked with higher productivity as well as lower
attrition. It has been believed that initiating business work through digital platforms can make
employees more concentrated and also allows them to become efficient worker. However, Apart
from this positive benefits there are some challenges which the virtual leader can face in
managing their remote staff members in effective manner(Jonker, 2019). In context to Marks and
Spencer firm, the virtual leader can face the difficulties in properly managing their team workers.
The first challenge which the leader can encounter is related with team members as they may feel
more alienated and disconnected to their work as compared to on-site employees. This can
negatively impact the motivation level of workers and their morale for doing business activities
in appropriate manner. The main reason for this issue can be due to lack of communication
which can hamper the smooth communication process between the virtual leader and worker. If
the member does not get appropriate feedback from virtual leader then it may result into high
stress level, higher conflicts and other problems. Hence, giving close attention to relation-
building may not become possible due to communication gap while communicating with remote
workers using collaboration tools(Bhartia and Vijayalakshmi, 2019).
The other challenge that may occur is related with Remote project and task
management, the visual leader can face difficulties in the process of planning and monitoring
projects due to absence of workers in office. It may cause workers to misinterpret the goals and
objectives of specific project which may lead into ineffectiveness in managing tasks. It can also
result into the trust issues because of lack of face to face collaboration among the co-staff
member with their leader.
However, the virtual team leader of Marks and Spencer firm can make necessary efforts
in improving the chances of smooth conversation with team member by holding the effective
collaboration sessions so that work can be performed without any disturbances(Tan and et.al.,
2019). In addition to this, the virtual leader should also undertake the use of applications that
outline the guidelines related to how to communicate by taking practise of instant chat tool for
dealing with urgent and important matters. Moreover, the leader also need to lay focus on setting
the communication goals clearly by establishing open communication channels for fulfilling the
purpose of open dialogue as well as guide team members for solving difficult problems. This will
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help the team member in the moment of difficult business situations in proper manner. In order
to eradicate the problems connected with accurate planning and monitoring of project activities,
the virtual leader should select the suitable tool from the wide range of project management tools
such as Asana, Jira, Wrike and more. This tool will enable him to organise their project in
appropriate manner and also assists the team leader to collaborate with virtual staff members. By
using the project management tools, they can assign the tasks and split them into subtasks while
setting priorities and communicate it to team members. This action will support the virtual leader
to make sure that tasks are completed in timely manner as everyone knows what tasks are urgent
and who should be doing what(Ferreira-Lopes, Elexpuru-Albizuri and Bezanilla, 2021).
How to manage productivity of team along with planning to schedule meetings as well as
communication within the team
The productivity of team member can be critical for team leader in ensuring that goals
and objectives are achieved in the most effective manner. There are many powerful ways
through which I can empower and maintain my virtual team members to be more productive and
efficient. The following points are explained below:
By giving staff member ownership:
The productivity of virtual team members can be improved my giving power of
ownership so that they can make their own decisions and will be more responsible towards
accomplishing team objectives in effective manner. By inducing a sense of accountability in the
minds of my staff member, I motivate my staff members to give best performance.
Ensuring proper communication:
The miscommunication can become problem both for the staff members and team leader.
It can also cause the negative and stressful business environment. In order to overcome this, I
make greater efforts to build effective communicational channels which supports my team leader
to gain insight about their job responsibilities in proper manner(Brydon and et.al., 2021). The
open communicational channel allows me to interact with virtual staff member by giving
constructive feedback.
Identifying team strengths and weakness:
For boosting productivity, I undertake critical efforts to know what are the strengths as
well as weakness of my staff members. This allows me to boost motivation level among workers
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by assigning the task according to their skills and knowledge. Thus, by giving to improve their
strengths and overcoming weakness I maintain high productivity in proper manner.
Rewarding workers:
In order to maintain the higher productivity, I do my best to acknowledge the hard work
done by my team members. I appreciate their high performance by giving promotions, different
monetary incentives and much more (Eaidgah and et.al., 2018).
Steps of planning for scheduling meetings and adopting appropriate communication
channels
Selecting platform:
In first, I select the best virtual communication platform through which I can conduct
meetings. I chose the collaboration platform which has many unique features that can support
different functions. I usually adopt Skype as well as instant messaging apps for communicating
with my team members. Before starting meeting, I conduct test run on all the devices so that
meeting cannot stop by technological problems.
Sending meeting agenda before meeting:
At this stage, I make clear announcement regarding communication meeting agenda
which basically includes key discussion points, date and duration of session and roles of
participating members. This allows me in ensuring that is everyone knows their responsibilities.
Setting ground rules:
The setting of ground rules assists me to keep my meeting in proper order and also
regulate the behaviour of members. Before organising meeting, I make sure to come up with the
rules for everyone to follow in critical manner(Yeh and Ku, 2019).
Involving relevant members and give everyone time to talk:
In order to form clarity in doing discussions, I decide who is going to participate in
meeting which helps me to avoid wasting time and distractions. In addition to this, I give equal
opportunity to each member of my team members to give opinions.
Analysing meetings at end and make necessary improvements:
At the end , I make sure to analyse virtual meeting and take notes about what are the
things that have worked well and what did not work. I also take measures to know opinion of
team members about how they are feeling after meeting by asking feedback.
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Defining my own leadership principles and how I apply these principles in managing virtual staff
members:
The good leader are not only effective but also take necessary actions for inspiring their
staff members in order to attain common team goals in appropriate manner. In order to manage
the activities of my team members I practise the democratic style of leadership. This leadership
style allows me to give necessary attention to each employee ideas and opinion by giving them
chance to participate in the decision making process(Grant and Clarke, 2020). In addition to this,
I also admit my mistakes in case my actions and strategies are wrong. This enables me to
increase the trust of my staff members making them more inclined towards achieving team goals
in time. For facilitating smooth performance, I strive to become a good listener as it is an
essential part and must have skills to effectively analyse the issues raised by members and then
give proper solutions for reducing their problems. Moreover, I also take efforts to ensure that
each team member are trained and have relevant resources or have access to technologies for
performing job duties in productive manner. I also lay greater focus to understand and adopt
innovative trends which can support me to optimise day to day business activities. This also
helps me to drive confidence level among staff members leading to higher productivity and
growth.
I will also take measures to bridge a gap in communication with my team members. I
take necessary efforts to establish open communication channels that enables me to give
constructive feedbacks as per the performance made by staff members(Bushuyev, Bushuiev and
Bushuieva, 2020). It can also support me to clear up any misunderstanding that can occur while
communicating goals and objectives to team members. This can assist me to gain higher
motivation level among workers as they will feel important when they provide their ideas as well
as opinion in decision making process activity.
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Conclusion
It has been concluded from the above essay that online working environment is critical
for managing the demands of employees present in remote areas. It also allows the manager to
organise meetings as well as measure employee performance by just operating from home. The
essay has covered the features of different collaboration tools and their usage for organising
virtual meetings. In addition to this, the essay has also described the challenges and the solutions
are also stated for solving those problems in effective manner. Moreover, the essay has also
involved the steps for ensuring smooth productivity of team members along with the planning for
scheduling meetings are also undertaken. Furthermore, this essay has also explained the
leadership principles which can support to me to gain favourable response from my team
members. The psychometric as well as competency tests are also performed for analysing the
personality traits.
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References
Books and Journal
Petrovskaya, I. and Shaposhnikov, S., 2020. Enhancing intercultural effectiveness in
international virtual student teams: an exploratory study. Educational Research for
Policy and Practice, 19(3), pp.345-361.
Ashmi, J.E. and Kumar, A.A., 2018. Role of Perceived Supervisory Support and Communication
Competency in Making Virtual Teams More Effective. Researchers World, 9(1),
pp.120-126.
Mutha, P. and Srivastava, M., 2021. Decoding leadership to leverage employee engagement in
virtual teams. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.
Popescu, F. and Warmenhoven, R., 2019, July. Global Virtual Teams Course at Arnhem
Business School. In International Conference on Applied Human Factors and
Ergonomics (pp. 332-342). Springer, Cham.
Jonker, C., 2019. Emotion experiences and management within digital work contexts.
In Thriving in digital workspaces (pp. 131-144). Springer, Cham.
Bhartia, A. and Vijayalakshmi, V., 2019. Does Emotional Social Competence Foster Team
Climate?. Psychological Studies, 64(1), pp.83-91.
Tan and et.al., 2019. Factors influencing virtual team performance in Malaysia. Kybernetes.
Ferreira-Lopes, L., Elexpuru-Albizuri, I. and Bezanilla, M.J., 2021. Developing business
students’ intercultural competence through intercultural virtual collaboration: A task
sequence implementation. Journal of International Education in Business.
Brydon and et.al., 2021. Virtual reality as a tool for eliciting empathetic behaviour in carers: an
integrative review. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 52(3), pp.466-
477.
Eaidgah and et.al., 2018. Holistic performance management of virtual teams in third-party
logistics environments. Team Performance Management: An International Journal.
Yeh, C.C. and Ku, E.C., 2019. Process innovation capability and subsequent collaborative team
performance in travel planning: a knowledge exchange platform perspective. Current
Issues in Tourism, 22(1), pp.107-126.
Grant, C. and Clarke, C., 2020. Digital Resilience: A Competency Framework for Agile
Workers. In Agile Working and Well-Being in the Digital Age (pp. 117-130). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Bushuyev, S., Bushuiev, D. and Bushuieva, V., 2020, September. Interaction Multilayer model
of Emotional Infection with the Earn Value Method in the Project Management Process.
In 2020 IEEE 15th International Conference on Computer Sciences and Information
Technologies (CSIT) (Vol. 2, pp. 146-150). IEEE.
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