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CASE STUDIES |
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Our multinational company produces a wide variety of goods and services from our offices around the globe. Approximately ten percent of our current workforce has membership on one or more virtual teams and we expect this figure to double each year for the next two years. Our virtual teams are integrated into all aspects of our organization: from operations, through research and development, to marketing. We find that most of our virtual teams' concerns arise from a pair of common situations. First, our virtual teams face a number of shared barriers such as geographic separation, time zone differences, speaking different languages, living in diverse cultures, sporadic access to online communication tools, and various levels of personal technoliteracy. Second, when people and technologies interact, our virtual teams endure a whole new set of problems ranging from a dependence on technology to the inappropriate uses of tools. In these problematic cases, we have repeatedly used the talents of The Virtual Teamworking Alliance to help us develop high performing virtual teams. In long term partnership with virtualteamworks.com, we have achieved unique solutions to our challenges using their four different programs. BONDING changes our teams feelings through enjoyable entertainment; INSIGHT changes our teams thinking while learning new concepts; BUILDING changes our teams behaviors with enhancing their collaboration; and RENEWAL changes our teams resistance by addressing their dysfunction. Next, you'll see and hear testimonials from my managers about how we worked with The Alliance to address the Training & Development needs of our virtual teams with these four programs. Each case study examines the need, diagnosis, design, delivery, staffing, and benefits of each program. |
My division sponsored a company wide management conference to showcase our new online communication technologies. We had almost a thousand managers there, but about a hundred managers participated through audio and video conferencing. We wanted a day of activities that would make everyone feel good, highlight the potential of our newest technology, and work within the restriction that our organization was split, with some managers only dialing in. The Alliance recommended a BONDING program using a mixed delivery method where a majority was assembled in a single location and the minority was globally dispersed in many different locations. Initially, they talked to us about our needs and we completed the Virtual Team Profile Quiz, which identified our concerns about people, technologies, and their interactions. Based on diagnostic conversations they had with me, some of my virtual team leaders, and my information technology staff, they designed several customized activities. These activities were delivered in a way that engaged the distant managers and made them a pivotal part of solving problems and completing team tasks for all the activities. They provided an experienced collection of staff, who were online communication and technology experts. Each virtual team had its own dedicated trainer and facilitator. We were pleased with the outcomes. Our technology had been updated, people knew how it could be used, they had a great time, and we were well on our way to accessing international experts and sharing knowledge. |
My entire sales department had just been thrust into the notion of virtual teaming and it was pretty much a foreign concept to us. We had no idea what a virtual team looked like, what it did, how it worked, why it was necessary, but we needed to learn in a hurry! In addition, we were experiencing several difficulties with information overload, parallel processing, synchronicity, and the very high speed of information exchange. Based on our initial early contact with The Alliance and my completion of their Virtual Team Profile Quiz, they suggested we do an INSIGHT program to change how and what our salespeople thought about virtual teams. We began with their diagnostic conversation. Then each virtual team member filled out a 360° feedback survey and techno-literacy survey. These surveys measured our opinions and understanding about virtual teaming and technology. From information gathered, the Alliance designed three days of activities for an insight program. They delivered it in a dispersed mode, where everyone stayed at their home offices and didn't need to travel to a central location. We saved on venue and transportation costs for the training. After each activity, and for each virtual sales team, two electronic facilitators discussed the experience and helped us to highlight the lessons everyone had learned. In the end, all our sales teams had a more positive, accurate view of virtual teaming. They are now able to respond in a timely manner to customer service requests by sharing data across their global network. |
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Now that we have virtual teams throughout our organization, I'm the person who has to oversea their performance. Our technology is in place and is working just fine, but the team members can't seem to work together using that technology. It's like all the little communication issues get magnified online and people become fearful or guarded and begin to disengage during virtual meetings. I needed to find a way to make them more functional, trusting, and collaborative. Our first contact with the Alliance involved filling out their Virtual Team Profile Quiz. Our responses to this indicated the need for a BUILDING program to change behaviors. The needs assessment beforehand consisted of conversations and surveys, followed by individual interviews of team members. These interviews evaluated our teamwork and assessed our technological competence. Based on the interview data, the Alliance designed a five day teambuilding program. The activities were delivered by what their staff called an assembled mode, where we all came together in the same location for online activities and then did our difficult debrief sessions in person or face to face. An expert staff of two facilitators guided our discussions, focused on the integration of new behaviors to each virtual team, and ended with planning action strategies. As a result, our teams are more functional today. Their productivity has increased, while waste has decreased. They finish projects on time and well within budget. All in all this has reduced product prices, raised product quality, and significantly enhanced our profit and competitive edge. |
My virtual team seemed hopelessly broken. We were being torn apart by conflict. Folks were sabotaging my efforts to make change. They were competing and withholding key data and critical information. As their team leader, I had reached my limits of anger and frustration. I had to find an immediate way to decrease their negativity and dysfunction, or risk delays by restructuring my team. After an initial contact, and the completion of a Virtual Team Profile Quiz, the Alliance suggested a RENEWAL program aimed at changing the way people resist changes. They supplied two staff members for my team. One was a technology training expert and the other was an advanced electronic facilitator with a Doctorate in Psychology. They conducted team conversations, surveys, and interviews. Then, they spent additional time observing our conflicts and communication during online meetings. On the basis of what the two observed, they designed a seven day RENEWAL program to be delivered in what they termed a hybrid mode. Hybrid meant a combination of assembling for the initial few days to learn new techniques and behaviors and then dispersing for the last few days to put this new learning into practice back home. In debriefing sessions after each activity, the facilitators emphasized eliminating resistance and sustaining positive changes. In post program follow up, we participated in several simulations in order to reinforce our new functional behaviors. Now we are no longer desperate or in dire straights. Our work is enjoyable again and I have retained all my team members in a new, successful, exciting, and dynamic virtual team culture. |
Please contact us for specific testimonials. These four program types and four delivery modes can be blended and matched to suit your needs. Click here for more details on the program types, delivery modes, and eFacilitator levels. |
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