COURSE OVERVIEW:

A virtual team (also known as a geographically dispersed team, distributed team, or remote team) usually refers to a group of individuals who work together from different geographic locations and rely on communication technology such as email, FAX, and video or voice conferencing services in order to collaborate. The term can also refer to groups or teams that work together asynchronously or across organisational levels.

Members of virtual teams communicate electronically and may never meet face-to-face. Virtual teams are made possible by a proliferation of fibre optic technology that has significantly increased the scope of off-site communication. Virtual teams allow companies to procure the best talent without geographical restrictions.

Virtual teams are more prevalent than ever. It’s not hard to see why. Advances in technology have made it easier to organise and manage dispersed groups of people. And competitive pressures and the needs of today’s global market workforce have made virtual teams a necessity for some organisations.

Many companies are using virtual teams to reach business objectives and to get a leg up on their competition. However, in others, virtual teams are more opportunistic, emerging in response to a particular event or need. For example, joint ventures or acquisitions within the pharmaceutical industry have led to the use of virtual teams because different R&D functions need to collaborate to accomplish shared business goals. But the fact that virtual teams continue to grow in popularity doesn’t mean they’re always being used and managed properly.

This course focuses on the skills and characteristics necessary for building high performing virtual teams. At the beginning we highlight the research findings on the challenges many virtual teams face and the pitfalls that often lead to failure. Then we provide a profile of high-performing teams to outline what ‘‘good’’ looks like. Finally, we provide a resource guide to help you successfully build and launch virtual teams.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• What is meant by virtual teams?
• The importance of virtual teams
• Why virtual teams fail?
• What are the factors that commonly derail virtual teams?
• The four pitfalls to virtual team performance
• What are the characteristics that top-performing virtual teams share?
• The profiles of virtual team success
• Team composition
• Stable team membership
• Communication and training of virtual teams
• Holding effective ‘‘V-Meetings’’
• Skill development of virtual teams
• Leadership of virtual teams
• The characteristics virtual team members and leaders need to work effectively in a virtual environment
• The virtual team launch kit
• What are the best practices for successfully launching virtual teams?
• How to test your virtual team launch IQ?
• Are you ready to launch a virtual team?
• How to set virtual teams up for success?
• How to form a virtual team?
• Why keep your virtual teams at a manageable size?
• Why choose virtual team leaders carefully?
• How to make sure teams have the right mix of ‘‘virtual’’ and technical skills?
• Why select the right communication technologies?
• How to determine how performance will be recognised and rewarded?
• How to hold a great kick-off meeting?
• What goals will an effective kick-off meeting accomplish?
• How to determine whether your virtual team has a sense of purpose?
• The purpose pyramid
• How to clarify the team’s goals?
• How to clarify team members’ roles?
• The RACIN Model
• How to develop team norms?
• How to develop a plan for communicating among team members?
• How to monitor and assess team performance?
• How to determine whether your organisation will be able to support virtual teamwork?

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.