Key Takeaways:
For 51% of employees, remote working gives them the ability to better focus on their work.
67.75% of employees in the IT industry, 50.56% in agencies and consultancies and 48.72% in finance are already working remotely.
25% of remote workers say they feel lonely “always” working from home. To prevent disconnection and isolation among virtual team members, you must regularly check in and encourage daily conversations.
With technology redefining how we connect, businesses are increasingly embracing flexibility and onboarding virtual teams.
Why? The biggest advantage of virtual teams is that they allow companies to operate across time zones and access diverse skill sets.
Unlike the traditional set-up, virtual teams collaborate remotely using video conferencing, project management and instant messaging tools.
When managed well, virtual teams offer better support than traditional teams in many ways and can boost ROI significantly.
But the success of a virtual team depends on effective communication, strong leadership and team alignment.
Here’s an in-depth guide on the types, benefits and ways to build a virtual team that delivers.
What Are Virtual Teams?
A virtual team is just a group of highly specialized remote workers who collaborate on your business using the internet and top-notch online tools.
Every member of the team brings specific skills to the group. This helps the team provide precise support for the project you hire them for.
For example, if you’re building a virtual marketing team, content creators, copywriters, graphic designers, social media managers, SEO specialists and more such professionals will connect remotely and team up to develop marketing material for your business.
There are two ways in which virtual teams can connect and collaborate. Synchronous teams work on tasks simultaneously and in real time, while asynchronous team members work on their own schedules, without being online simultaneously.
Sync teams allow in-depth interaction and immediate feedback. And async teams accommodate different time zones and independent task completion.
Depending on your business needs, you can choose the team that best suits your business.
For creative brainstorming and complex problem-solving, consider hiring synchronous teams. And for projects that can be handled independently, you can opt for asynchronous teams.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Hiring Virtual Teams in Organizations?
Building remote teams comes with its own set of advantages for leaders.
Plus, your employees love it too! The flexibility that remote work brings, along with the lack of a tiring commute, boosts their focus on work. This helps them feel energized and drive better results.
Here’s a list of pros as well as cons of hiring virtual teams for your business.
Pros
From reduced costs to increased flexibility, here are the top advantages of hiring virtual teams.
1. Reduce Costs
When building in-house teams, you spend a lot of money on office rent, utilities and supplies, internet connection, commute reimbursements and other overhead costs.
But with virtual teams, such expenses are eliminated or significantly reduced.
And if you hire from reliable offshore staffing agencies, you build virtual teams at affordable rates. You also don’t have to worry about paid leave or employee benefits as these agencies handle all such hassles.
You can use these saved costs to fund new projects, invest in innovative technology or drive marketing campaigns.
2. Increase Productivity
Long commutes have been known to impact employee productivity and engagement. With virtual teams, the commute stress disappears, giving way to increased productivity.
As mentioned before, for 51% of employees, remote working also gives them the ability to better focus on their work.
With fewer distractions, less commute stress, more deep work and increased engagement, your virtual team will fast-track your project timelines.
3. Get Support for Multiple Shifts
In-office teams have limited working hours, which means they only have so much time to work on your business.
But with asynchronous and global virtual teams working across different time zones, you can turn your business into a 24-hour powerhouse!
Using the follow-the-sun model, your virtual team can easily collaborate and sync their workflows to provide around-the-clock services.
This multiple-shift support is especially helpful for businesses that want to offer 24/7 customer support.
4. Hire Global Talent
When you hire in-house teams, you are unfortunately restricted to a limited talent pool.
But building global virtual teams allows you to break such geographical barriers and access the global talent pool.
A wide candidate pipeline gives you the advantage of hiring the best talent who bring industry-standard skills to the table. Global employees also bring diverse perspectives, fostering innovation and creativity in your workplace.
5. Boost Employee Retention
Employee satisfaction isn’t limited to working hours. Up to 87% of employees claim that their daily commute adds to their stress.
A staggering 76% of employees say they prefer working with a company that offers flexible work.
Organizations that lead in allowing remote work will discover the benefit of higher executive retention and engagement. When remote or flex work is not allowed or encouraged, many employees cease striving for higher roles in the organization, impacting their professional progress and draining the pool of top-level talent.
Julie Thompson, senior writer
Going virtual helps you reduce employees’ stress, minimize turnover rates and foster long-term relationships.
6. Improve Work-Life Balance
Gone are the days when you did everything on your own, sacrificing your health and time outside work.
When you outsource secondary tasks to virtual teams or hire them for extra support, you automatically free up your time and reduce your workload.
You get more bandwidth to strategize business plans as well as take some time off. Without the stress of a million things on your plate, you also reduce the risk of burnout significantly.
With a dedicated team working on tasks in an organized way, you don’t take pending work home, bringing you the work-life balance you deserve.
7. Embrace Workload Flexibility
No business is static.
There are months when you are a busy bee and working overtime to ensure piled-up tasks are completed promptly. On other days, everything is slow and you get more free time on your hands.
Virtual teams give you the flexibility of hiring them according to the workload and business needs.
When you are just getting started with your business, you can build a smaller team to handle a minimal workload. As your business grows, you can scale your team and meet the growing demands faster.
You can embrace this flexibility during peak seasons and off-seasons as well.
You can tweak the workload of your virtual teams depending on your requirements without worrying about dysfunction.
Cons
Virtual teams are a great tool for maximizing efficiency and productivity. But it’s not a one-tool-fits-all-needs kind of solution. Plus, managing and handling virtual teams is not for everyone.
This is why you need the right information before you can start hiring a virtual team.
Before giving remote work a green signal in your business, you must also understand and be prepared for the challenges of virtual teams.
Let’s take a look at some of them.
1. Technology Problems
Virtual teams rely heavily on technology. Issues like unstable internet connections, incompatible devices, unsecured networks or outdated software can cause unnecessary work disruptions.
In a survey on hybrid work, only 49% of respondents said that their organization supports them with consistent tools and processes to work effectively from any location. Which means, for many, collaborating remotely is difficult.
If you want to avoid such issues, you must ensure your virtual team is set up with an uninterrupted internet connection and the right tools. This will make communication, collaboration and task completion seamless.
2. Miscommunication
Imagine you send a text to your virtual team saying, “Prepare the report.” This doesn’t specify exactly which report you’re referring to, the expected format or the deadline.
Since you are not always communicating face-to-face and in real-time, it may take some time and back-and-forth messaging to clarify the expectations.
Misinterpretations or miscommunications can cause errors or unnecessary delays.
A report on business communication also revealed that for 51% of workers, poor communication causes increased stress and lowered productivity in 41%. This is why you need to ensure smooth communication with and within your virtual team.
To communicate your expectations and task details correctly, remember to give clear and specific instructions.
3. Team Management Issues
As a business leader, it’s your responsibility to manage your team well.
But when your entire team is located on different dots on the globe, it can be a huge task to connect the team efficiently. Issues like conflicts between team members, lack of ownership, low motivation, weak trust and so on can easily crop up.
If not managed properly, such issues can quickly escalate, resulting in poor work quality.
To tackle such problems, you must opt for a robust leadership style that helps you delegate tasks effectively, motivate your team and keep everyone connected.
4. Isolation
Working at home comes with its benefits and drawbacks.
A Gallup report found that 25% of remote workers say they feel lonely “always” working from home and 21% say they feel lonely “sometimes.”
Being stuck working alone without any face-to-face interactions with teammates or casual chit-chat can create a sense of disconnection in your virtual team.
Without personal connections, their work may feel mechanical and loneliness may impact their mental health in the long run.
To prevent this, you must regularly check in with your team members and encourage daily conversations among them.
5. Conflicting Schedules
On an average busy day, each team member may have to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. This makes quick calls and regular check-ins difficult.
A report on hybrid work highlights that nearly 73% of employees think starting meetings at 8 a.m. or before is too early. When scheduling meetings for global teams, someone might end up sacrificing their normal work or sleep routine to attend a meeting.
And if not, scheduling an online meeting that suits every member’s schedule will become extremely chaotic.
Unless your managers and virtual assistants are excellent at time management, this can be harmful to your project flow.
What Are the Types of Virtual Teams?
By far, the biggest benefit of hiring a virtual team is how specific you can get in its development. From skill sets to experience, you can choose every aspect of your team depending on your business needs.
You can even get creative and structure the virtual team as you like! Want to explore what kind of virtual teams you can build?
Here is a list of virtual teams that will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you for smooth operations for your business.
1. Networked Teams
Networked teams are dynamic teams where members are added according to requirements and removed when their role is complete.
It consists of remote workers who can adapt quickly and complete specific tasks depending on their expertise.
Generally, people skilled in diverse areas will be hired to support with special tasks for a short period. When the task is done, they can be removed from the group without any hassle.
2. Parallel Teams
A parallel team is a virtual team picked to do an urgent task for the business they are already a part of. They solve emergency issues and improve the existing workflows of the business.
The number of members in this team is fixed till the end of the project.
After the task is completed, the team goes back to doing the chores delegated to them initially. Large organizations often take advantage of this fluidity to manage unique short-term issues effectively.
3. Product Development Teams
Product development teams have been around for a long time. In fact, they pioneered the development of what we know as virtual teams today!
This is a team created with employees who have subject matter expertise. They are hired for a particular project and see it from start to end.
This team is perfect to help develop a new product or service, catering to the personalized needs of your customers.
4. Service Teams
This team is dedicated to providing superior customer service. With them, you can provide around-the-clock support to your customers.
All the team members will coordinate to answer customer queries, resolve complaints, collect customer feedback and maintain customer records, ensuring high customer satisfaction.
Plus, by picking the right skills, you can get remote members who can also provide technical support to you and your team.
5. Management Teams
A management team is hired when your business needs help with corporate-level strategies. They provide detailed insights and diverse perspectives to handle high-tier management issues.
You get additional support for tasks that are difficult to manage on your own. Dividing roles and responsibilities helps you increase productivity as well as leverage dynamic skills specific to your business.
Such teams are especially beneficial for businesses looking to expand their operations.
6. Action Teams
An action team is hired in case a company requires an immediate solution. The members are not regular employees and are hired for a targeted problem.
They are assembled for short-term projects around immediate challenges your business is facing. Once this agile team achieves its purpose satisfactorily, the team is disbanded.
7. Offshore ISD Teams
ISD teams are specifically constructed for the IT and software industry. You can outsource your software development project to virtual teams from a different part of the world.
They provide high-level proficiency at affordable rates. Plus, they can be hired to complete an entire project or support an ongoing one.
8. Production Teams
This team focuses on the day-to-day workload of a business. They follow standardized processes and streamline repetitive tasks.
All members have defined roles and work independently to complete their tasks.
By taking care of the individual but connected tasks, this team collectively helps the company achieve its daily targets.
9. Freelance Teams
This team consists of freelancers who are accountable to the team leader for the completion of projects.
Generally, they are hired to leverage skill sets that are not present internally in the company.
They keep your business in sync while maintaining good relationships with your in-office teams.
10. Hybrid Teams
Hybrid teams have both in-office and virtual employees.
Companies can have a few hybrid team members working in an office to provide a consistent physical presence to their customers. The virtual team members can provide stellar support and add global talent to your business.
With these teams, you get the best of both worlds and provide stellar services that outshine your competitors.
Which Companies Use Virtual Teams?
Businesses worldwide are opting for remote work due to its wide range of benefits.
Here are a few industries and the percentage of employees who work fully or mostly remotely worldwide.
Every industry must hire virtual teams to delegate repetitive tasks and free in-office employees from time-consuming tasks.
But that’s not all. It’s no surprise that there are companies that are flying their business solely by having virtual teams under their wings. Recently, companies like SAP, IBM, General Electric, Doist, Basecamp and more have gone completely virtual.
The business landscape is changing and more industries are exploring virtual work.
So, make sure your business is one of the trend setters!
Read more: 12 Businesses That Need Virtual Assistants
What Is Virtual Team Management?
Managing a virtual team comes with the responsibility of leading all the members towards the same goal at the right pace.
Leaders must delegate and coordinate tasks efficiently for successful project completion. They also need to know various delegation tips and tricks to keep their remote employees motivated to perform their best.
Here are the steps to help you hire, onboard and manage your virtual team to get the most fantastic results.
1. Choose the Right Platforms
Hiring from trustworthy and reliable sites is essential to save time and money.
Instead of looking around for perfect candidates and spending a huge amount of energy on an endless talent hunt, you can choose a trustworthy staffing agency like Zenius.
We can match you with talented virtual assistants and skilled professionals who fit perfectly into your business.
2. Onboard Team Members
This step is necessary to brief the new employees on the company culture.
Managers can take this opportunity to introduce them to the team and establish connections for better teamwork.
You can even introduce them to their mentor, the HR manager and the team leader.
3. Define Roles and Responsibilities
Managers need to set expectations and describe the roles and tasks of the virtual team members.
This helps virtual employees understand the importance of their contribution to the team.
Having clarity inculcates accountability in all the team members. This can help managers avoid any future conflicts.
4. Establish Procedures
How will new hires follow company policies they don’t know about?
Managers must take the initiative to explain the correct procedures and address any queries to minimize the need for frequent follow-ups.
To achieve this, you can create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), listing step-by-step instructions for consistent work quality.
This will help remote employees understand their workflows, ensuring compliance with established procedures.
5. Provide Resources
Your team needs to have all the resources to thrive in their roles.
You must create a resource bank and share access for things like:
- Onboarding videos.
- Brand style guide including fonts, colors, tone and logo.
- Training material for tools and software.
- Password managers and shared dashboards.
- Guides for recurring tasks.
- Pre-built templates to save time and achieve consistency.
- Image library or approved stock photos.
- Recorded team meetings.
Such resources will help your virtual team stay aligned with company standards and perform tasks with independence and clarity.
6. Meet Regularly
Great managers know that remote work loneliness can be terrible for their team members.
In a study, 15% of remote workers reported loneliness as their biggest struggle with working remotely. That’s why you should have regular meetings with remote employees.
Fewer interactions can sever the connection within the team and decrease trust. On the other hand, too many meetings can lead to frustration and disruptions in their work.
Leading a virtual team requires striking the right balance when it comes to communication—not too much, not too little.
7. Recognize Contributions
Gena Cox, an organizational psychologist, says,
When all employees can say they feel respected and supported at work, the organization will have built an inclusive culture and be a testament to its leaders’ integrity and vision.
Just like in-house employees, remote teams also need regular motivation. A recognition attitude builds trust in virtual teams, improving their overall performance.
Managers can set measurable goals and track team members’ progress regularly. They can also show regular appreciation for their work to keep spirits high.
They need to come up with creative ways to recognize remote employees. Small rewards like time off, skill course subscriptions or gift cards can go a long way in encouraging your virtual teams.
8. Give Regular Feedback
Remote collaboration lacks immediate feedback cues like facial expressions, body language or tone of voice. Without these non-verbal signals, your virtual team members may not know if they’re meeting expectations.
This is why an effective feedback loop is necessary to ensure clarity, maintain motivation and improve the performance of the entire team.
While giving feedback, remember to:
- Be specific and prompt.
- Balance the positive and constructive feedback.
- Appreciate the good work of your team members.
- Avoid harsh words while pointing out improvements.
9. Plan Events
It is essential for remote team members to feel connected to one another outside of work.
Managers can plan online events once a year and hold fun award ceremonies and team-building exercises, allowing their team to form organic connections.
They can also create an online wall of fame that makes every team member feel seen.
10. Schedule Virtual Coffee Breaks
Another way to form organic connections is to have non-work-related chit chat.
Managers can promote casual talks once every few months by conducting games, quizzes or contests. You can share testimonials and comments from clients, which boosts the morale of the team.
You can also hold icebreaker sessions every time a new member joins to catch up with the team.
How Can I Build a Virtual Team?
Once you choose the type of virtual team you want to build, you must hop into the hiring process.
Building a virtual team can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to business.
You can either do this independently by hiring through job portals or hire through VA agencies.
Here’s an overview of both ways to help you make your decision.
The Overwhelming Hiring Process
This is the harder and slower process of hiring virtual teams.
You will first need to create a description of the tasks you want to delegate. Then you need to post the listing on relevant job portals.
A huge chunk of applications may seem like a blessing, but when hiring, it’s a huge hassle. You have to screen through piles of irrelevant resumes and select the very few relevant ones.
Once you have a comprehensive list, you can begin the long process of interviews, onboarding and internal training.
According to a survey, one bad hire costs employers nearly $17,000 on average. After all these efforts, if the new hire is not the right fit, you need to manage your losses, review the budget and go through the strenuous process all over again.
The Less Stressful Hiring Process
Leaders who respect their time and money understand that success comes with working smart, not hard. They also know that when it comes to hiring virtual teams, less effort can reap huge rewards.
All you have to do is jot down the tasks you want to delegate and approach reliable virtual staffing agencies like Zenius. They can match you with virtual teams that fit perfectly with your unique business needs.
They can even streamline onboarding your dream virtual team so you can start the work immediately.
Wrapping Up
A virtual team isn’t just a group of random people working remotely. It’s a strong network of talent, trust and collaboration that powers your business.
To build a team with a strong focus on communication, clarity and connection, you must establish the right tools, divide clear roles and prioritize team cohesion above all.
An organized structure and effective leadership will ensure that your team gets you your desired results every time.