10 Simple Tips to Help Virtual and Global Teams Succeed

A recent survey conducted by Chief Learning Officer Magazine found that at least 74% of those surveyed stated that they work in a virtual team environment or manage a global cross-functional team. Virtual and global cross-functional teams are now the norm, and not the exception.

When teams are dispersed geographically, they face some common challenges related to being remote:

• Communication skills gap issues
• Time zone obstacles
• Travel budget restrictions
• Subtle cultural differences
• Isolated team members
• Limited “face time”

How do you ensure that these teams communicate effectively and efficiently? How can you create a "virtual water cooler" so that information and best practices impact all team members? How do you integrate cultural influences and differing perspectives in a way that makes sense? How do you incorporate effective communication and collaboration best practices into existing management training initiatives and leadership development programs?
Here are 10 simple talent management and communications skills tips to ensure that your virtual and global teams are on track.

1. Share the Pain
Each evening, someone’s dinner is inevitably ruined during a global team’s conference call. For that person half-way around the world, a call in the evening after a long day at work can be trying. Assuming that most people do not want to have dinner during a conference call, what can be done to alleviate time difference challenges and increase global teamwork? Always being the person or group with the late night or 6 AM call is a drag. But people show remarkable flexibility if they can see that the pain is shared. Remember to Share the Pain—rotate with one location taking the early morning time slot one month and the evening slot the next month. You will be surprised at the results.

2. You do yoga, too?Recently, a colleague in India casually mentioned to his US-based team member that he did yoga at home after the calls. His US teammate’s ears perked up and soon the teammates were IM’ing about their latest yoga insights. Not unusual, you might think, except these two had never connected even though they were on the same team for over two years. It was surprising how much better they communicated and worked together after this small personal connection. Remember, “you do yoga, too”—use little bits of “scrap time” to develop a virtual relationship and build rapport.

3. Conference call as Podcast
For some people, attending calls outside of work hours is just not possible because of personal constraints. A client recently shared how she solves that problem by recording these conference calls, downloading them, and then playing them back on her way to the office. Listening to the calls gives her an immediacy that she says is lacking when she reads the notes. She can also gauge people’s level of interest or concern by the sound of their voices.

4. You’re kidding…it’s that late?
While some people may be willing to meet for a late night conference call, it is good to at least know what time it is where they are so you can thank them for their flexibility. To tell what time it is at your global sites, there are a number of terrific web resources like http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html. You can enter your teammate’s cities and instantly see what time it is in up to four worldwide locations.

5. Why are we here?
OK, be honest. How many meetings have you been pulled into when you don’t know the purpose of the meeting or why you were invited? It’s the same with global conference calls. If people know the expected outcome of the calls, they are more likely to be of value. Remember the simple meeting management rule of thumb: prior to any conference call, send call participants the desired outcomes, their roles and responsibilities, the overall objective for the call, and the objectives for each agenda item (a plan, a decision, and agreement).

6. Keep'em focused