Looks like some quite solid research from the Economist Intelligence Unit, "Managing virtual teams: Taking a more strategic approach." In the study, conducted in Fall 2009, a third of those executives surveyed said that their virtual teams were not well managed, yet most endorsed using them nonetheless. The major findings (go to link to download the study):
- Executives are generally positive about working in virtual teams. More than two out ofthree survey respondents believe that the advantages of working in a virtual team outweigh the disadvantages. Three out of every four respondents also state that they travel less as a result of working virtually.
- The single most common challenge, selected by 56% of executives polled, relates to the misunderstandings that emerge as a result of cultural and language differences from teams operating globally. Just one in 20 executives say they have never experienced any difficulty in managing a virtual team.
- More than one-half of executives say that their virtual teams use video conferencing on a regular basis. This rises to about two-thirds (64%) for the largest firms (those with annual revenue in excess of US$10bn), prompted in part by significant cutbacks in corporate travel budgets over the past two years. But visual communication does not always equate to better communication. Both cultural and gender-based differences need to be taken into account when choosing methods of communication. Research suggests that that men find eye contact threatening, while East Asians are more comfortable using other approaches, such as instant messaging (my bolding not theirs).
- One in three companies has set up virtual working so that they can tap into the global talent pool. One of the most significant benefits of being able to use technology to collaborate globally is the ability to draw on a much deeper pool of skills, without being constrained by geographical location. Yet the majority of survey respondents say that virtual team members are recruited by local managers (58%), suggesting that most companies only recruit in locations where they have an office, thereby severely curtailing the size of the talent pool on which they can draw. Also, relatively few managers embrace the actual technologies they use to communicate in their virtual teams as the method for meeting and interviewing new prospects.