Actions Managers Should Take to Build a High-Performing Virtual Team

Abstract: The technological field can be seen as a huge advance for mankind before it emerged employers had to hire experts located in the same geographical area as the company. This changed with the introduction of information and communication technologies. Because of this, the labor market was able to become more global, meaning that employers do not need to hire employees who are physically close to them. Virtuality can be argued to be a great advantage, but for it to be an advantage it is important to understand what managers can do to help their virtual teams become high-performing virtual teams. The aim of this study was therefore to identify actions that managers can take to build high-performing virtual teams. In order to explore what managers can do to help their Virtual teams become high performers, four key concepts were identified, namely effective communication, trust, team cohesion, and structure. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research method was used. To collect empirical data, structured interviews were conducted with 13 employees of virtual teams. The data were then analyzed using thematic analysis which generated 5 head themes and 12 sub-themes. The result showed that structure and effective communication most likely function as enablers to develop trust and team cohesion in virtual teams. Furthermore, this study concluded that virtual teams might not be as different as face-to-face teams with regard to the actions that can be taken to develop into a high-performing team. This could be due to today's information and communication technologies which allow teams to exploit both the verbal and non-verbal communication channels.