Use of Technology among-st Virtual Teams
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Introduction
A virtual group is a team of employees working interdependently from different parts of the globe with different cultures, languages and ethnicities by use of electronic media in order to achieve a common goal. These geographically dispersed workers are connected through the internet in order to effectuate a particular task or provide a solution to a real-life problem. They are generally formed for a temporary period of time in order to solve a critical problem or come up with a new product. There is a demand in flexibility and agility in providing products and services due to increasing competition in the market, decentralization and globalization of work process and advancement in its department. The virtual global team play an essential role to meet these demands. Many organizations gather as many talented workers as they could across the globe since talent is becoming a scarce resource. Today, many companies and organizations are adopting this technique to lower their operational cost, encourage sharing of knowledge and expand their businesses. They are a way that of the fact that the synergies generated by the team can result in great accomplishment. The virtual team heavily rely on information and communication technology. The Information Technology industry plays an essential role in the triumph of the virtual team program. It enables organizations to cobble together new teams in ways that could be never be dreamt of. Hence, individuals from all over the globe to interact using various online technologies such as email video conferencing, online chatting and other forms of social media platforms. It is proven that the concept is cheaper and always achieves the required goal. This article will examine in depth the use of technology among virtual teams.
Before we dive into the use of technology in the virtual team, it is crucial to comprehend the two categories of virtual teams; that is, global virtual teams and local virtual teams. In the former, members reside in different countries and cities all over the world. These employees will join their effort and resources to achieve a common goal by use of online technology. On the other hand, members of the local virtual team belong to the same company, although the company can establish and maintain the virtual group. Some of the technology tools that must be integrated into the virtual team concept are video conferencing platform, instant messaging tools, social media platforms such as Skype, Facebook, Instagram etc., desktop sharing software and asynchronous messaging tools (Laitinen, Valo, 2108). These tools make it possible for efficient communication and interaction of employees. It makes it possible for them to share videos to come up with the best solution for the problem.
Audio and Video Conferencing
For the success of a virtual team, conferencing is very vital. It can be either audio conferencing or video conferencing. These tools make it possible for High Definition video meetings, toll-free calling, webinars, and providing training for the employees despite their location. Web conferencing uses cameras, speakers and microphones to allow high-quality face to face meeting and team phone calls as long as there is a good internet connection. Some of the standard conferencing tools include;
Video Conferencing
For effective communication among the employees and managers of an organization, video conferencing is highly required. It helps solve the problems of misinterpretations and missed thoughts. It has several benefits, thus having a massive impact on the success of a virtual team (Harris, 2018). It not only helps employees maintain a better work-life balance but also boons productivity. There are some great video conferencing tools.
Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing app that makes the footage frictionless. It allows HD video screen sharing integrated with audio and content sharing. The app is available for both mobile and desktop. This is great for conducting the online meeting as long as one has a strong network connection hence significantly adding to the success of the virtual team concept.
GoTo meeting
The app is designed especially for online business meetings. It allows HD screen sharing and personalized meeting URLs. This will help improve communication between members of the virtual teams. GoTo Meeting also enables the employees to highlight the presenter screen and share the recording with those who were unable to attend the meeting.
FaceTime
FaceTime allows the quick face to face communication between employees or employees and managers. It will enable instant communication when one wants instant feedback. Therefore, it is essential took for a virtual team.
Ready Talk
Ready Talk is much suited for video conferencing and webinar tools. It greatly inspires collaborations for virtual teams across the world. It enables audio, web and video meeting among the members. It makes it possible for work to happen anytime and anywhere.
Skype
Skype is a top-rated video conferencing app. It allows screen sharing and completely free. However, it is not flexible as other apps since one must download the app, create the account and add contacts into the conference. The fact that it is available for all operating systems makes it worth mentioning.
Team Viewer
Team viewer is one of the most secure video conferencing tools. It has the ability to run several remote sessions at once. The tool is very vital for virtual teams that deal with sensitive data.
Audio Conferencing
It provides the quickest and easiest way for the ritual team to communicate verbally. It 8s different from phone call since it allows all the members of the virtual team to dial into a Central System. Audio conferencing is divided into two; point to point and multipoint conferencing systems. The former allows two employees in different time zones to communicate where else the latter allows communication between many virtual team members (Soto, 2019). Audio conferencing is less expensive compared to video conferencing; hence the organization opt audio conferencing to save on the costs.
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration Tools allow the virtual team members to share files and comments on the posts. Through collaborative tools, the organizations can handle their virtual teams, therefore, saving time and money. Managers can easily incorporate messages with virtual team communication systems such as video conferencing. Here are some of the standard collaborative tools commonly used in a virtual team environment;
Slack
The slack is a mighty collaborative tool to million users around the world. It is compatible with both mobile and mobile operating systems. Slack allows direct sharing of messages and files from an individual to other employees; therefore, making it a vital tool to be used by virtual team members. Moreover, the application also supports video conferencing thus employer is able to communicate with his employees while sharing files at the same time.
Office 365
Office 365 allows unified communication with the traditional office. The software has a cloud hosted platform that can be used and accessed with all operating systems including android and iOS. This is an essential tool that must be integrated in virtual teams’ systems to ensure effective communication and sharing of information.
Asana
The tool has been used for more than a decade thus making it veteran in the collaboration arena. It was designed to monitor the work of workers to get the best results. It allows the users create a to-do list and set reminders for deadlines. However, Asana also allows the team members to assign comments within the application thus making it very essential for virtual teams.
Podio
Podio is a flexible and customizable platform that allows its users to work and communicate easily. It allows organizations of large stacks of work and distribute it between employees making it important application for a manager to delegate tasks to the members of the virtual team.
Ryver
Ryver is easy to use platform that is similar to slack. It aims at giving the organization a highly effective means of communication and easy way to delegate task to ensure members of the virtual teams meet their deadlines.
Project Management Tools
These are platforms designed to facilitate delivery of project and makes it more efficient. They offer visuals such as charts and resource tracking tools. Most of the tools that I have already talked about, for instance Asana, can also be categorized under project management tools. They help managers to manage and plan their projects with their team through tasks assignments and scheduling. Here are some of the heavily used project management tools.
Monday.com
Monday.com comes on top of the list. It is the leading and most efficient project management tools. It provides users with an easy-to use interface that enable them to build boards with a wide variety of powerful columns. Moreover, it is very flexible this allowing the team to handle any type of project. In addition, Monday.com is capable to integrate with third party apps hence making it easier for adoption. The app also allows centralized communication with easily mentioning member names receiving notifications on any operating systems and communicating on their work.
Wrike
Wrike is the best solution for organization collaboration work management. It is cloud-based. It can easily be used across organizations globally. Just like Monday.com, it is also equipped with visual timelines such as Gantt-chart as well as templates and budget tracking resources.
Trello
Trello is a simple and light weight visual planning tool that can easily be used by virtual groups. Trello delivers the basic and core project planning needs. Moreover, it uses Kanban style of management and organization that allows customizations of projects.
Zoho Project
This is a project management tool that helps the virtual groups yet their tasks are done through effective planning, tracking and collaborating with their colleagues. It is also a cloud-based software that allows collaboration of employees, clients as well as managers and vendors.
File Sharing Tools
Files storage and sharing tools enables steady focus of communication among the virtual groups. All these tools are cloud based and makes it easy to store files and effectively delegate the among members hence avoid overflowing email inboxes. The following are some of the commonly used tools;
Drop Box
Is the most popular file sharing and cloud storage platform available online. It provides effortless file synchronization, with support for all operating systems. It makes it easy for members of virtual team to easily create and share folders to work with others.
Drop mark
The platform provides simple collaboration and file sharing in the cloud. The technique of drag and drop from desktop to the browser is applied and thus files are automatically uploaded to the cloud. After this, one can easily invite other virtual group members to view and collaborate privately.
Google Drive
Google drive has user-friendly interface that enable its users to create new documents, spread sheets and presentations and then sharing them with other members of the virtual team. It also allows collaboration at the same time in case of changes in the documents are needed. The platform tracks every change that is made in the file and saves it. Therefore, it is an essential tool to be considered when coming up with virtual teams.
Other file sharing and storing files that are commonly used among virtual teams include, Minus, We Transfer, Box, Sugarsync as well as Dropcanvas and Dropsend. All these tools are important for the establishment and proper collaboration of the virtual groups.
To sum up, other virtual team technology that is worth mentioning include instant messaging tools such as Jabber, Grape and Maltermust as well as scheduling tools such as Doodle, Calendly and schedule once. There are also that helps in increasing trust and enhancing communication, for instance, Virtuwall, Prelude and QuizBraker. However, it is important to note that some of the tools discussed are multipurpose and therefore can be classified in more than one category.
Reference:
Laitinen, K., & Valo, M. (2018). Meanings of communication technology in virtual team meetings: Framing technology-related interaction. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 111, 12-22.
Harris, W. J. (2018). Technology Adoption by Global Virtual Teams: Developing a Cohesive Approach. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 83(1), 4.
Hughes, C., Robert, L., Frady, K., Arroyos, A., Hughes, C., Robert, L., … & Arroyos, A. (2019). Virtual Teams and Technological Environments’, Managing Technology and Middle-and Low-skilled Employees (The Changing Context of Managing People).
Soto, S. L. (2019). Information and Communications Technology Strategies for Improving Global Virtual Teams’ Success Rates.
Dulebohn, J. H., & Hoch, J. E. (2017). Virtual teams in organizations.
Wieland, S., & Wolf, J. (2016). Virtual Teams. Contemporary Theory and Practice of Organizations, 193-208.