Read “Grow your business with virtual teams” from QRCA VIEWS magazine – Summer 2010
Hi – here is the published version of the article I wrote which encapsulates what I learned from interviewing the folks featured on this blog. Thanks to you all for sharing your wisdom & I hope you enjoy the article!
Kay
Link to the .pdf version of the article: http://www.usabilityresources.net/news/Aubrey_Virtual_Team_Success_VIEWS_Summer_2010.pdf
S U M M E R 2 0 1 0
V O L U M E 8 • N U M B E R 4
IDEAS & TOOLS
FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• BUSINESS MATTERS •
56 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org
Grow Your VIRTUAL TEAMS
Business with
B Y K AY C O R R Y A U B R E Y
Usability Resources Inc. • Bedford, MA • kay@usabilityresources.net
has become so common that we scarcely notice anymore: computers,
inexpensive telephone service and the internet allow
many of us solo professionals to run complex full-service qualitative
research operations out of our home offices. We partner ad hoc
with others whose expertise complements our own, and we stay in
touch largely via electronic communications. This kind of “virtual”
work arrangement is, for many of us, just the way we do business.
And for good reason: this model offers small businesses unique opportunities
for growth with very low investment.
This article covers practical tips and best practices on how to create
thriving virtual teams. I am focusing on the type of ad hoc groups
most of us work within — small teams (no more than five people) of
equals who know one another and come to work together on a project
basis. I gathered the advice below from interviews with 14 people
from my LinkedIn network who have extensive experience in either
leading or taking part in virtual teams. Several are QRCA members;
others are consultants from other industries, high-level managers and
virtual company owners.
Working Virtually Offers
Compelling Advantages
Working virtually offers so many advantages — companionship (albeit
mostly by electronic means), low overhead and access to a large pool
of people with very specific skills that you can match to the needs of
a particular project. As Susan Saurage of Saurage Research remarks,
“You get a better mix of talent, and the client expects it. I dip into my
network of 18 people with specific talents on whom I can rely — qual,
quant, web evaluation, segmentation strategy — and people who have
these skills, plus who know my industries. I want to draw on the right
Virtual teams
are a good way
for you to take on
bigger projects,
reach out into new
markets and offer
outstanding value
to your clients.
It
people when I need them, but I do
not need them 40 hours a week.
QRCA has been wonderful in helping
me find the right people.”
If you are a solo practitioner, being
part of a network of people with
whom you have good working relationships
allows you to expand your
operation when a really big project
presents itself. Lisa Figlioli, a solo
public relations consultant in Cos
Cob, Conn., scales her business up
as needed by tapping into a network
of colleagues she has worked with
for over a dozen years. “It’s all very
loose,” she says. “We are all sole
proprietors, mirror images of each
other. When an opportunity comes
my way, I get a sense of what the
project might be, I choose my people,
and we pitch together as though
they work for my company.”
The Cornerstone of a Virtual
Team Is Picking People You
Like and Trust
It takes effort to set up a virtual team
that can present itself as a cohesive
unit. According to Dr. Aline Yurik,
who founded the master’s program
in virtual team management and
communications at Brandeis University,
trust is a key factor in determining
team success. “People on virtual
teams can work together for years
and never see each other, yet they
have forged deep and trusting relationships,”
she says. “In any work
situation, we develop trust when we
find similarities between ourselves
and others, by doing things together,
by being responsive, by completing
tasks on time.”
Many partnerships last for years,
like marriages. Liz Van Patten of Van
Patten Research notes that it took
time for her to find the people who
were right for her. “Choosing business
partners is a lot like picking
your friends,” she comments. “It’s
like gold when you find someone you
work well with; everything flows so
smoothly. I like to get to know the
person on a trial basis, shoulder to
shoulder, to gain some history and
see if we understand each other’s
personal style. I need to know if I
can work with them.”
Susan Abbott of Abbott Research
agrees that human relationships
trump everything else when it comes
to choosing virtual teammates. “I
have to like and trust the person,”
she states. “If I can’t find people I
like, I don’t bid. You need to find
partners who share your values, and
it is really important to talk about
these values upfront.”
Use Your Moderator Skills
to Find Good Partners and
Run Well-Oiled Teams
Finding the right business partner
is like a research project. Look for
highly experienced people with
distinct skills who can function
independently. Liz Van Patten
recommends that you “write down
the things you are concerned
about, what matters to you, and
use these questions to guide your
initial conversation.”
Once you have chosen your teammates,
spend time learning about one
another and building the relationship,
maybe by working together
on a smaller project. Susan Abbott’s
approach is also very much relationship-
driven. “I want to know the
type of work they enjoy and what
they are really good at,” she says.
“Sometimes we build goodwill by
mentoring: you back me up, and I
will share with you what I know
about online research.”
Small teams work best, and ideally
people should already know each
other before they start working as a
virtual team. To minimize coordination
headaches, each person on
your virtual team needs a unique
and clearly defined role, as well as
a set of deliverables for which to
be responsible.
Even on a team of equals, you
need a leader. This person is usually
the one who closed the project sale
and assembled the group. The team
leader is responsible for coordination
and serves as client interface
and traffic cop. The virtual team
leader must have the people skills to
ensure that high-quality work gets
done on time without coming across
as a micromanager. Tasks and deliverables
need to be broken into small
enough chunks, and the leader needs
to hold someone responsible for each
one. The leader also needs to keep in
continuous contact, perhaps by talking
with each person on the team
every day to ask how things are
going. The leader serves as the “glue”
Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U L T A N T S A S S O C I A T I O N 57
TOP 10 TRICKS FOR SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL TEAMS
1. Pick teammates you know, trust and like and who are committed
to the success of your project.
2. Select highly seasoned people who can work independently and
deliver quality work without being prodded.
3. Do a test run with a new potential partner by working together on
a smaller project.
4. As you compose your virtual team, each person should have a
clearly defined role, to avoid coordination headaches. Some overlap
is good so that you can fill in as needed.
5. Break larger deliverables down into smaller chunks, and check in
with team members regularly to make sure they are on track.
6. Get everyone to sign off on “rules of the road” that define how
your team will communicate with each other.
7. Hold weekly check-in meetings with your team.
8. Detect conflict early and deal with it.
9. Try to meet in person with your client and team at least once during
a project.
10. Practice your presentation (including technology) before giving it
to your client.
Grow Your Business with Virtual Teams CONTINUED
58 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org
for the team: keeping everyone on
track, establishing norms and guiding
interactions.
Deliverables should flow through
the team leader for review before
they are sent out to the client. Susan
Abbott remarks, “As the project
leader, I always tell people what I
need, when I need it and in what
format. I always build time into the
schedule to fix anything I do not like
before sending the deliverable to the
client; for instance, I’ll set a Tuesday
deadline for a Friday deliverable.”
The more-established virtual teams
follow style guides and templates.
At the outset of a project, the team
should also insist on getting clear
requirements from the client, as well
as a statement of work and a formal
change-control process. And as in
any project, you need to manage
client expectations aggressively.
Maintaining Open
Communication and Group
Cohesion Takes Time
Even small teams need infrastructure
to operate smoothly. Rituals help. For
example, you might have a weekly
phone huddle to touch base. It is
always a good practice for everyone
to contribute to a weekly status
report that is sent to the client. The
process of pulling together a status
report allows team members to regularly
evaluate their performance,
measure their progress against the
schedule and clear up conflict and
misunderstanding.
In the physical work environment,
we spend a lot of time understanding
and interpreting the social environment
and norms of the people
around us. In a virtual environment,
“you need to put all of this on
paper,” advises Kyra Cavanaugh,
owner of Life Meets Work, a company
that trains organizations in
how to transition workers to virtual
environments. Kyra recommends virtual
team members sign off on a set
of “rules of engagement” that formalize
how the team communicates.
For instance, everyone might agree
that after two emails on a particular
subject, the parties need to pick up
the phone. Another rule might be
that the subject lines of all team
emails have a set format: “Review:
proposal xyz.” These little things go
a long way toward saving everyone’s
time, minimizing conflict and facilitating
clear communication.
Detect Conflict Early, and
Deal with It Immediately
It is crucial for virtual teams to
have an early warning system to
detect and address conflict. Pay close
attention to changes in writing tone,
communication patterns and other
behavior to detect conflict and emotion.
Changes in behavior — a member
stops responding to IMs or
emails, shows up late for meetings
or starts sending in flat single-page
status reports instead of lively threepage
memos — may signal trouble.
Aline Yurik advises, “Notice any
changes in behavior or attitude. You
need to bring conflict to light, even
more so on a virtual team because
people don’t see each other.”
When you suspect problems, call
the person and hear him out. Identify
the people involved and engage in a
positive open-minded talk with each
party. Tell them you are sensing tension
and invite them talk about their
concerns. Once you understand these
and have discussed possible solutions,
arrange a meeting to resolve
the conflict.
Technology…
You Need More than Email
My interviewees describe a range of
inexpensive or free tools as “indispensable”
for virtual teams: WebEx,
Google Docs, Doodle, BaseCamp
and Tom’s Planner. Virtual teams
need internet-based project-tracking
technologies such as “to do” lists,
a team calendar, contacts, milestones
and customer notes. Teammates
should be able to log into this system
at any time to see what others are
working on, what progress they are
making, what they are talking about
and what help they need. Online
project-tracking systems also cut
down on email.
On the other hand, some teams
thrive with limited technology. Anne
Tobin’s human resources company,
Tobin Connex, is totally virtual. She
stays in continuous contact with her
consultants and clients via the phone
and face-to-face communication.
“My business is all about relationships
and proving your value,” she
says. “I need to make sure I have upto-
date information on my clients so
I can do the HR work they require.
Managing a virtual team requires a
lot of follow-up on my part. I regularly
attend customer staff meetings.
I am able to keep a lot of balls in
the air.”
Your Rolodex Is Your Gold
It is difficult to have a virtual business
without many contacts, both
vendors and partners. You need to
be established in your field. Paige
Arnoff-Fenn’s virtual marketing
firm, Mavens & Moguls, has been
featured in two Harvard Business
Review case studies. Paige also feels
she is essentially in the “relationship
business.” She spends most
of her time traveling to meet with
customers, networking and generating
more leads and business.
“Once you have a seat at the table
and have their trust, you see all
your customer’s problems,” she
points out, “and this opens up even
more opportunities. In today’s
climate, your real asset is your
Rolodex, your relationships; this
is the gold.”
Changes in behavior — a member stops
responding to IMs or emails, shows up
late for meetings or starts sending in flat
single-page status reports instead of lively
three-page memos — may signal trouble.
Virtual Client Management
How do you make sure your virtual client
relationships work well? Some virtual
teams get into trouble because they fail
to make clear to the client the team’s chain
of command or to explain each member’s
role. Bonnie Cooper oversees complex
projects for the Massachusetts Medical
Society. Her first piece of advice to virtual
teams is to make sure your client understands
how your team is organized. Bonnie
recommends that you tell them, “‘Here’s
who we are, here’s how we operate, here
is our escalation path, and this individual
is responsible for your project.’ You need
to give them a context.” All communication
should flow through the designated
team leader, who should also have the
ability to triage client needs and get a
quick response to them.
A lack of business systems can be
another area of weakness for virtual teams.
“So often, I need to spend time learning a
vendor’s systems, which is time-consuming
and frustrating,” Bonnie says. The virtual
team should have business systems that
allow them to track their work, know
where things are and get a quick and
accurate status of where things stand
against the Statement of Work.
Presentations can be another area of
challenge for virtual teams, especially if
members are working independently and
do not check in with one another in their
analysis and reporting. Bonnie works with
vendors who have lots of virtual team members
(both employees and consultants),
and they don’t all take time to be sure
that everyone is on the same page. “You
can tell quickly when the team has not
Virtual teams
should meet before
a presentation —
to transfer knowledge,
get their messaging
aligned and practice.
Grow Your Business with Virtual Teams CONTINUED
60 QRCA VIEWS SUMMER 2010 www.qrca.org
prepared as a group,” she says.
“They stumble, they disagree, handoffs
are not smooth, and they do not
seem to be paying attention in a virtual
way. Teams need time to deliberate
so they have a unified voice.”
Virtual teams should meet before
a presentation — to transfer knowledge,
get their messaging aligned
and practice. Particularly in the
realm of presentations, “the virtual
element exacerbates any issues,”
Bonnie says. As they practice, the
team should also test the technologies
they plan to use. On the day of the
meeting, it is a good idea to convene
at least a half an hour before the
actual meeting to make sure everything
is set up and working; even a
bad phone connection will throw
everything off.
Another area of challenge is staying
in tune with the client’s mindset.
To Debbie Falck, a graphic and userinterface
designer, there is always a
risk that things will get lost in translation
when she works virtually with
people who do not understand her
expertise. To prevent this, when starting
up with a new client, she and her
team schedule a kickoff meeting
where they walk through a fullblown
design exercise. The meeting
gives everyone a chance to get to
know one another. This initial meeting
also provides an opportunity for
“group therapy,” where clients can
voice frustration with their product’s
appearance and usability.
There is such a thing as being too
virtual. When she can, Debbie likes
to be physically present at key points
in a project, such as initial design
reviews. “The worst thing is to be
talking about visual issues remotely,
and you have no idea what they see
on their end, for example with color
shifts,” she comments. Further, you
don’t have the chance to pick up on
the nonverbal communication going
on in the other end. You don’t see
people’s facial expressions (who
looks discouraged, who is making
eye contact). “Sometimes this is just
unavoidable,” she says. “I have
clients whom I have never met, and
it has been fine. But they have a
sophisticated sense of visual design
and the design process, and they
shield me from the internal politics
of the work we are doing.”
Using virtual teams to build your
business will not be without challenges.
But it represents a good way
for you to take on bigger projects,
reach out into new markets and give
outstanding value to your clients.
For summaries of all the interviews
I conducted on virtual teams,
please visit www.virtual-teamsuccess.
com.
Bonnie Cooper, PMP – Massachusetts Medical Society
SHOW YOUR CLIENT YOUR ORG CHART
Bonnie has dealt with dozens of vendors in her job as the Technical Portfolio Manager at the Massachusetts Medical Society. Her first piece of advice to virtual teams is to show the client your organization chart and tell them “here’s who we are… here’s how we operate… here is our escalation path…and this individual is responsible for your project… you need to give them a context.” The virtual team should have one point of contact, such as a project manager, and this person needs to have the ability to triage client needs and get a quick response to them
Aside from not communicating people’s roles or their team’s chain of command, poorly designed tracking systems can be another area of weakness for virtual teams. “So often I need to spend time learning a vendor’s system, or find out they don’t have one at all, which is time consuming and frustrating.” The virtual team should have user friendly business systems that allow them to track their work, know where things are, and get a quick and accurate status of where things stand against the Statement of Work.
WEEKLY STATUS REPORTS ALSO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE TEAM
Giving weekly status reports keeps everyone on track. The process of pulling together a status report not only enhances client communication, but it also allows team members to regularly evaluate their performance, measure their progress against the schedule, and clear up conflict and misunderstanding. In addition to a written status, Bonnie insists on weekly phone meetings to maintain a personal connection. Whether on-ground or virtual, successful teams manage client expectations aggressively. Effective teams also insist on clear requirements, a statement of work, and a formal change control process. Because people don’t see each other, this type of groundwork at the beginning of a project is especially critical.
VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS REQUIRE SPECIAL ATTENTION
Presentations can be another area of challenge for virtual teams, especially if members are working independently and do not check in with each other in their analysis and reporting. “I work with vendors who have lots of virtual team members – both employees and consultants – and they often don’t put the effort in to be on the same page with each other…You can tell quickly when the team has not prepared as a group… they stumble, they disagree, handoffs are not smooth, and they do not seem to be paying attention in a virtual way…teams need time to deliberate so they have a unified voice”
Virtual teams should meet before a presentation – to transfer knowledge, get their messaging aligned, and practice. Particularly in the realm of presentations, “the virtual element exacerbates any issues”. As they practice the team should also test the technologies they plan to use. On the day of the meeting it is a good idea to convene at least a half an hour before the actual meeting to make sure everything is set up and working – even a bad phone connection will throw everything off. Ideally, there should be someone from the team physically with the client, as extra assurance things will go smoothly.
Overall though, “you can’t really replace the power of social interaction – the effectiveness of a team is directly related to the amount of trust people have in each other.”
Seth Earley – Earley & Associates
Earley & Associates provides taxonomy, search engine optimization, and information management consulting to large corporations and government agencies. In spite of the recession, 2009 was a good year for them. Earley & Associates delivers a variety of projects, from small strategy and roadmap engagements to larger projects that can last longer than a year and span multiple business units of a large enterprise. Today, they serve clients across multiple industries. Current clients include, Astra Zeneca, Best Buy, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Inter American Development Bank and State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
EARLEY & ASSOCIATES HAS GROWN FROM ONE PERSON TO 20
Seth Earley, CEO and President, started his business 15 years ago and has grown it from a single person operation to 20 consultants who live throughout the United States and Canada. Everyone, including Seth, works out of home offices. His company became virtual in 2003 and this has had absolutely no effect on their growth.
SETH USES A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO HIRING NEW STAFF
He is methodical about hiring new consultants, and prefers to hire seasoned people. “They need to be good. I need to trust that they are professional, and that they understand the industry.” Seth checks credentials, references, and uses a skills assessment checklist during the interview.
“There are people who have worked together for a year who have not yet met in person.” Most team members however, meet face to face at client sites. When working on a project there is lots of communication, Web meetings, conference calls, and use of collaborative technology such as a VPN, Sharepoint, Lotus Notes and bulletin boards.
“I DON’T THINK OF MY COMPANY AS VIRTUAL”
“I don’t really look at our company as virtual, because this is our normal way of doing business.” New people shadow more experienced staff to become acclimated to the company’s procedures. Most of the orientation is done remotely. The virtual work arrangement has also had minimal effect on his group’s output. Consultants follow style guides and templates. There are set protocols for how to interact with clients and everyone’s work is reviewed. “There is no sloppy work” – even draft documents must look like finished documents and be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
AUTOMATED SYSTEMS FUEL COMPANY GROWTH
As his company has matured Seth focuses on putting in place systems and infrastructure to help the business run more efficiently. Over the past two years, Earley & Associates has invested significant time and money to integrate project management, time tracking, and accounting. Consulting hours are automatically billed. In this way Seth sees the status of tasks, and he can quickly add new consultants to a project.
Everything tracks back to the Statement of Work, “so we never have to create a manual invoice.” His company can run an audit with the push of a button, whereas before it would take days. Seth can now tell how profitable each project is and make very precise cash flow projections. He’s also integrated Salesforce.com with the website lead capture process and developed marketing management and business development processes.
These technology and process investments have helped improve operational efficiencies and enabled the company to expand and take on larger more complex projects. This has not been a simple or straightforward process. The company has changed quite dramatically from its beginning. “I have reinvented the business and changed our strategy and operations over the past 15 years. It’s a process that never ends.”
