Best+practice+-+how+to+build+the+perfect+Virtual+Team

Virtual teams succeed by using best practices
The growth in popularity of virtual teams has prompted a number of researchers to take a closer look at what makes the good ones work. They have found that the most successful teams follow these best practices:


 * 1) **Institute strong leadership**. Executives must fully support the virtual structure and be aware of the potential challenges of managing a virtual team. They should consistently monitor the team’s progress to ensure deadlines are being met and budgets are on track.
 * 2) **Choose the right team members**. Individuals should be selected with a view to forming a successful team. Not all practitioners will thrive in a virtual environment. Those who are self-reliant and self-motivated will fare best.
 * 3) **Set expectations from the start**. Articulate objectives and define team member roles up front to avoid the possibility of overlooking or duplicating aspects of the work. This is especially important given the geographical distance between members of a virtual team.
 * 4) **Implement strict protocols****.** Establishing protocols will ensure that each team member knows when and how quickly to respond to action items, and will determine the steps to take when a team member fails to do so. Team meetings should be run by a strong chair. People should be prompted to give their opinions as opposed to volunteering them. Digressions should be discouraged as they tend to disengage other team members. Multitasking during meetings should be prohibited.
 * 5) **Use proven** **processes**. Teams need processes that govern the way they work and how the work will get done, from being aware of individual responsibilities and decision-making procedures to the consequences of poor work or missed deadlines. Virtual teams have little margin for error when it comes to project management, as problems can go unnoticed and grow into major issues.
 * 6) **Manage timelines and budgets carefully**. Often a project budget will dictate the number of hours that can be charged to a client. Because freelance practitioners are paid according to the time they take, budgets can easily be exceeded if not properly monitored.
 * 7) **Establish meaningful project milestones**. Milestones should be implemented to chart a project’s progress and act as checkpoints for the timeliness and quality of virtual team work.
 * 8) **Encourage interaction**. Leadership must ensure that team members have some mechanism by which to develop strong working relationships. They should also bring team members together by organizing social functions every few months to help them build rapport.
 * 9) **Communicate more efficiently****.**Virtual teams can be connected by various technologies, including phone, email, instant messaging, as well as video and web conferencing. Use more than one of these options so team members can choose the technology they’re most comfortable with. In addition, more communications do not necessarily mean better communication. Too many emails can lead to information overload and cause important issues to be overlooked. The key is to convey only relevant information, and to do so clearly and consistently.
 * 10) **Minimize team conflict**. Although conflict can lead to better ideas and solutions, conflicts within a virtual team should be dealt with immediately, because they can escalate quickly. Virtual teams do not build rapport as easily as other teams, and managers may have to become more involved in conflict resolution.

//References// http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-workplace/lifestyle-driven-virtual-teams-a-new-paradigm-for-professional-services-firms#.VHc7nMlFufU