SHRM Survey Findings: Virtual Teams
Definitions
Key Findings
Does your organization use virtual teams?
Why does your organization use virtual teams?
For what formal or informal capacities does your organization use virtual teams?
What are the most successful behaviors for virtual and on-site/traditional face-to-face teams in your organization?
What are the most successful behaviors for on-site/traditional face-to-face teams in your organization?
What are the most challenging behaviors for virtual and on-site/traditional face-to-face teams in your organization?
What are the most challenging behaviors for virtual teams in your organization?
What are the top challenges to the success of virtual teams in your organization?
Demographics: Organization Sector
Demographics: Organization Staff Size
Demographics: Organization Industry
Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Demographics: Other
SHRM Survey Findings: Virtual Teams

Key Findings

Are organizations using virtual teams? Almost one-half of organizations (46%) use virtual teams in their workplace. Organizations with multinational operations are more than twice as likely (66%) to use virtual teams compared with organizations with U.S.-based operations (28%).

Why do organizations use virtual teams? Of organizations that use virtual teams, approximately one-half use them to include talent in different geographic locations (53%) and to boost collaboration among employees in different geographic locations (49%). Other reasons for using virtual teams include improving productivity (39%), minimizing costs for travel (39%), and collaborating more across global business units because work projects are becoming more global (37%).

What are the most successful teamwork behaviors resulting from the use of virtual teams? Nearly three-quarters of organizations (72%) indicated that brainstorming solutions for problems or issues was the most successful behavior for virtual teams, followed by setting goals for team initiatives or projects (68%) and developing plans for team initiatives or projects (63%).

What are the obstacles that prevent virtual teams from being successful? About one-half of organizations reported that building team relations (51%) and time differences (49%) were the top challenges for successful virtual teams. Organizations also indicated that additional challenges to using virtual teams were distribution of work (32%), differences in cultural norms (26%) and leadership of these types of teams (25%).