Working in a virtual team poses several difficulties to organizations and staff. Physical considerations such as remoteness and perceived proximity affect virtual teams (Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020). Whenever group members cannot meet their coworkers face to face and do not have the social contacts that help create relationships and rapport, it becomes challenging to complete tasks. One of the dysfunctions that significantly impact virtual team productivity is the avoidance of accountability.
Virtual teams are based on the idea that all participants will continue to participate in the same way as they would in a physical meeting. However, members tend to unwind and use numerous apps on their devices while participating in a virtual chat. In most cases, organizations find it challenging to measure personnel effectiveness. The difficulty in predicting team performance is due to the intricate linkages between the layers of causal dynamics (Zaharie, 2021). Essentially, since each member has a variety of choices for severing communication or online presence, they can do it whenever convenient for them without employers’ knowledge. Generally, when teammates members fail to commit, they are hesitant to call out their peers’ misdeeds regarding the meaningful conversation, further altering accountability.
Members must keep everything basic, relevant, and easy to understand to avoid information overload. Virtual teams must experience well-being to be sustainable, which contributes to team performance (González-Anta, Orengo, Zornoza, Peñarroja, & Gamero, 2021). Online training is an excellent way to improve staff wellness. Additionally, digitalization of the processes and provision of necessary resources could improve the effectiveness. When it comes to productive dialogue, members should be able to call out their colleagues’ transgressions. As a result, other players must express their concerns and call out errant teammates. Generally, if done correctly under the direction of the team leader, such members can become cooperative and helpful.
In brief, avoiding accountability is one of the dysfunctions that substantially impact virtual team productivity. The problem in projecting team success stems from the difficulties in remotely tracking their job commitment. The efficiency of operations could be improved by digitizing them and providing the required resources. Firms that want to build long-term virtual teams should consider providing practical handling training to their employees.
References
González-Anta, B., Orengo, V., Zornoza, A., Peñarroja, V., & Gamero, N. (2021). Sustainable virtual teams: Promoting well-being through affect management training and openness to experience configurations. Sustainability, 13(6), 1-22.
Morrison-Smith, S., & Ruiz, J. (2020). Challenges and barriers in virtual teams: A literature review. SN Applied Sciences, 2(6), 1-33.
Zaharie, M. (2021). Challenges, trust and performance in virtual teams: examining the role of openness to experience and preference for virtual teams. Team Performance Management, 27 (3/4), 210-228. Web.