Methods such as teleconference calls and web conferences can help reduce travel costs and save carbon. But, according to Ghislaine Caulat, head of the virtual working practice group at Ashridge business school: "Not many companies are doing it a lot and doing it well. I can count on two hands the numbers that are using virtual working properly. Yet I could fill a room with the articles written about it."
At an Ashridge InterfaceRaise sustainability event, Caulat and Roland Fristch, VP and head of global services and Danish manufacturer Danfoss, explained that leadership was key to virtual working.
"Managers believe that leading a virtual team is no different from managing an office-based team face to face. But it is best approached as a totally new concept," said Caulat.
One problem is that too many people focus on the task rather than relationships when working virtually. Trust can be developed via virtual working but more time is needed to enable ‘virtual water cooler conversations' to take place. Lack of visual cues should not be seen as a problem but as an opportunity to develop new ways to connect and work.
Few organisations have assessed the value of virtual working or developed a strategy for it. New leadership skills are required to help strong and trustful relationships develop in a virtual environment, attendees were told.
"The concept falls between IT and HR. HR is trying to calibrate strategy. There is a big difference between virtual teams and high performing virtual teams," Caulat added.
Employers slow to adopt virtual working in spite of its positive benefits to business
Virtual working is still not being adopted successfully by businesses, despite cost and environmental benefits.
