How Has the Virtual Working Group Changed this Year?
Before we enter the next year in the world of the virtual working group, let’s reflect on the previous year’s virtual work teams and share a few thoughts and resources that demonstrate how the world of the virtual working group has evolved. The past year continued to gain momentum on bridging the human connection in the virtual world. Virtual working group arrangements continued to rise as more people work on virtual projects, attend virtual classes, learn in virtual settings, meet in virtual rooms and collaborate on a daily basis with their virtual teammates.
Some facts that illustrate how our evolving virtual world gained new perspectives in 2011:
• Sharp increase in remote work was reported by Forrester Research, noting that 62% of information workers in North America and Europe now work remotely. Harvard Business research also indicates that 40% percent of IBM’s 400,000 global employees work remotely.
• Survey of Senior Leaders and Hiring Mangers of Fortune-500 Companies reports on Virtual Work Environments in the Post-Recession Era.
• Online talent outsourcing platforms, such as Elance, have grown dramatically, with Global wages set to surpass $500 Million. Despite a stagnant employment market, online hiring went up 120%. There was also an increase in people pursuing independent careers and using online platforms to reinvent their professions.
• Online freelancers made million dollar revenues by working solely on virtual projects. Amazon business bookshelves continue add advice on how to “Get Rich Click“, and make profits by running virtual and home based businesses.
• We lost one of the most important innovators, Steve Jobs, who helped create the world’s first personal computers, opened the gates of mobile virtual worlds and inspired millions of creative people and entrepreneurs to live their passions.
• Virtually outsourced projects and social media platforms are continuing to expand and make local changes, organize events, sell products & services, and build project platforms.
• Technology continues to provide online communication tools for virtual teams, and the numbers of web conferencing, web collaboration and web projects are growing rapidly.
• We witnessed millions of people gathering globally to protest their freedom in places such as Egypt, Libya, Spain; social community digital platforms quickly evolved in real-time on Twitter and Facebook to raise awareness and provide up-to-date information. For further data about how digital media is changing society and culture through a rapidly growing virtual medium via digital activism, see PBS Mediashift series The Guide to the Digital Media Revolution..
These trends are consistent with my research and consulting work on the important topic of the virtual working group. As Yael Zofi noted in her book, A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams, technology and globalization have made virtual work teams an everyday reality that has transformed the workplace. Many teams do not work in face-to-face environments anymore.
You might ask, is that good or bad? 2011 brought us various new online communication platforms, but we still have to remind ourselves to constantly strengthen the human bond – those relationships, or connections that are vital to every virtual situation despite time and space constraints. Happy virtual 2012!
