Innovative Approaches to Management of Virtual Teams Leading to Reliability and Retention
Abstract
Purpose: The paper focuses on identification of variables affecting management leading to reliability and retention of virtual teams.
Methodology/Approach: The data were collected globally from 323 managers working with virtual teams; members were hired and worked fully virtually with team members from different countries and time zones. Respondents were from all continents. The data were evaluated by tested by reliability tests and two and multidimensional statistics (Spearman’s correlation, principal component and factor analysis).
Findings: Empowerment and encouraging were proven as variables significantly affecting management of virtual teams’ reliability. Variables leading to employee retention are communication, performance appraisal, career plans, training and leadership/supervision to overcome barriers. Efficient management in virtual environment is significantly related to policies and career possibilities. Over 20% of managers are incompetent to work with virtual teams. The main threat leading to failure of virtual teams is burn out based on social distancing.
Research Limitation/Implication: Limitation of the study is the first approach to the virtual teams’ management only focusing on ICT employees. The findings revealed significant relations leading to virtual operations impacting employees’ performance, reliability and retention.
Originality/Value of paper: This paper provides an insight into the importance of innovative approach to virtual teams, as virtual employees may strive with low social contact and less support from organization.
References
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Liao, C., 2017. Leadership in virtual teams: a multilevel perspective. Human Resource Management Review, [e-journal] 27(4), pp.648-659. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.12.010.
Malinen, S., Wright, S. and Cammock, P., 2013. What drives organisational engagement? A case study on trust, justice perceptions and withdrawal attitudes. Evidence-based HRM, [e-journal] 1(1), pp.96-108. DOI: 10.1108/20493981311318638.
Mishra, P., Pandey, C.M., Singh, U., Gupta, A., Sahu, C. and Keshri, A., 2019. Descriptive statistics and normality tests for statistical data. Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia, [e-journal] 22(1), pp.67-72. DOI: 10.4103/aca.ACA_157_18.
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O’Neill, T.A., Hancock, S.E., Zivkov, K., Larson, N.L. and Law, S.J., 2016. Team decision making in virtual and face-to-face environments. Group Decis Negot, [e-journal] 25(5), pp.995-1020. DOI: 10.1007/s10726-015-9465-3.
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Powell, A., Piccoli, G. and Ives, B., 2004. Virtual teams. ACM SIGMIS Database: The DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, [e-journal] 35(1), pp.6-36. DOI: 10.1145/968464.968467.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2015. Research Methods for Business Students. 7th ed. Pearson Education Limited.
Shah, M. and Asad, M., 2018. Effect of motivation on employee retention: mediating role of perceived organizational support. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 7(2), pp.511-520.
Shuck, B. and Albornoz, C., 2007. Below the salary line: Employee engagement of non-salaried employees. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Human Resource Development, pp.1-9.
Sishuwa, Y. and Phiri, J., 2020. Factors influencing employee retention in the transport and logistic industry. Open Journal of Social Sciences, [e-journal] 8(6), pp.145-160. DOI: 10.4236/jss.2020.86013.
Sullivan, G.M., 2011. A primer on the validity of assessment instruments. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, [e-journal] 3(2), pp.119-120. DOI: 10.4300/JGME-D-11-00075.1.
Valentine, S. and Godkin, L., 2017. Banking employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility, value-fit commitment, and turnover intentions: ethics as social glue and attachment. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, [e-journal] 29(2), pp.51-71. DOI: 10.1007/s10672-017-9290-8.
Watson-Manheim, M.B., Chudoba, K.M. and Crowston, K., 2012. Perceived discontinuities and constructed continuities in virtual work. Inf Syst J, [e-journal] 22(1), pp.29-52. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2011.00371.x.
Zaccaro, S.J. and Bader, P., 2003. E-leadership and the challenges of leading E-teams: Minimizing the bad and maximizing the good. Organizational Dynamics, [e-journal] 31, pp.377-387. DOI: 10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00129-8.
Zigurs, I., 2003. Leadership in virtual teams: Oxymoron or opportunity? Organizational Dynamics, [e-journal] 31, pp.339-351. DOI: 10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00132-8.
Alferaih, A., Sarwar, S. and Eid, A., 2018. Talent turnover and retention research: the case of tourism sector organisations in Saudi Arabia. Evidence-based HRM, [e-journal] 6(2), pp.166-186. DOI: 10.1108/EBHRM-06-2017-0035.
Anderson, V., Fontinha, R. and Robson, F., 2019. Research methods in human resource management. Croydon: Kogan Page.
Anitha, J., 2016. Role of organisational culture and employee commitment in employee retention. ASBM Journal of Management, 9(1), pp.17-28.
Arunprasad, P., Dey, C., Jebli, F., Manimuthu, A. and El Hathat, Z., 2022. Exploring the remote work challenges in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: review and application model. Benchmarking: An International Journal. (ahead of print) Available at: < https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BIJ-07-2021-0421/full/html > [Accessed on 12 November 2022]. DOI: 10.1108/BIJ-07-2021-0421.
Bartsch, S., Weber, E., Büttgen, M. and Huber, A., 2021. Leadership matters in crisis-induced digital transformation: how to lead service employees effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Service Management, 32(1), pp.71-85.
Bell, B.S. and Kozlowski, S.W.J., 2002. A typology of virtual teams: Implications for effective leadership. Group & Organization Management, [e-journal] 27(1), pp.14-49. DOI: 10.1177/1059601102027001003.
Bell, E., 2019. Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bidisha, L.D. and Mukulesh, B., 2013. Employee retention: A review of literature. Journal of Business and Management, 14, pp.8-16.
Bulińska-Stangrecka, H. and Bagieńska, A., 2019. HR practices for supporting interpersonal trust and its consequences for team collaboration and innovation. Sustainability, 11(16), p.4423.
Carnevale, J.B. and Hatak, I., 2020. Employee adjustment and well-being in the era of COVID-19: Implications for human resource management. Journal of Business Research, [e-journal] 116, pp.183-187. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.037.
Cochran, W.G., 2007. Sampling techniques. John Wiley & Sons.
Davis, D.D. and Bryant, J.L., 2003. Influence at a distance: Leadership in global virtual teams. Advances in Global leadership, 3, pp.303-340.
De Smet, A., Dowling, B., Mugayar-Baldocchi, M. and Schaninger, B., 2021. “Great attrition” or “great attraction”? The choice is yours. McKinsey Quarterly, [online] 08 September. Available at: < https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/great-attrition-or-great-attraction-the-choice-is-yours > [Accessed on 12 November 2021].
Dulebohn, J.H. and Hoch, J.E., 2017. Virtual teams in organizations. Human Resource Management Review, [e-journal] 27(4), pp.569-574. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.12.004.
Gilson, L.L., Maynard, M.T., Young, N.C.J., Vartiainen, M. and Hakonen, M., 2015. Virtual teams research 10 years, 10 themes, and 10 opportunities. Journal of Management, [e-journal] 41(5), pp.1313-1337. DOI: 10.1177/0149206314559946.
Großer, B. and Baumöl, U., 2017. Virtual teamwork in the context of technological and cultural transformation. International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management, [e-journal] 5(4), pp.21-35. DOI: 10.12821/ijispm050402.
Haar, J. and White, B., 2013. Corporate entrepreneurship and information technology towards employee retention: a study of New Zealand firms. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(1), pp.109-125.
Howard-Grenville, J., 2020. How to sustain your organisation’s culture when everyone is remote. MIT Sloan Management Review, [online] 24 June. Available at: < https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-sustain-your-organizations-culture-when-everyone-is-remote/ > [Accessed on 12 November 2021].
James, L. and Mathew, L., 2012. Employee retention strategies: IT industry. Journal of Indian Management, July-September, pp.79-89.
Kauffeld, S., Tartler, D., Gräfe, H., Windmann, A-K. and Sauer, N.Ch., 2022. What will mobile and virtual work look like in the future?—Results of a Delphi-based study. Gr Interakt Org., [e-journal] 53, pp.189-2014. DOI: 10.1007/s11612-022-00627-8.
Khan, M. and Wajidi, A., 2019. Role of leadership and team building in employee motivation in the workplace. Global Management Journal for Academic and Corporate Studies, 9(1), pp.39-49.
Kim, H. and Stoner, M., 2008. Burnout and turnover intention among social workers: effects of role stress, job autonomy and social support. Administration in Social Work, [e-journal] 32(3), pp.5-25. DOI: 10.1080/03643100801922357.
Kim, S., Billinghurst, M. and Lee, G., 2018. The effect of collaboration styles and view independence on video-mediated remote collaboration. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, [e-journal] 27(3-6), pp.569-607. DOI: 10.1007/s10606-018-9324-2.
Kossivi, B., Xu, M. and Kalgora, B., 2016. Study on determining factors of employee retention. Open Journal of Social Sciences, [e-journal] 4, pp.261-268. DOI: 10.4236/jss.2016.45029.
Koubova, V. and Buchko, A.A., 2013. Life-work balance: emotional intelligence as a crucial component of achieving both personal life and work performance. Management Research Review, [e-journal] 36(7), pp.700-719.
Lee, C.C., Lim, H.S., Seo, D. and Kwak, D.A., 2022. Examining employee retention and motivation: the moderating effect of employee generation. Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, [e-journal] 10(4), pp.385-402. DOI: 10.1108/EBHRM-05-2021-0101.
Liao, C., 2017. Leadership in virtual teams: a multilevel perspective. Human Resource Management Review, [e-journal] 27(4), pp.648-659. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.12.010.
Malinen, S., Wright, S. and Cammock, P., 2013. What drives organisational engagement? A case study on trust, justice perceptions and withdrawal attitudes. Evidence-based HRM, [e-journal] 1(1), pp.96-108. DOI: 10.1108/20493981311318638.
Mishra, P., Pandey, C.M., Singh, U., Gupta, A., Sahu, C. and Keshri, A., 2019. Descriptive statistics and normality tests for statistical data. Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia, [e-journal] 22(1), pp.67-72. DOI: 10.4103/aca.ACA_157_18.
Mita, M., Aarti, K. and Ravneeta, D., 2014. Study on employee retention and commitment. International Journal of Advance Research in Computer Science and Management Studies, 2, pp.154-164.
Newman, S.A. and Ford, R.C., 2021. Five steps to leading your team in the virtual COVID-19 workplace. Organizational Dynamics, [e-journal] 50(1), 100802. DOI: 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2020. 100802.
O’Neill, T.A., Hancock, S.E., Zivkov, K., Larson, N.L. and Law, S.J., 2016. Team decision making in virtual and face-to-face environments. Group Decis Negot, [e-journal] 25(5), pp.995-1020. DOI: 10.1007/s10726-015-9465-3.
Olson, J.S. and Olson, G.M., 2013. Working together apart: collaboration over the internet. In: J.M. Carroll, ed. Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics. Morgan & Claypool Publishers. 6(5), pp.1-151. DOI: 10.2200/S00542ED1V01Y201310HCI020.
Pianese, T., Errichiello, L. and da Cunha, J.V., 2022. Organizational control in the context of remote working: A synthesis of empirical findings and a research agenda. European Management Review, pp.1-101. DOI: 10.1111/emre.12515
Porter, A.J. and van den Hooff, B., 2020. The complementarity of autonomy and control in mobile work. European Journal of Information Systems, [e-journal] 29(2), pp.172-189. DOI: 10.1080/0960085X.2020.1728200.
Powell, A., Piccoli, G. and Ives, B., 2004. Virtual teams. ACM SIGMIS Database: The DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, [e-journal] 35(1), pp.6-36. DOI: 10.1145/968464.968467.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2015. Research Methods for Business Students. 7th ed. Pearson Education Limited.
Shah, M. and Asad, M., 2018. Effect of motivation on employee retention: mediating role of perceived organizational support. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 7(2), pp.511-520.
Shuck, B. and Albornoz, C., 2007. Below the salary line: Employee engagement of non-salaried employees. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Human Resource Development, pp.1-9.
Sishuwa, Y. and Phiri, J., 2020. Factors influencing employee retention in the transport and logistic industry. Open Journal of Social Sciences, [e-journal] 8(6), pp.145-160. DOI: 10.4236/jss.2020.86013.
Sullivan, G.M., 2011. A primer on the validity of assessment instruments. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, [e-journal] 3(2), pp.119-120. DOI: 10.4300/JGME-D-11-00075.1.
Valentine, S. and Godkin, L., 2017. Banking employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility, value-fit commitment, and turnover intentions: ethics as social glue and attachment. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, [e-journal] 29(2), pp.51-71. DOI: 10.1007/s10672-017-9290-8.
Watson-Manheim, M.B., Chudoba, K.M. and Crowston, K., 2012. Perceived discontinuities and constructed continuities in virtual work. Inf Syst J, [e-journal] 22(1), pp.29-52. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2011.00371.x.
Zaccaro, S.J. and Bader, P., 2003. E-leadership and the challenges of leading E-teams: Minimizing the bad and maximizing the good. Organizational Dynamics, [e-journal] 31, pp.377-387. DOI: 10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00129-8.
Zigurs, I., 2003. Leadership in virtual teams: Oxymoron or opportunity? Organizational Dynamics, [e-journal] 31, pp.339-351. DOI: 10.1016/S0090-2616(02)00132-8.
Authors
Depoo, L., & Hyršlová, J. (2022). Innovative Approaches to Management of Virtual Teams Leading to Reliability and Retention. Quality Innovation Prosperity, 26(3), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.12776/qip.v26i3.1734
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