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REALTOR® ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE
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 Virtual Teams: an exploration of online collaboration By Carolyn Schwaar Although it may be too soon to convert your boardroom into storage space, productive teamwork online instead of in-person is fast becoming a reality. As virtual teamwork software and online services get better, cheaper, and more diverse, you just may be able to reduce your in-person meetings, save time and money, and foster boards and committees that produce more effective work. For Julie Zelemis, communications director for the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, the Internet has added value to teamwork and has been an empowering tool. Prior to making the shift to online collaboration, leaders were becoming frustrated, meeting agendas were constantly being changed, minutes were floating around, and calendars were not being updated and communicated to the volunteers. "We knew we had to find an easy, effective, and timely way to send and receive documents and event information, and get input on issues and other association communications," explains Zelemis. So when Jim Myrick of Realty World/Realty Solutions, the association's president-elect, recommended Intranets.com, an intranet service he had successfully implemented in his brokerage, the association took the leap. Intranets.com serves more than 200,000 users across 7,500 companies worldwide, including high-profile clients like NASA, the Home Depot, and Keller Williams Realty. The intranet service is particularly good for making important documents and agendas available to selected groups of people, managers, or committee members, explains Warren Winsness, past education and technology committee chairperson. It provides controls so that sensitive subjects and documents are only distributed to the group of people responsible for a subject. The intranet allows members of those groups to chat and give their thoughts on specific subjects without endless chains of e-mail 'replies' that become difficult to follow. Yet, despite the advantages of the system, educating all 205 of Santa Clara's volunteers on the viability of the intranet presented the biggest challenge. At the start, association staff initiated much of the virtual collaboration with committee members to ensure their participation; they quickly got the hang of it, though. According to Zelemis, "The only significant hurdle so far has been volunteers forgetting their passwords." Online collaboration services, such as Intranets.com, QuickTime, Teamspace.com, eRoom, and GroupSense, boast a wide range of services that allow groups to interact virtually and effectively. Among the common virtual team service features are the ability to:
Although price and features are important factors to consider when selecting a virtual teamwork solution for your association, staff commitment to learn the systems and help volunteers is just as vital. Your staff and volunteers need more than just buy-in; they need to be equipped with the skills that will help them become effective virtual teams. Many consultants offer training and orientation. Popular options include NetAge Inc. (www.virtualteams.com) and the Applied Knowledge Group (www.akgroup.com). Virtual team training includes learning to balance virtual and face-to-face meetings, creating a collaborative strategy, understanding the dynamics of virtual teams, learning to overcome communication problems, and learning how to establish trust and a code of conduct. One way to get your leadership's feet wet collaborating online is to experiment with free or inexpensive single-function software, such as NetDocuments (www.netdocuments.com). Net Documents provides online document storage and retrieval so that everyone is always working from the same version. Another example is eGroups (www.egroups.com), which combines e-mail with a central, Web-based repository that allows messages to be tracked, retrieved, and reviewed.Regardless of the solution you choose, there's no doubt that virtual teamwork has its advantages:* saves on expenses (travel, stationery supplies, and refreshments)* enables you to recruit more time-crunched or distance-challenged volunteers who otherwise would find team participation too burdensome* gives you the ability to work from anywhere, anytime* allows group members to make the most of "face time"* allows more continuous communication* improves documentation and recordingOf course the downside of virtual work is that you lose some of the "human element" of working with people (your members' specialty) and you miss out on some of the "water cooler" conversations that might yield unexpected insights.However, with the right combination of software, education, and dedication, there's great hope that this new technology can make teamwork more productive.rae Virtual Teamwork Service Vendors (This list is an industry sampling and isn't comprehensive; NAR doesn't evaluate or endorse these products and isn't responsible for changes in company information.) Centra. Online conferencing, real-time Web collaboration solutions, online education, training, and certification programs. www.centra.com ConferencePlus. Conference Plus, a REALTOR VIP¨ Alliance partner, provides a variety of audio, video and web conferencing services and has created a preferred pricing plan for NAR members and Realtor¨ associations. Also available are broadcast fax, fax-on-demand, digital tape playback, live Q&A, polling, conference recording, and transcription--all with full training, service and support. www.cpiconf.com/nar eProject Management and Collaboration. EPMAC creates a secure online project workspace featuring task management, issue tracking, document sharing with versioning, contact management, text search, and custom reporting. 24x7 help desk. www.epmac.com eRoom. eRoom provides virtual project teams with online tools to share information, capture and preserve knowledge, discuss ideas, and resolve issues. Service includes instant messaging, polls, and surveys. www.eroomhosting.com HotOffice. This service puts essential virtual teamwork-enhancing tools in one central location. Collaborate on reports and keep track of revisions, no e-mail file-size limits, brainstorm, and keep a running log of project progress. www.hotoffice.com MagicalWorkSpace. Virtual workplace service that enables teams to e-mail; share calendars, task lists, and Internet bookmarks; store files, and view documents. System features also can be accessed by the latest range of Internet devices, including WAP Phone, Palm Pilot, PC, and Web TV. www.magicaldesk.com Microsoft Placeware. Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server connect virtual teams in real time. They also allow greater collaboration and information sharing. www.placeware.com SameTime. IBM's platform for real-time collaboration, document sharing, instant messaging, and Web conferencing. www.lotus.com/products/product3.nsf/wdocs/homepage TeamSpace. TeamSpace helps virtual work groups collaborate online with worldwide access to documents, contacts, and calendars. Also features file sharing, Outlook synchronization, chat, and bulletin board. www.teamspace.com WebEx. WebEx delivers online meetings, Web conferencing and video conferencing services. Share multimedia presentations for on-demand delivery via the Web. Includes a virtual classroom that enables the most interactive and effective live online training. www.webex.com Viack. A secure solution that enables virtual teams to meet online using real-time audio, video, instant messaging, and joint document editing. www.viack.comMore product reviews and contact info at cnet.com. Virtual Team Software Features Schedule meetings without a barrage of e-mails to resolve conflicts. Collaborate on reports without multiple versions passed back and forth via e-mail. Keep track of document revisions and who made them. Keep your business e-mail box clean by using a team e-mail system accessible from any computer and no file-size limits. Get all your e-mail from different accounts in one inbox and pick which address to use when you send. Discuss a project in real time without travel or high phone bills. Brainstorm and keep a running log of project progress. Show multimedia presentations and give guided tours of documents or the Web. Click here to Send feedback on this article. |
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