Team bonding: How organisations can build connections while working remotely

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Trust is an important ingredient for working effectively and successfully online. Nevertheless, it is often reported as one of the key challenges of virtual work.

With virtual teams, work can take place anywhere, anytime, while the use of different communication technologies enables dispersed employees to work on joint projects.

This form of work is not new, but up until recently it was a choice. For organisations, it was a way to bring talented individuals together, regardless of their location, to collaborate on joint projects; for individuals, it was a preference to work flexibly, both in time and space. With Covid-19, and because of the ongoing lockdowns, virtual project teams have become a necessity – an enforced way of organising and, often, the only form of work arrangement for many professionals and organisations.

Trust has been found by several scholars to be crucial for the success of virtual project teams. It has been specifically stated that virtuality requires trust to make it work. As Charles Handy, a management author, said in 1995, it is unwise to trust people you do not know, whose work you have not seen, and who you do not know are committed to a project. Yet he also said if we are to enjoy the benefits of virtual teams, we have to trust more.

For Handy, a way to develop trust online was by promoting face-to-face meetings among the dispersed team members. However, this may not always be possible because of budget, time and current travel restrictions, for example. So, the question that I have been asking in my own investigations is: how does trust develop within virtual project teams?

After a series of qualitative case studies and interviews with virtual team members in organisations across different sectors and of varied sizes – including small firms and large multinationals – I have come across teams that experienced high trust and others that experienced low trust. Unsurprisingly, members talked enthusiastically about the former, but shared their frustration at being part of the latter.

Based on my research in this area, I argue that trust, whether high or low, is situated in the interactions between virtual team members. So, my position is that it is within these virtual team interactions – which are primarily technology-mediated – that trust could flourish (or diminish). As such, in this context, it is important to communicate competencies, roles and responsibilities, because these add clarity, as well as an awareness and appreciation of who is who and their involvement in the project.

Responsiveness is also vital; when members do not respond to emails with no explanation as to why, this causes frustration and misunderstanding, which would then lead to mistrust.

My research has also shown that there are different factors that can contribute to trust development within virtual project teams. These point to the significance of shared goals, power positioning and e-leadership in influencing trust development within teams, collectively reinforcing the view that virtual collaborations require trust among the dispersed team members in order to be effective.

First, the availability of clear project goals – as well as an awareness of the goals among team members and the extent to which these are known and shared – have an effect on trust development. In relation to this, the process of jointly constructing project team goals holds significant value, as it may provide the ‘glue’ to hold team members together long enough to make possible the development of mutual trust online.

Second, my studies found that, in high-trust virtual teams, power differentials do not disappear; instead, power shifts from one member to another throughout the life-cycle of a project, depending on its phases and requirements. Doing so shows appreciation for the unique expertise and talent that individual members bring to the virtual project. Interviewees described the power within their team as originating from knowledge and noted that, at any given point in time, the most powerful was the individual with the most relevant information.

Third, the role and behaviour of the virtual project leader has been shown to be a significant resource in promoting trust and supporting employee engagement during the various project stages. In our study of a temporary virtual project, the leader’s support was in the form of giving direction, showing empathy, and offering feedback and encouragement, with the aim of keeping employees motivated and informed about the progress of the project.

Ultimately, frequent virtual interactions, with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous means of communication throughout the life-cycle of a virtual project team, are important while taking account of project requirements at different stages.

E-leaders should facilitate multiway communication, encourage silent members to contribute to discussions, have one-to-one meetings, and get to know individual members and their needs. Above all, it is the quality not the quantity of communication that will help to develop trust and bonding.

Building trust

• Work on virtual projects requires trust to be effective
• Trust (either high or low) is situated in the interactions of virtual teams
• Shared goals (or the lack of) influence trust
• The process of constructing shared goals contributes towards trust development
• Power shifts originate from members’ knowledge and expertise
• E-leaders offer information and motivation, empathy and employee engagement

Niki Panteli is professor of digital business at the School of Management at Royal Holloway, University of London

This article was first published in the January 2021 issue of Impact.