Leading and working in virtual teams
SES S.A.
The client's challenge
"First of all we have the challenge of managing a virtual team. Our reality is that for many of our people managers, a large part of their team is geographically somewhere else. We have found that the regular toolbox that you develop as a manager needs to be adapted to this situation. Some of our managers have successfully done this by their own devices, but we wanted to speed up that learning curve - this is where training is essential and appreciated. Our second goal is to provide training and support to any team member working in a virtual team. It’s logical that the same kind of principles apply to both team members and team leaders, but still we felt that it shouldn't be just a one-size-fits-all training that we offer to everybody – there are differences too. And last but not least - we need a practical and financially viable solution for training everybody in our organization - no matter where they are based!”
Overcoming the challenge of a virtualized and globalized work environment
With offices in 22 countries, having teams work smoothly together across different locations is one of the key challenges facing SES. They asked us to develop a range of high-impact solutions including full-day seminars and modules delivered remotely using Polycom. As a result, SES employees are now getting systematic support and training to allow them to perform effectively in cross-functional and cross-locational teams.
We developed multiple solutions to meet the challenges of managing and working in virtual teams:
"...One of the things we love about working with Target Training is that they invest the time necessary to understand what we are trying to get out of this. It’s not “off the shelf” training – and this makes a real difference to the training and business impact."
Leading virtual teams
A 1-day and 2-day experiential seminar, tailored to reflect SES’ specific management culture and typical challenges.
Working in virtual teams
A 1-day seminar was rolled out across the organization. Responding to the participant’s priorities, the focus was on communication, building relationships within the team and dealing with common threats and derailers.
2-hour modules, delivered virtually
Working in virtual teams and Leading virtual teams were developed as virtual modules to reach all employees around the world, using the clients platform Polycom. The 2-hour modules were scheduled to run at different times to reach all staff members - from Hawaii to South Africa to Malaysia.
Introduction to working in virtual teams
A 1-day seminar was developed to support the acquistion of RR Media (Israel) by SES Platform Services (Germany). This was then delivered in both Germany and Israel.
“The training supported our employees in working together, independent of where they happen to be located. The complexity and the degree of effort required to lead or perform in a virtual team was brought back to the same level of complexity and effort required in a co-located team. It’s obvious that virtual teams were never going to be easier than co-located teams. The training made it more manageable for everybody, and made our employees fully aware of the pitfalls and mechanisms that are built into a virtual team situation.“