The virtual world is becoming more pervasive in our lives each day - from virtual reality games to virtual workplaces, being "virtually there" is becoming the new way of life. Because of technology and the globalisation of the world's economy, virtual work places and teams have become commonplace.

The travel industry was globalising long before the word "globalisation" became ubiquitous in people's vocabulary. We have always dealt with people from all over the world. To put together a tour package to the US, we have to deal with tour operators, attraction owners, transportation firms from across the globe.

Where the travel trade has lagged behind is the use of technology to accomplish those kinds of tasks. Technology companies like Sun Microsystems have perfected the creation and use of "virtual teams" to participate in global projects.

Two experts in networked organisations – Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps – propose that with virtual teams, "we can accept challenges with others that are impossible alone".

"In time, virtual teams will become the natural way to work," say the experts.

In our terms, what could a virtual team look like? It could consist of staff in your travel agency, plus travel partners sitting in other workplaces, or even in other countries, as well as sponsors and suppliers.

Going beyond the why and the what, let's consider how we launch a virtual team.
Lipnack and Stamps suggest a 7-step process:

1. Create an identity
A virtual team grows as people with a shared purpose link over time. Its identity could be created through a shared project (for example, to create unique tours to the Australian Outback), or a common role (tour managers). We need to move beyond the usual segregation and delineation of work functions – think out of the box and allow teams to form creatively. Give the team a label, and encourage community.

2. Draft a mission
It is important that each virtual team gets its purpose right early in the game, and not lose sight of why it exists in the first place. Review it often to make sure the team remains on track.

3. Determine milestones
Because the team is virtual and no one is at the same place at the same time, it is important that clear timelines and schedules are set in place. Deliverables must be clearly stated against agreed timelines. These should be done as a group as well to ensure that timelines are realistic and reasonable for everyone involved.

4. Set Goals
Carve out the major pieces of work for the team. To move from vague vision to concrete results, there should be organised goals, relating closely to the milestones above.

5. Identify members
Roles should be defined amongst the group. Who leads what? Who is responsible for which goals? Generate a team table with everyone's role, contacts and place of work. In a virtual setting, it is easy to lose sight of the people aspect of the team, and become overly goal-oriented. Remember that even in the virtual world, people exist.

6. Establish relationships
Being in a virtual team does not mean living in isolation. Relationships are just as important here. A matrix of relationships can be created according to smaller tasks within the project. Eg, separate meetings can be held by finance-related personnel involved in the project.

7. Choose media
High technology these days provide many options for virtual teams to "meet". Media can be grouped in three ways: face-to-face, virtual same-time/synchronous (phone calls, two-way video conferencing, audio-enabled web meetings, multi-party chat/instant messaging over the web), and virtual asynchronous (mail, fax, voice mail, email, threaded discussions, interactive websites).

Whether you begin with small virtual teams, or large ones, remember that this is also about embracing change to progress. Andy Campbell of Applied Knowledge Group rightly put it: "We can't solve 21^st century problems with 19^th century organisations."

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