The eruption last week of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has caused major disruption to air travel throughout Europe.  As this took place during school Easter holidays, many UK families have been stranded abroad, unable to return to school or work.  Business travellers have also been affected and many meetings have been postponed and projects put on hold.  The disruption that this has caused to business has been immense and the impact of people being unable to travel is as yet incalculable.

In this situation, unprecedented in recent times, virtual communication comes into its own.  Companies that are equipped with video and teleconferencing technologies are likely to suffer far less of an impact than those companies that rely on face-to-face contact between colleagues in different locations.

© istockphoto.com/quavondo

While email and telephone usage is ubiquitous in today’s business environment, video and teleconferencing technologies enable companies to interact internally and externally anywhere in the world. This can not only save a great deal of money but allows global organisations to be responsive to business needs and to avert disruption in situations like the current no-fly order.

Savvy companies realise that communication via virtual platforms is most successful when they are aware of the obstacles and know how to overcome them. Cross cultural differences, the absence of non-verbal communication and working in different time zones are all issues that need to be handled sensitively when working virtually across cultures.

Communicaid’s Managing Virtual Teams cross cultural awareness training course is specifically designed to address these obstacles and equip managers with the knowledge and skills they need to communicate effectively with their teams through virtual means.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010