Minding the Competency Gap From College to Career: The Value of Virtual Teaming and VLEs for Skill Development

Introduction

The concept and application of teaming in the workplace is a common feature within management studies (Miller, 2003; Gilson et al., 2014), and the functioning of virtual teams (VT) has garnered an influx of attention given the dramatic shift to remote work that occurred throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (World Economic Forum [WEF] & Mercer, 2020). Although teaming is somewhat standard practice in today’s modern organizations (Morley et al., 2015; Schulze & Krumm, 2017), the formation and development of teams warrants further attention since misalignment and mismanagement are more likely to occur within organizations that are virtual in format (Kirkman et al., 2012; Deloitte, 2020). Greater care should be accorded to the establishment of VTs and their dynamic nature (Gibson et al., 2014) and one of the most widely referenced frameworks in management theory regarding the establishment and development of teams is Bruce Tuckman’s stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing (Tuckman, 1965; Miller, 2003; Bonebright, 2010). Tuckman (1965) determined that group development varies over time and an additional stage, adjourning, was later added to illustrate the life cycle process of group formation (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977).

Tuckman’s model integrates the “group structure realm and the task-activity realm” by considering such elements as group cohesion, role relatedness, and the prevalence of problem solving (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977, p. 420) – areas which can be improved upon over time. Therefore, Tuckman’s stages can serve as reference points for those overseeing the management of teams by drawing attention to opportunities for promoting skill development through team engagement. Skill development in relation to human-centric competencies is of particular interest to industry professionals given the positive economic impact it can have on productivity levels and creative processes (Myklebust & Smidt, 2021).

The ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution,’ a concept coined by Klaus Schwab, executive chairman for the World Economic Forum, for describing the economic impact of automation and smart technology (Schwab, 2016; WEF, 2020), necessitates soft skill development and yet a gap is present regarding human-centric competencies (National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE], 2019). According to a survey administered by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the ability to engage in problem solving, the capacity to deal with ambiguity, and the aptitude for effective communication are lacking within the workplace (SHRM, 2019), and this correlates with competencies highlighted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as being vital for organizational advancement (NACE, 2019). Competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving, professionalism, along with written and oral communications are top priorities for employers (NACE, 2019), and these areas are concomitant with the life skills predicted to be most desired by employers in 2020 according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (Economist Intelligence Unit [EIU], 2009).