Virtual Distance is a measurable disconnect that occurs when human beings rely heavily on smart, digital devices to communicate—no matter where they are located.
Virtual Distance is a measurable disconnect that occurs when human beings rely heavily on smart, digital devices to communicate—no matter where they are located. We've all seen the signs: Meetings that feel unfocused at best. A team member left out due to a perceived slight. Projects that get off track due to poor communication. Welcome to the new world of work. And to a world of new challenges, ones we never could have anticipated.
Everyone's heard the term 'Workplace Transformation' bandied about. But what does it mean? Hi-tech AV equipment? Offices with 24/7 snacks, Starbucks IVs and bean bag chairs? Leveraging more “on demand” workers? Ironically, today’s connected office has actually led to disconnectedness. Try these numbers on for size: 76% of employees feel disengaged. An astounding 87% of projects end up late and/or over budget. And 24% of virtual workers surveyed, reported feeling less respected than their in-person counterparts. Organizations that leverage today’s technologies effectively have the ability to attract, hire, and motivate the best people, regardless of location. But to do so, they must first address a hidden set of barriers that when taken in sum, is called Virtual Distance.We've discovered that when Virtual Distance is properly identified, measured and analyzed, it can also be fixed. Using our advanced Virtual Distance Analytics in dozens of global companies, we've devised ways to:
Until now, these exclusive Virtual Distance analytics have been available solely for the private use of our consulting clients. Now we are making them available to the world through our scalable VDM Cloud Software as a Service.
Virtual Distance was discovered by Dr. Lojeski while doing her Ph.D. research. Her thesis, "Virtual Distance: A New Model for the Study of Virtual Work", won the 2006 award for outstanding dissertation of the year at Steven's Institute of Technology, one of the top engineering schools in the country.
Using rigorous research methods and in-depth statistical modeling, Dr. Lojeski has shown that Virtual Distance has a significant and negative impact on multiple key performance indicators. And it's not just about geographic or time-zone differences - in fact - when taken in sum - those factors are the least important.
Dr. Lojeski identified 10 factors, grouped into three main components, Physical Distance, Operational Distance and Affinity Distance. The most significant factors, Operational and Affinity Distance, have more to do with day-to-day issues in meaningful communications and the barriers that block the deep formation of relationships. That said, if companies continue to chase the Physical Distance Factors - they are aiming at the wrong target if they want to improve performance.
After a decade of collecting Virtual Distance data, including 40,000 data points from more than 1,000 global teams in companies that employ over a million people, the statistical relationships and predictive power of Virtual Distance has just gotten stronger. We have demonstrated that when Virtual Distance is reduced using Virtual Distance Management (VDM) practices, now available in the VDM Cloud SaaS solution, performance can increase by 30% or more and the difference can be seen in less than six months!
Using science as our ground, we can predict success.
You are, without a doubt, affected by Virtual Distance. You just may not realize it yet. And when it comes to this topic, what you don’t know CAN hurt you.
For more than a decade, we've worked with Fortune 500 companies around the globe and have demonstrated that Virtual Distance upends multi-billion-dollar businesses, impedes product development, causes team dysfunction and cripples corporate cultures.
For individuals, this can be frustrating. For businesses, it can seriously impact your bottom line. Discover for yourself just how valuable remedying Virtual Distance can be for your company.By leveraging the tools in The Virtual Distance Management (VDM) Cloud software suite, organizations can now take control of Virtual Distance and transform it from a liability into a tool for competitive differentiation. In a world of hard-to-implement and harder-to-measure team engagement solutions, Virtual Distance (and the proven science behind it) is the game changer managers have been waiting for.
What are you waiting for? Get in touch with one of our experts today.
For the first time, the tools and technology to analyze, manage and predict Virtual Distance are available in a SaaS platform—The VDM Cloud.
"VRM solutions gave me the tools I needed to manage global virtual teams. I wasn't getting that from any other source. Virtual Distance Analytics allowed me to measurably improve performance across the globe."
"Reflecting on the Virtual Distance pilot and now getting ready for the global roll-out, I can honestly say this is one of the most relevant solutions I have seen in my entire career with tremendous opportunity for immediate application."
"Virtual Distance Analytics revealed cracks in our worldwide engineering teams and how to fix them. After taking steps to reduce Virtual Distance, our innovation effectiveness went up markedly, reducing our time-to-market with new products and increasing our competitive positioning overall."
Virtual Distance International (VDI), is a New York-based software company specializing in providing solutions to the most vexing challenges around Workplace Transformation. Based on the award-winning discovery of Virtual Distance by Founder and CEO, Dr. Karen Lojeski, VDI has the world's only algorithms that are scientifically validated and precisely reveal where and how Virtual Distance is impacting performance and innovation. VDI pairs these integrated data, assessments, analytics and reporting solutions with prescriptive action plans that once implemented, yield immediate and measurable improvements to performance and innovation.
Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Distance International (VDI), a software company specializing in Workplace Transformation powered by Virtual Distance Analytics. Dr. Lojeski began as a Systems Engineer with a B.S. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. She also held leadership positions at major corporations including Chase Manhattan Bank, Stratus Computer, and Mercer Consulting. Karen then earned her Ph.D. from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Dr. Lojeski is the author of two books: Leading the Virtual Workforce and Uniting the Virtual Workforce. Click here to hear her tell the story of how she discovered Virtual Distance.