Chapter 7: From Traditional to Virtual: Staffing the Organization of the Future Today

Virtual organizations are newly evolved entities that increasingly define today’s work environment. Such organizations are designed to be dynamic, flexible, and responsive to organizational and external change. This chapter focuses on issues related to recruiting and selecting individuals into virtual organizations. As a starting point, a working definition of virtual organizations is offered. This is followed by a thorough discussion of those individual characteristics, such as general mental ability, risk-tolerance, and openness to experience, likely important for functioning successfully in this type of work context. Each characteristic is presented with a brief description, an outline of past perspectives on its relevance, and when available, a discussion of research that provides evidence linking the characteristic to performance in virtual organizations. Potentially effective recruiting strategies are reviewed including a discussion of the power of self-selection and internet recruitment. The chapter continues by outlining those selection tools applicable to a virtual organization context. Specific focus is given to on-line assessment and interviewing. Recognizing that virtual organizations pose some unique challenges, the chapter closes with a discussion focused on issues such as the skill gap resulting from a depth versus breadth tradeoff, efficient validation strategies, placement in virtual teams, and suggested directions for future research and innovation.