CONSTRUCTION OF SKILLS FOR TELEWORK AND LEADERSHIP OF VIRTUAL TEAMS AND EVALUATION OF A TRAINING PROGRAM
Training. Virtual teams. Leadership. telework
The main objective of this thesis is to propose a new model of organization of categories of work skills in virtual teams, and two scales of skills built from the literature of virtual teams and a training program for these skills. Four studies were carried out to achieve the proposed general objective. The first study is an integrative literature review, which synthesizes and analyzes the findings on work skills in virtual teams, as well as proposes adjustments to an existing skill category model. The second study qualitatively evaluates a training program through systemic training evaluation models and the Logic Models (ML) tool, which contributed to demonstrating the relationships between the program's components and variables. The third study evaluates the quality of the instructional design of the program, through evaluations of 14 judges, and the support of an evaluation script, confronting these aspects with theory, instructional principles and the literature on working skills in virtual teams. Finally, the fourth study used a mixed design to build and investigate validity evidence of two virtual teamwork skills scales (one for leader and one for teleworkers), which were based on the evaluated training program and on the skills studies working in virtual teams. The results showed that teamwork skills can be reorganized into five categories (task and team communication, intra-team trust, collaboration and sharing, diversity and conflict management, and autonomy and leadership sharing), most in line with the findings current empirical studies (2015-2022). The training program evaluated was relevant for the adaptation of virtual workers in the period of the pandemic, the contents were useful and greater satisfaction and productivity was perceived, from its realization. However, the training designs do not favor the achievement of the objectives at the level of the graduate's behavior. The evaluation of training was relevant to identify the skills trained in virtual teams in the context of the pandemic and to build the items of the scales. The instruments showed good levels of evidence of validity and can help to assess the impact of training, identify skills of leaders and teleworkers of virtual teams, as well as guide other training courses. This thesis advances the literature on virtual team skills, instructional design and training evaluation.