Forty-six percent of employers use virtual teams, and those with global operations are more likely to use virtual teams at 66 percent as opposed to U.S.-based operations at 28 percent, according to a survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management.  

The survey also finds that government agencies are least likely to use virtual teams at 9 percent while publicly owned for-profit companies are the most likely at 50 percent, followed by privately-owned for-profit organizations at 46 percent.

Among the respondents, 53 percent say they use virtual teams to include talent in different geographic locations, and 49 percent say it is to boost collaboration. Thirty-nine percent of respondents say virtual teams are implemented to improve productivity, and another 39 percent say they use virtual teams to reduce travel costs. As work is becoming increasingly global, 37 percent of respondents say virtual teams are used for more collaboration.