Tips for Managing Remote Teams

Career AdviceCareer

Remote work has been and continues to be on the rise. There are many reasons for this: improved telecommunications, improved productivity, reduced environmental impact, and an increase in overall profitability (to name a few).

We won't get too much into the why here, because it's all about the how. We know that more and more people want to work remotely, so the question is how to manage these teams to get the most out of remote work while avoiding some of the risks.

The tips follow best practices for managing effective tech teams. These include:

• Vision and motivation
• Clear expectations and processes
• Team culture

Vision and Motivation

All-Star teams are made up of people who are individually motivated to work toward a common vision. At the highest level, everyone needs to know why they are doing what they are doing and, more importantly, what they are doing.

1. Have your team draft either a general mission statement or a project-specific mission statement that everyone can buy into.

2. Conduct a video conference once a week with each member of your team. Become familiar with what motivates each person individually.

The most common motivators may be:

• The vision: people believe in something,
• The code: Github as heaven.
• The challenge: Solving difficult problems is all they want to do throughout the day.
• The prestige: people want props. There's no shame in that!
• The Team: Being part of something bigger than themselves.
• The Career: Where do they want to be in 5 years?
• The money: simple and easy
• The example: lead by example. If you're not committed, why should your team be?

Clear expectations and process

• Once you have a team of people who are individually motivated toward a common goal, you need to "enable" and "empower" the team to achieve it.
• Set clear expectations. When employees have clear expectations, they are more effective at managing themselves. They know what the expectation is and if they have missed goals.
• Find the process "sweet spot." It's all about communicating with your team. Hold regular monthly or biweekly team video conferences. Together, find the right process that meets the needs of the project and takes the pressure off your team. Perhaps most importantly, always review the process with your team and be willing to adjust and improve it based on feedback.

There are a few recurring actions that every team leader should consider:

• Daily status update via chat: A message (on a platform like Slack) from each employee every morning. Very brief notes about what they worked on yesterday, what they're going to do today, what risks they see, and if they're blocked by anything. This is a really low-effort way to identify risks and roadblocks early.
• Implement a "Weekly Coffee": a 30-minute video conference with each team member to review their motivation and understanding/performance against expectations. Create development plans for growth or simply talk about what is on the employee's mind.
• Monthly or bi-weekly team meetings: The team needs a forum where they can interact with each other and understand the business operations and various projects.
• Focused work time: one or more long blocks of time each week that protects your team from meetings or distractions.

Team culture

The biggest loss when a team works remotely is the loss of camaraderie and bonding that can really only come from being in the same room day after day. Unfortunately, a good team culture is also one of the best ways to get the most out of a group.

• However, there are ways to strengthen the team unit, even if some or all of the employees work remotely:
• Make sure each member of the team knows the names and some information about everyone else. Make sure new members are properly introduced to the rest of the team.
• Mentorships or partnerships can greatly increase the sense of community and help solve problems. If you have multiple projects, encourage problems/wins to be discussed with each other.
• Hold team meetings that are about culture, fun, and visioning.
• Create an informal Slack channel. Some of the most fun culture-building conversations happen directly through this so-called "unimportant" channel.

Following these helpful tips will also allow your remote team to go above and beyond what can be expected of internal employees. They will be happier and work better, allowing you as a team leader to enjoy the pride of having an all-star all-remote team....