Managing a team is a tough enough job when everybody is located in the same building; however, things get much more complex when your team is distributed around the country or even around the world. Time zones might seem like the biggest adjustment at first, but there are plenty of additional factors to keep in mind if you want your distributed team to run like a well-oiled machine.
Below are some tips that I’ve picked up while managing remote teams over the past few years. Many of these tips are just standard, good management practices – but their importance is magnified when your team is spread across several locations.
Tips for Managing Remote Teams
In no particular order… Let’s go!
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Get everyone on the same page
Right from the beginning, set goals and expectations for the team and for each employee. Document everything in clear, measurable terms to eliminate ambiguity and then record the details either in your organization’s performance management system or in another system/document of your choice. Discuss the goals with each team member, and then set monthly or quarterly reminders on your calendar to check-in on their progress.
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Make sure the team has the right tools for communicating and collaborating
If you are a manager who is joining an existing team, conduct an inventory of the existing communication processes and systems to find out how things are running. If all is well with no visible weak areas, don’t feel obligated to make changes. However, if there are gaps or opportunities to tighten things up, take an inventory of what communication tools are available inside the organization (e.g. instant messaging, video conferencing, web conferencing, collaboration spaces, communities, etc.). Decide what will work best for your team to communicate with each other, record project updates, store project documents, notes, artifacts, etc., and formally put it into place.
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Hold at least one team meeting per week, preferably via video
It’s easy for a distributed team to become disconnected from each other, so schedule a recurring weekly meeting for everyone to see each other and catch up. I recommend using a similar agenda each week that starts of with updates from the manager and then goes into project discussions. Don’t forget to leave time for open discussion and walk-up items at the end.
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Hold 1:1 meetings each week with every team member, preferably via video
Use this time to see how each team member is doing, recognize any challenges they are having, and provide support in any way you can. Here are 10 tips you can use to run effective 1:1 meetings.
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Provide constant feedback
I’ve written about this in the past – I’m huge fan of providing constant feedback and coaching. In fact, this is the main idea behind one of my projects, HelpMeShine. Using HelpMeShine, employees can provide each other with constructive feedback using short, anonymous surveys. As a manager, your feedback should mostly be provided in-person, but a tool like HelpMeShine also helps employees obtain 360 feedback as often as they’d like.
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Have remote employees partner with each other on projects
One easy way to encourage cross-site collaboration is to assign projects to team members who are not located in the same geographic location. This encourages them to interact and work together on their own, sharing ownership of their projects. Plus, they can work together without their manager being present, potentially allowing them be more open and relaxed around each other.
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Review work products and provide timely feedback
Get the team in the habit of sending you examples of their work products as they complete key milestones. This give you an opportunity to review the quality of their work and provide input as they progress. Quick, constructive feedback is essential; don’t add a bottleneck to the development process. Give employees the opportunity to correct their course and move along. Trust your team to get things done, and use the team processes, systems, and goals to verify things are getting done correctly.
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Learn to use time zones well
Depending on the type work that your team is doing, you may be able to set up a follow-the-sun workflow, which is a way for distributed teams to continually hand-off progress to each other, effectively continuing work non-stop. If this would benefit your organization and/or your team, make sure to set up tight processes and clear expectations to reduce misunderstandings and lost hours/days.
On the flip side, don’t accidentally schedule meetings at crazy hours for those in other time zones. Nobody likes a meeting at 2am! Use a site like World Time Buddy to identify ideal meeting times across multiple time zones.
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Be sensitive to cultural differences and language barriers
Be empathetic to each person on your team and try to understand their perspective at all times. Be aware of special holidays, special needs, language barriers, and preferred communication styles. Be especially understanding for those who speak English as a second language, and use each project as an opportunity to learn how to work better together. Don’t expect smooth sailing from Day 1, it will likely take time for you to fully understand your employees, their behaviors, and their preferences.
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Bring the team together at least once a year for an in-person meeting
Having face-to-face conversations is a simple way to help team members connect with each other and build relationships. When the team gets together, make sure to build in a balance of collaborative work time and fun time to help the team gel.
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Make yourself available whenever the team needs you
Your team needs you, which may require the occasional late-night Skype call or checking email at odd hours with one eye open. That’s just part of the gig, so get used to it.
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Extra credit: Set up a virtual water cooler for non-work discussions
Use Yammer, Google Hangouts, or a similar tool where the team can have a little fun, be themselves, etc. Set some ground rules about what is / is not acceptable at the beginning and let the team have at it. Keep an eye on it, but don’t over-police it.
Like I mentioned at the start, these aren’t necessarily unique or unusual ideas – they’re just good management practices. Spend some time getting to know your team, put your system into place, make sure they have the resources they need, and then get out of their way so they can get things done!
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