Organize your collaboration with a remote team

Remote work is growing in popularity. In a recent Gallup poll, 37% of respondents said they already did some form of remote work. Going remote is obviously the best way to go, but of course let’s face the fact that it has its challenges. Once you decide to go remote, it can be difficult to address the organizational issues that arise with managing people around the world.

Tip 1. Schedule communications

Your remote team will be working from a different location and probably in a different time zone. Sticking strictly to scheduled meetings will help you organize your day and your team’s workflow. Not having timely meetings can cause communication gaps, delaying the launch of your project.

Ukraine is conveniently located within three time zones of the rest of Europe, which is why many clients choose software development companies in Ukraine.

Tip 2. Tools for remote teams

Tools are essential for remote team collaboration, helping you structure your team’s work. An effective remote team will have a set of tools: an email service, file sharing capabilities, an instant messaging platform, project management software, video conferencing, and whatever else is required.

Many collaboration tools exist to support well-structured communication.

For all-in-one solutions that let you organize, prioritize, chat about work, send files, and manage your projects, you can use:

all-in-one solutions

Troop Messenger, BasicOps, TipHive, Hibox, Paymo, Hive

manage tasks

Avaza, Taskworld, TeamGantt, Fusioo, Trello, Jira, Twoodo, Wrike, Worksection, Finit, Eylean Board

Document collaboration tools

Google Drive, Bit.ai, TipHive

Team communication tools.

Skype, Slack, Social Chorus, Uber Conference

Tip 3. Find a good workplace

Find a nice quiet place where you can have regular meetings. The best place is an office room equipped with a good Internet connection and a modern computer with a microphone and video camera. If you lack one of these things, your communication will not be successful or productive. If you choose a noisy place, you can get distracted and lose concentration.

Tip 4. Define work procedures

Create clear project guidelines for productivity, teamwork, and responsibility so your employees know what to expect. Present your project idea and describe in detail what you want done. Your project estimate will depend on what you communicate to your team. Your team can start developing your product faster and give you a more accurate quote if you clearly provide your vision for the project.

Set clear tasks and give detailed answers. Please review the project requirements document carefully to ensure that you have included all features. Respond promptly to emails from your project manager, as they are the ones relaying what you say to the team. The development of your product will depend on the information that your team obtains.

Most IT companies work according to agile methodologies. It is advisable to divide the development into iterations. Discuss how often you will hold project meetings and what communication tools you will use (Slack, Jira, Skype, or others). Arrange with your project manager to have a quick debrief session after each meeting to form new goals and discuss the decisions you’ve made.

Tip 5. Go on a business trip

Take a short business trip to meet the IT professionals you’ve hired in person. This is a good start for your project. While you’re on the site, you can have a few sessions where you get all the questions about your project answered. Neither you nor your team members will be pressed for time in this case, and everyone will be engaged in communicating together in the same meeting room. Along with the shop chat, you can make personal connections. Your employees can also be inspired by your enthusiasm and vision for the project, which will see them through and keep them going through the launch.

Tip 6. Get really involved

The success of your product depends on your participation. If a client doesn’t care, leaves their employees without notice, and returns when it’s time to launch, the result can be disappointing. Your team will expect you to show genuine interest throughout the launch process. After all, you are the initiator of the project and the cheerleader of your team. For starters, be the first to appear online for meetings, showing that you are dedicated to your business.

Tip 7. Provide constant feedback

The results of each iteration and sprint depend on how quickly and extensively you provide feedback. Discuss with your project manager which tool you will use so that he can inform everyone about the decisions she has made and the tasks that need to be done.

Tip 8. Stay on the same page

To maintain clear communication, make yourself easy to understand. Decide on the terminology you are going to use so that everyone wants to say the same thing when talking about the project. Try to express your thoughts without using slang or idioms that could be misunderstood.

A sense of humor is a good tool to encourage positive communication. Make sure to smile and joke once in a while when you have a video call so that everyone feels comfortable.

Tip 9. Trust your team

Managing programmers means trusting them. When hiring an offshore company, don’t treat your employees as if they were your property, but rather as people who can bring your idea to life. Treat them as members of your team and encourage them. Your project is already as important to them as it is to you. If you don’t study what’s been done and provide good feedback, you risk spending more hours redoing things because you didn’t pay enough attention beforehand. Hear from your developers and designers to better understand the functionality, especially if you are non-technical.

It’s clear that tastes differ, especially when it comes to multiple cultures. But if you entrust your product to your team members abroad, you must trust them. There is a lot of experience and knowledge behind the suggestions they are likely to make to improve your product. Take their suggestions into account and consider the outcome of implementing those suggestions. Simply put, trust the ideas expressed by your developers and designers when it comes to development and design.

Hire a full-stack software company. A full-stack development company will start from the idea inception and end up supporting your product after launch. If you hire outside designers or QA engineers, you’ll have to spend more time coordinating the workflow of two separate teams.

Tip 10. Reward your developers

You are the leader of your team, and your employees will seek your approval. Giving tasks is one thing, but praising the work done is another in team management. Praise is sure to boost your team’s performance. To start on a high note, you can start each meeting with praise for the work done so far. Be sure to explain what you like about the course of the project. If you can give constructive praise, your team will understand that they are moving in the right direction.

During or at the end of development, you can show your appreciation by sending your team gifts such as T-shirts or badges with your company or product logo. You can also reward them with cash bonuses. By giving bonuses, you are investing in your project. Of course, this generosity may not be necessary, but it will surely leave a lasting impression of your cooperation.

How to manage employees in remote locations

Working with a remote team online is not much different than working with a team in person. Follow the work procedures you have established with your project manager, and show enthusiasm and responsibility for development progress. Inspire your team by getting genuinely involved and set clear goals so that everything goes according to plan. Please provide feedback on even the smallest details regarding your product. The overall success of your project and the speed of development will depend on the answers you provide to your team.