Managing remote teams can be a challenge. When you try to manage remote teams across different geographical regions and perhaps time zones, you have a situation that can be difficult for even the best manager.
Managing Remote teams have become more common in the workplace. They satisfy the need for accessing specialized expertise at a cost savings. With advances in technology, there is now a broad array of communication methods to enable remote teams to function more smoothly and cohesively.
This white paper explores how to make a dispersed team successful, including:
- Types of remote teams
- Challenges and pitfalls of remote teams
- How to successfully manage a remote team
- Using technology and remote teams
- Other tips for successfully managing your remote team
Types of Remote Teams
Remote teams management can take on many different forms. These teams may be made up of geographically dispersed individual members forming one team, or distinct existing teams that are not co-located. Remote teams make good economical sense when you can access expertise from a specialist without having to take on the team member full time. This is often the case in mergers where the aim is for synergy by creating strong pockets of expertise and making them available company-wide. In larger organizations, it is not uncommon to have satellite offices.
Managing Remote Teams can also include a partnership with a third party, such as other companies or clients, to complete the project work. These companies can take advantage of remote talent to fill a specialized need such as technology firms that use expertise from India, Russia, and other countries for their programming.
Teams may also cross corporate boundaries, such as project managers incorporated into work teams or business managers into development teams. Without co-location for even part of the team, these teams take on the characteristics of remote teams.
Home-based offices add to the numbers of remote workers for organizations. Even if they may not work solely from their homes, while they are there, the complications of dealing with remote teams comes into play.
And let's not forget the sales staff in your organization. Although they do technically have a home-base office, it is more common for them to be working sporadic hours from a hotel, airport, or client site most of their time.
Challenges and Pitfalls of Managing Remote Teams:
The challenges for managing remote teams affect both the teams themselves and the manager managing them. And growing the team can compound it. It is hard enough to add a new member to an existing team-it is even harder when the team is remote.
Managing remote team members are now expected to interact with a wider set of peers from different areas, countries, and cultures. With the physical and cultural distance barriers, such as time zones, multicultural sensitivities and language affect the ability to communicate in real time.
Maintaining quality and productivity are paramount, but one of the biggest problems the team will face is communication. Even if you have all the team members on the same page, communicating well and working productively, the distance barrier will create a challenge, and it is difficult to ensure that they are working together. Communication is essential to keep all team members on board and up to date on the most pertinent details of their tasks and the latest revisions including:
- Programming code
- Schedules (project, work, holiday)
- Outcome of meetings (decisions, action plans, minutes)
- Plans
- Other information
As a manager, it will be up to you to manage the interaction of the team members and ensure smooth communication between your team members.
After communication, another critical challenge as a manager of a remote team will be building and maintaining trust and cohesion with your team members.
How to Successfully Manage a Remote Team
So how do you manage your team? Where should you start? What do you need to know to be successful?
90% of your problems will be people problems, and only 10% will concern utilization of technology-so it is smart to address your people issues first. Start by working with your team to create a team plan and make sure that all members of the team are familiar with the end result.
