In the modern workspace, there has been a shift to the trend of working remotely. Learning to lead or manage remote teams is crucial for startup founders and seasoned project managers to succeed. Remote work has its own perks but comes with risks and challenges like communication barriers, time zone differences, and maintenance of accountability. Following are some of the best practices that can help you manage your remote teams and projects.
Here are best practices to ensure you manage remote teams and projects successfully.
Establish Clear Communication Protocols
Communication is the backbone of any remote team’s success and it has to be clear because miscommunication can cause misunderstanding and unnecessary project delays.
Best Practices:
Use the Right Tools:
You can use Slack for clear and quick communication, Zoom for video meetings, and Asana or Trello for the management of tasks. Using multiple platforms specified for your purpose ensures organized communication.
Over-communicate When Necessary:
In remote settings, over-communication is never a bad thing as it leaves no room for uncertainty. You should provide detailed instructions, regular follow-ups on tasks, and clear expectations.
Regular Check-ins:
Keeping track of the instructions you provide is important so you should schedule regular check-ins to keep the team aligned and progressing. To foster unity in the team it's suggested to have video calls.
It's only by effective communication that you can keep your team on track and on the same page, ensuring seamless project execution.
2. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Clarity and setting clear expectations is important for a remote team to thrive because undefined goals can lead to confusion and poor performance. The scope of work, its deadlines, and deliverables should be clearly defined for a team.
Best Practices:
SMART Goals:
You can use the SMART framework to set clear goals that are measurable, achievable, time-bound, and relative. Clear expectations or objectives make every individual understand their responsibility to contribute effectively to a large project.
Detailed Task Assignments:
For the task to be detailed, and have a clear description, timeline, and dependencies you can use management tools such as Monday.com or Jira. By that, team members can have detailed information to do their tasks.
Shared Milestones:
Create milestones for the project as well as individuals working on that project and let the whole team see them so everyone knows what they have to do. Having common progress points is going to keep the team motivated and on track.
If goals are set clear, everyone in the team performs their tasks individually while adhering to the company’s or project’s objectives.
3. Leverage Project Management Tools
If the projects are not managed well with the use of the right tools it can cause chaos but fortunately, there are platforms to facilitate collaboration, progress, and organization of tasks.
Best Practices:
Choose the Right Tools for Your Team:
If you want to manage a project in an effective way the first thing you need to do is to choose the tool that fits your team’s needs. For example, Basecamp can be used for simple projects, click can be used for complex workflows and cloud-based projects can give you real-time date information.
Use Time-Tracking Tools:
For the management of time effectively you can use tools like ToggI or Clockify. These tools will help you track the time spent on each task resulting in better production and accountability.
Integrate Communication and Project Management:
You can also make it easy for the team to collaborate in one place by using platforms like Notion as it provides communication and project management features at the same place.
The productivity of a team and streamlined operations can be significantly improved by the use of the right management tools.
4. Encourage Collaboration and Team Bonding
When we look at it organically, collaboration doesn’t happen in remote teams. Rather leaders need to promote it actively to make sure the sense of connection remains.
Best Practices:
Virtual Brainstorming Sessions:
Virtual brainstorming sessions along with design collaboration sessions are essential to make remote teams feel more connected. For this purpose, tools like Miro and Figma can be used.
Encourage Cross-functional Collaboration:
To broaden the perspective and avoid silos in remote work environments team members from different departments should be encouraged to work together on a project.
Host Virtual Team-building Activities:
The bond between remote employees can be strengthened by team-building activities. Those activities can be virtual trivia games, happy hours, or even a simple coffee chat break.
5. Be Flexible with Schedules and Time Zones
When working remotely, the team can have individuals from different time zones which makes it challenging to collaborate. In such cases, leaders should be flexible to accommodate various working hours and preferences.
Best Practices:
Set Core Hours:
Core hours should be set for the real-time collaboration for a few hours at least.
Embrace Asynchronous Communication:
The team should be able to contribute effectively to a project without the need to be online simultaneously. For this purpose, tools like Loom and Confluence are used. Loom provides asynchronous video updates while Confluence is for document discussions.
Prioritize Work-life Balance:
Remote work often disturbs personal life if an individual is unable to draw a clear line and set boundaries. Setting boundaries will help them respect their off hours to prevent burnout.
Flexibility in the schedules improves team morale and boosts productivity as it gives team members leverage to work in their most productive hours.
Track Progress and Provide Continuous Feedback
In remote environments, it's important to keep track of individual as well as team performance and progress. For that purpose, a clear system for accountability and feedback should be established.
Best Practices:
Use KPIs and Performance Metrics:
Establish the key performance indicators for a team and track them to evaluate the success of a project. KPIs can be metrics like task completion rates, project timelines, quality of deliverables, etc.
Frequent One-on-Ones:
One-on-one sessions are important to discuss an individual’s performance based on the parameters being provided. In those sessions, individuals should be given constructive feedback and employees should be encouraged to voice their concerns or seek guidance.
Celebrate Wins:
It is very important to recognize the accomplishments of a person to maintain team morale. Their efforts should be recognized and rewarded. The reward can be as simple as public recognition or appreciation during team meetings or a simple shout-out in chat that could make employees feel valued and appreciated.
If the progress is tracked properly it maintains accountability in a team while regular feedback can help everyone stay aligned with the project goals.