Collaborating with Remote Teams – Do’s and Don'ts

- Susan B John Lead Quality Analyst Alignminds Technologies Ltd

Collaborating With Remote Teams

04/15/23

Source : www.helpscout.net

The Problem

Often in our work, we do not get managers, designers, developers, research experts etc working in the same office premises.

We have to expand our teams beyond within same premises to locations in different cities, states of same country and sometimes even to continents.

To develop mutual understanding and trust among teams, to bring all team members to team's objectives, to keep them stay on track, to give fair deal to all teams irrespective of their locations etc is a huge challenge that if not considered carefully can lead to disastrous results.

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Challenges

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(Courtesy -http://www.architexa.com/)

Collaborating with Remote Teams - Do’s

Define team's objective Everyone must be clear on the common purpose and

team's goals. Team Charter - describe team's goals, resources, roles

and responsibilities, deliverables, desired end results. Helps Teams to stay focused and helps them get a big

picture

Arrange weekly status calls Schedule team meetings and 1:1s on a regular basis Pickup a Time that suits everyone. Track Attendance to ensure milestones are met

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Collaborating with Remote Teams - Do’s

Use proper and consistent communication methods Team members need to,

Report their work status regularly Train other team members as needed Share knowledge Inform if they are stuck with their work

Use Tools to share and discuss ideas Video Calls - Skype, Google Hangouts, Instant Messenger Project/Task Management - Basecamp, Trello, BusyFlow, Asana File Management – Dropbox, Google Docs, GlassCubes

In person gatherings Once in a while, have Team Retreats Build connections and friendship that would in turn, help build better and strong teams.

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Collaborating with Remote Teams - Do’s

Reward them Reward your team for good Work! Learning how your team want to get recognized for an

achievement will help you make sure your efforts to reward them is successful

For example, married people might want few days off so that they spend time with their families, tech addicts might be interested in gadgets.

Sometime a sincere “Thank You” Note Would do We have a simple Thank you board where people are encouraged to thank

fellow team members for their help

Don't forget they are the ones who worked sincerely, taking all pressure, keeping aside their families and other priorities and bring your company the success and money you looked for.

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Collaborating with Remote Teams - Dont’s

Don't be too bossy Don't put strict rules!!!

Trust Your Team Best and most productive teams are built from trust. Managers are not sure if they can rely on remote teams

to produce results. Trust is a key factor to decide if you want remote teams

or not

Do not be unfair to teams Recognize every team and every individual's work

however small it may be People get a feel of isolation or being left out or

unrecognized easily.

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Thank You!!

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Remote Working – boon or bane is in our hands. Challenges are there for sure in remote working, but with little carefulness, commitment and planning, remote working can become a wonderful thing and I believe you can reap substantial benefits in long run. Giving flexibility to work at home or remotely greatly boosts employee morale, increases productivity and help staff retention. Making sure right processes are in place and right policies are applied, you can have successful communication and collaboration among remote teams.