Having remote teams is great for project managers, business owners and employees alike. If you’re a part of a remote team, we’re sure you love the freedom this way of working gives you. If you’re an employer of remote workers, we’re sure you love to make them happy, as well as to avoid paying for expensive office spaces and utilities.
However, working remotely is not always a fairytale – sometimes it is hard to keep everyone on track and motivated, people can feel a bit lonely and it’s simple a hassle to manage a project or various projects across timezones and continents (just think of all the communication, file-sharing and coworking challenges).
Luckily, there’s a way to make everyone more comfortable and productive – and here are our favorite 5 tips.
#1 Workforce – Choose Carefully Who You Work With
Let’s put it like this: if you’re working with irresponsible people you cannot rely on, the project will either fail or take a lot more time, energy and resources. Regardless if people are working at a physical office or from home. This is why you should choose your team members extra carefully. Some of the things to look for could be previous remote work experience, their skills as well as personality. If they are not reliable from the beginning, that’s a major red flag. Try to give them smaller tasks and increase responsibility and the amount of work with the time. Trial period is a great way everyone to see if the combination is a good fit.
#2 Make Sure Everyone Understands Project Goals and Objectives
Regardless of how big or small a project is, it is crucial for everyone included to understand its goals and objectives. Try to nurture the culture where everyone can ask if they’re unsure or give feedback freely, and remember to always ask if everyone understands, as well as what they think about it.
#3 Keep Communication Lines Open – Stay in Touch
Communication is the key to every successful project, and it’s important that all the teams communicate regularly and easily. Information flow is to a project what’s blood flow to our body, it’s really vital.
Good technology can make the whole process easier, and we are proud of being able to support different teams in doing their best work! Collaborazon lets you share files, leave comments and feedback, create events and much more.
#4 Track Work Output, Results and Everything Relevant to the Project
Remote or not, it is important that you track how much time your team members use for different tasks, how much they are getting done, where are you at when it comes to your final goals or steps that lead to it…
This is not a way to “spy” on your colleagues, but a way to find a good balance and achieve more. Tracking work output and different focus areas, you can become better as a team and simply do more – for instance, you could see if you are putting too much resources in X while you should actually focus on Y.
#5 Document Everything
This is partially covered by #4, but it is really important to document everything. Take notes from meetings, write down all the processes and workflows, keep everyone’s feedback, contact details and more. This will literally be a lifesaver when it comes to onboarding new team members or looking back at a project or task to check, fix or improve something.
Do you have experience when it comes to working remotely? Please share any advices, tips and suggestions – and have a productive day, remote or not!