How to Manage A Remote Software Dedicated Team

The remote software development team comes to the forefront when it comes to project and change management in an IT company. Establishing productive and practical work in such a team can be difficult for an unprepared team leader. In this article, we will look at the secrets of effective management.

Why are Remote Teams Becoming Popular?

The latest psychological research shows that the most efficient work is achieved in groups of 5-12 people.

In software development outsourcing, we can see the same tendency. Nowadays, remote development teams are considered one of the most efficient ways to build high-quality software solutions.

The first reason is the tech brain drain, which is the scarcity of talents. The demand for development services is growing much faster than its supply throughout the world. As a result, the software business is ready to overpay for talented workers. A dedicated team model helps to solve the issue.

The second reason for remote teams’ popularity is new technologies, which guarantee much easier remote work of engineers and other team members. There are numerous communication and team collaboration tools to manage your remote software development team. Even though communities around technologies such as Java, Python, C#, JavaScript are prevalent around the world, they don’t have problems in
communication, as most programming languages are based on English.

What are the Difficulties of Managing Dedicated Teams?

Working in a remote team is an attractive option at first glance. However, not everyone benefits from the absence of a work environment (processes, rules, corporate culture, and personal communication) regarding discipline, deadlines, or quality standards. As it turns out in practice, you need external regulators to manage your team’s working hours.

In a remote work environment, leadership is the most important thing. It helps to deal with communication errors and misunderstandings. It takes a lot of effort and many years of practice to effectively lead an IT project team. Most of the experienced remote team managers highlight that it’s vital for the people involved to meet in person from time to time.

Good remote team managers are in high demand. But some working life hacks allow you to quickly start moving in the right direction and not lose contact.

Mistakes to Avoid When Managing a Remote Team

Remote team management has clear principles, such as clear division of work, transparency, and a sense of responsibility. They are essential to achieving success.

When people don’t know each other, it is a recipe for conflict. Virtual communication deprives the majority of vital signals such as facial expression and body language. And different time zones are often a reason for frustration within teams.

Communication is essential. For an inexperienced manager, things may look pretty efficient, but in fact, there is a risk of misunderstandings and conflict.

There are downsides to working remotely, but you need to focus on the upsides. Companies worldwide are moving to a remote format because it has clear advantages.

Valuable Tips for Managing a Remote Team

Here is some comprehensive advice on effectively and adequately managing remote teams. In addition, we’ve collected a few essential tips to bridge the gap between your in-house and remote teams for efficient work.

1. Maintain Clear Communication

Misunderstandings often happen because of a lack of communication. And in remote/distributed teams, you need to communicate even more than in traditional ones. That’s where technology comes in handy.

Team meetings are crucial whether you build a team from scratch or start a new project. Before discussing essential things, informal communication with colleagues and clients is necessary to create relationships. Try to maintain a dialogue, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback – all these are commonplace things, but for remote teams, they are of the highest importance! But don’t waste time on long conversations: short but frequent meetings are usually more productive.

2. Use Convenient Tools for Your Team

There are numerous tools for keeping in touch with a remote software dedicated team, which can be divided into two categories:

Text-first communication is often the primary mode of communication in the IT-sphere. The list includes Slack, Mattermost, or Discord.

Video/Audio communication, which provides personal meetings of remote team members. The list of tools includes Skype, Zoom, UberConference, or SocialChorus.

3. Pay Attention to the Organization of the Working Process

Sharing knowledge is already a difficult task, but it can become a real challenge in a remote team. The organization of regular intra-corporate mini-conferences, where are shared expertise and ideas with colleagues, come in handy. Documenting your experience, you cannot just put files in the database. Discuss with the team what went well and what can be done better in the future for managing remote teams.

4. Maintain a Comfortable Work Place

The remote worker is still a worker with a full-time job. Of course, it’s possible to work from the café with cookies from time to time. But if you do it every day, the situation can soon become unpredictable and distracting. That is why it’s recommended to work in dedicated offices with a good atmosphere for concentration. But of course, the choice of the workplace is always a question of preference for each person.

5. Make Sure You’re on the Same Page

The meetings of all stakeholders must be at the center of attention. When the remote team members know each other personally and regularly communicate, their cooperation becomes more accessible and efficient. That’s why it’s essential to focus on meeting during the planning session or after the MVP launch.

6. Support Team Spirit

Working in a team of people you never see is different from working in an office. That’s why it’s essential to treat the remote team members as if they’re part of your team and work from afar.

The remote team must be treated the same as the in-house team. That’s why all remote team members must be included in all meetings, work, and otherwise to manage your remote development team.

7. Make Aims Clear and Give Feedback

When communicating with colleagues remotely, misunderstandings often arise, so do not think for others if you are unsure about something. Instead, ask questions to make sure you understand correctly. Don’t blindly accept tasks from your manager – discuss methodology, what goals you want to achieve, what task to solve, what resources are available, what tools are needed – and only then get to work.

8. Create a Hierarchy of Competence

Technical skills are the focus of attention. That’s why it’s essential to create a team of professionals in their sphere. The knowledge necessary to make the right decision is the primary value of managing a dedicated software development team. If you don’t have any technical background, don’t be afraid to ask questions to understand the software better.

9. Hire a Full Stack Team

Are you looking for a team of real professionals? A full-stack software company is an excellent choice for those who want to speed up the start of the project. A full-stack group is formed from experienced workers who have experience working together and can guarantee the result.

Conclusion

There is no single formula for success that works for all teams. We are all unique individuals with our characters, habits, cultural traditions, etc. However, our tips, listed above, will help almost all remote and distributed teams increase productivity and achieve better results.

Anna Khmara

Anna is a technical writer with 10 years of experience at KeyUA. He has deep knowledge in the technical niche. At the same time, he is excellent at finding insider information in the field of software development.

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