Solution for effortless project execution for remote teams from Mukesh Ram's blog

Introduction

Remote teams are becoming an integral part of the software development industry. As the demand for remote developers is increasing, organizations are finding it difficult to manage their teams properly.

Remote project execution involves overseeing, organizing, and coordinating tasks & allocating the resources optimally amongst the team members. There are due considerations to be followed while managing the remote team efficiently. Let’s understand all of them in this blog.

Hiring Remote Developers: Key Takeaways

1. Remote project management is all about managing remote developers who are working on a project execution from different locations.
2. Effective communication and collaboration a key to successfully driving remote project management.
3. Using technology smartly and following the best methods can assist remote project managers in keeping productivity high and reaching the goals they aim for.

What are the challenges of managing a Remote Team?

A remote team is a combination of a group of IT professionals who are working from different parts of the world.

• As per a survey, 82% of respondents said that they love working from a remote setup.
• As per a report by Harvard Business Review, 87% of respondents prefer working remotely as it lessens the occurrences of stress and burnout.

While working from the office, the team requires less management effort as compared to working remotely. Whereas, when a team is working remotely they need to face certain remote project management challenges, which are as follows:-

• Lack of proper communication tools
• Hiring efficient remote developers
• Absence of proper accountability mechanism
• Unclear roles and responsibilities
• No pre-defined schedule
• Lack of proper communication with the team

Apart from the challenges mentioned there are some benefits of remote working

As per the recent statistics data by Forbes, Currently, 12.7% of employees are working in a completely remote mode, whereas 28.2% have adopted a hybrid work model. Both remote work and hybrid work models provide room for flexibility which not only helps IT professionals but also benefits the organizations. Now, you will wonder how?

21 Best Practices to execute Remote Project Management smoothly Onboarding remote employees:

As soon as you have hire remote developers, the first step is to share with them all the relevant information about your company, processes, methods, etc. to achieve a smoother employee onboarding.

Creating a document of a few pages will be helpful for your remote developers to have a smooth start toward achieving project deliverables successfully. They should have all the knowledge about what tools they would be using, what are resources available at their disposal, and the policies that are in effect with the tasks.

The proper work environment for team members:

No matter, if your team is working remotely. The organization must make the remote team feel welcome by setting up a friendly and welcoming environment. To do this, the organization should keep the process as transparent as possible by encouraging remote project management leadership. The organization should have a proper knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each remote developer.

As an organization, it is your responsibility to spend some time to know each remote developer by discussing with them their goals, personality, and work habits.

Hiring a remote software development team:

Hiring a team of remote developers is more beneficial as compared to hiring a freelancer. There are various reasons for hiring a remote developer instead of a freelancer

• Helps in cost reduction
• Increases employee engagement
• Helps boost productivity

Using communication and collaboration for building a better team spirit:

According to one report by Forbes, 97% of candidates think misalignment is resulting in reduced productivity and efficiency.

Communication is all about personalization. But, while managing remote developers there are many drawbacks found in the communication process which can result in decreased productivity.

Using high-quality communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Skype, etc. can help an organization streamline the communication flow amongst remote team members. If your remote team or offshore software developers are working in different time zones, ensure to find an overlapping time when all your team members are working.

Flexible working hours:

As per one famous quote by Bill Gates, any talent gets tougher when companies give extra flexibility to their team to have a competitive edge against their competitors. Remote developers leverage flexible work schedules to match the working process and environment of the organization.

Track the progress of each developer:

Every team member should be aware of their KPIs, they should share the timesheets regularly for a better evaluation of tasks. By doing this, the organization can help the team improve their productivity and increase efficiency.

Setting up a relevant meeting time:

The use of virtual meeting platforms has increased rapidly, but finding the best time zone to connect with all the remote developers has always been a difficult task.

Tools like Every time zone, World Clock meeting planner, etc. help in identifying the most suitable time to connect with the remote team smoothly.

Using open chat rooms:

Leveraging open chat rooms can smoothen the communication process as it allows for building instant communication between the team members.

Synchronizing in-house and remote teams:

Due to the constraints in working with an in-house team and remote team members, the project managers need to pull off the difficult task of creating a solution that can allow both teams to stay on the same page. The remote manager should perform the task of easily syncing the communication flow between the in-house team and the remote team.

By using IT Staff Augmentation services organizations can smoothly integrate their in-house & remote teams.

Assigning a mentor is necessary:

After building a synced communication mechanism, it is important to assign a mentor to every remote developer, doing this is necessary as this mentor will be responsible for solving any upcoming query of the remote developer. Project deliverables become timely and smooth if the requirements are crystal clear.

Choosing the right communication medium:

Choosing the right medium for communication and setting up proper procedures for interaction with the offshore team is necessary for a smoother workflow.

Set of tools:

Remote team management has become easier with the great list of available tools out there. Tools like Slack, Asana, and Google Docs have made project management easier.

The Documentation:

Documentation makes the work easier, having a proper set of rules and processes makes it easier for the team to understand the workflow and guide the remote team to work efficiently, consistently, and with a great piece of mind.

Weekly meetings of the remote developers:

Weekly meetings can help a team stay up to date about the benchmarks and the targets, this would help them get the right feedback about the improvisation needed, work progress, and so on.

Setting realistic expectations:

When assigning the project deliverables or setting up the working hours it is necessary for every member of the team to have clarity about the work. Setting realistic expectations can help a team in achieving the tasks effectively.

Meeting the team in person:

Building interpersonal connections through in-person team meetings, ensuring strategic planning for productive collaboration. The principal purpose of these gatherings is to foster socialization, promoting improved cross-team connections for enhanced communication and coordination.

Establishing relations with team members:

Building relationships with the remote team can lead the team to the pinnacle of success. When every team member is aware of the other team members it creates an urge for harmonious relations where everyone works in harmony to achieve the mutual goals.

Providing International Holidays:

A remote team comprises multicultural people belonging to different localities celebrating a variety of festivals. The organization must set its project deadlines around these holidays as every team member has the right to celebrate the festivals.

Boosting the morale of the developers:

A highly motivated professional will bring a lot of energy to the team. Organizations should focus on boosting the morale of their team members to generate the right amount of productivity in each team member. Low morale can result in less productivity but a developer with a high morale rate will encourage everyone to perform better.

Positive Feedback:

Utilize feedback as a straightforward yet potent motivational instrument. Communicate positive feedback verbally within the office environment, while expressing appreciation for remote developers through email proves to be effective.

Rewards and Appreciation:

Remote developers often experience a sense of exclusion and isolation. Positive feedback significantly enhances their productivity. Ensure that noteworthy accomplishments receive special recognition in a public email or group chat.

Incentivize their efforts with cash prizes or shopping vouchers for added impact. Commence team meetings by acknowledging and praising employees to set a positive tone for discussions.

4 Tools to manage your Project effectively with a Remote Team

1. monday.com: It is a colorful and user-friendly remote workspace tool for remote teams. It can help you plan, track, and deliver quality projects using thousands of customized templates. It also allows you to automate repetitive tasks such as creating a lead list using emails.
2. Zoho Projects: It is a cloud-based project management tool that supports remote teams. This software is capable of supporting multiple projects in a single go, it also has secure online storage which serves as a centralized database for all relevant project information.
3. Hub Planner: It is an all-in-one project management tool and scheduling software that is designed to help businesses manage their team and projects with more efficiency. Its features include both resource allocation and tracking, advanced scheduling, and time tracking, making it the ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.
4. Forecast: Forecast is a remote project management software that brings together projects, resources, and financials within a unified AI-powered platform. Project managers can use Forecast's workflow automation features to develop intelligent schedules, estimate timeframes and budgets, and automatically fill in timesheets.

Wrapping it Up

These twenty-one ways to manage a remote team can help your organization, business or startup in managing the remote teams effectively. This detailed guide will help an organization in managing a remote team effectively.

At times, managing a remote team is not a concern for the organizations but finding the right communication tools is very difficult. If finding the right communication tool is difficult for your organization, we would recommend you develop custom project management software to meet your project management needs.

Hiring Remote Developers: FAQs How to motivate a remote team?

To keep your team motivated use these seven tips

• Stay Connected
• Believe them and build trust
• Helping them with Time management
• Working on Skill Development
• Creating a scorecard
• Providing proper feedback
• Rewarding your remote employees

What are some challenges of managing a remote team?

Every organization faces the below challenges while managing a remote team

• Absence of a proper communication tool
• Hiring the right resources
• Lack of accountability
• Measuring everyone’s time
• No clear identification of roles and responsibilities
• The absence of a proper schedule
• Employee Tracking
• Lack of interaction among the team

What are some tools to use while managing a remote team?

• Monday.com
• Zoho Projects
• Hub Planner
• Forecast

What are the best Indian Software Development Company to hire remote developers?

The below-mentioned teams are the best Software Development Companies to hire

• Acquaint Softtech
• SparxITSolutions
• PixelCaryons
• itCraft