Managing a remote team is not an easy task but it is possible. There are some serious benefits of having a team working across different time zones. The work never stops and there is always someone progressing in the project. Experience comes with practice and our Catador team has identified best practices when developing software that you always need to take into account when managing a remote team.
Here are the 5 things you need to know when setting up a successful team across different time-zones:
- Daily Stand-up. You need to have a minimum of 2 hours overlap. Every day you need to set up a routine to handle the work. You can have a daily stand-up to solve any blockers or unanswered questions so the next person can continue their day without issues.
- Hire responsible people. You need to have team members that are responsible and can progress with the work with no supervision or with minimum support.
- Empower people to make decisions. At least one person in each team that is in a different time zone needs to have the ability to make decisions so they can unblock the team.
- Use technology to communicate efficiently. You can communicate with your remote team differently. I recommend using tools such as Zoom or Marco Polo to record videos explaining tasks that the remote team needs to do. Evaluate different tools and see which one is effective for your team and culture.
- Clear goals: Everyone needs to have a clear understanding of the goal that the team wants to achieve so everyone works towards it, doesn’t matter if they are in the same building or in a remote office.
Let’s get a coffee and put into practice our recommendations.
Catador Team.
