How to work effectively with a remote team
Today I would like to share my experience based on the analysis of the last two years of working with a remote team. We provided projects in different time zones, such as the USA, Europe, Israel, and Australia, where the development teams and DevOps engineers also often worked in different time zones. So here are the key points:
- Task management is a must.
Depending on the scale of the project, we determine the method of managing the work process. When we implement some functionality for a small startup or perform a simple task, it is enough to have an action plan and follow it step by step. But if the project has many related processes, large functionality, and complex infrastructure, it is impossible to manage a remote team without a task manager.
The task manager is the core of remote work. We usually used Jira or Redmine where we made a list of tasks for everyone. When we got a particular area of work from a large and long-term plan, we divided it into sprints. Also, we usually made an estimate (calculation of time for each task) to show the project timeline for a client to see a clear perspective of delivery.
2. Regular communication is the key to success.
Sometimes it is difficult to get an urgent answer at the right time, and the decision on important tasks can be postponed several times because there is no connection with someone. This can cause a chain reaction of delays. To minimize the response time, a corporate chat with different target groups helps us well, in our case it is Slack.
Also, we always use some regular channel of communication between small groups in a large team, in order to avoid cases when each group, as it were, successfully performs its part of the work, but combining the results together turns into a complex non-trivial task.
3. You must like working remotely. Distance in time zones.
Remote work can have many advantages when all or most team members work in the same or neighboring time zones. When the client or part of the team is in a remote time zone, the time of regular negotiations can be very inconvenient.
In our case, working with European and American partners was usually a good experience, because the time difference was slight (e.g. in Europe), or the working time was on the verge of touching (with the United States -8 hours). In addition, the team working in the European zone is ahead of time — this is convenient. But in the case of Australia, the difference of +10 hours was significant, even in the backlog, and to maintain effective work we had to arrange the night shift.
Therefore, despite the great experience of our team, the quality, and the good costs of our services, regions less distant from Australia, such as India, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, etc. can still offer them more convenient and profitable conditions of cooperation.
Working with a remote team is interesting and productive. If the team members feel like a team, are willing to communicate, take part in meetings, when you are all organized and curious, and enjoy the benefits of remote work, then it can be even more effective than in the office. But everyone should care for a place where he/she can focus on the tasks, remember about self-discipline and responsibility for his/her work area and timelines.
