How to manage IT remote teams

The era of fully in-person work is going through a transition toward another working model. There are plenty of ways of making up, maintaining, and leading teams without having to meet face-to-face in a physical space, but this is not exempt from risks, which we must be ready to face.

Taking into account the changes that are taking place in the current world and, mainly, in the labor market, new demands and new stages appear, where it is possible to develop projects at a faster pace and at other spatial levels. These projects are interconnected from different places of the world and it is also feasible thanks to other team dynamics.

Asynchronous work, technological agility, and the chance of identifying the geographical location of talents in any part of the world have become really interesting considering that, at this moment, there are other ways of designing, achieving, and sharing projects.

Nowadays, there are many digital tools that let us use agile and flexible methodologies to assign roles and tasks among the members of each team, organize the schedule of every activity and establish assessment and revision methods. At the same time, it is possible to come to common agreements related to each project.

Regarding the IT area, the necessity of finding skilled personnel leads to the search for new talents by outsourcing and, at the same time, to the constant training that the new employees are offered to undergo daily challenges.

There are more and more companies that decide to work remotely but they do not know how to do it or fear failing during that process. Despite that, it is completely profitable. Beyond the economic benefits that are obtained after that decision, it is also true that leading teams remotely means putting faith in new working methodologies and internal and external strategies of communication. The result of these changes can be seen in better working conditions and greater creativity, productivity, and efficiency. So, when workers feel more at ease in the enterprise, they are likely to remain there.

The key is to generate a good work environment by creating mutual support conditions, where challenges can be seen as an opportunity to move forward and grow as professionals and not as an obstacle that prevents them from improving their performance.

The IT talents that are part of the teams feel the necessity of incorporating technical competencies and soft skills to fulfill their tasks properly and, in many cases, employers must invest in training to achieve that.

Therefore, it is logical that many companies feel that when modifying their work structure, they lose control of the process and the implementation of the planning. However, at this point, it is also essential to a supervision strategy and the chance of fluent communication, where everyone’s position is appreciated, so both of them know they are going on the same track.

Now, let’s speak about 5 key aspects when leading IT teams remotely:

Set out the working time: every planning requires setting goals to fulfill, way of measuring results and, at the same time, it is necessary to fix the deadlines that must be met by the team and the personal time of every worker. It is essential that this planning makes it possible to organize the personal schedule and the numberf hours assigned to work, because if there is a balance between boem, performance and productivity in the execution of projects are likely to improve. The way of solving difficulties must also be identified responsibly.
Make a constant follow-up: as they are not in the same physical space, employers and employees need to get in touch to move forward in each stage. Although it is true that when working remotely those distances seem to be longer, the leader of the team must get together with the other members not only through video conferences or video calls but also through common documents where they share the improvements, to evaluate the development of the project, revise the KPIs and make the necessary modifications.
Strengthen the communication: it is key to set out communication channels using which notifications, announcements, updates related to the team, and relevant information will be sent and shared. It is also essential to coordinate online meetings between the leaders and the people involved in the project, so they can speak about their ideas, suggestions, and contributions. Taking into account their needs and answering their questions lead to a fluent exchange that makes the improvement feasible in a fast and clever way.
Promote and develop confidence: it is important to appreciate empathy, offer attentive listening, and promote respect among workers. This makes it possible to develop a confident environment where everyone feels accompanied by the rest of the workers to achieve common goals. They should also be helped by their leaders to overcome any obstacle and learn from every experience. The fact of having the chance to express their feelings, expectations, and aspirations in front of others causes a better understanding, willingness, and commitment toward the job they are performing.
Appreciate the achievements at an internal and external level: this is an effective way to encourage the employees to continue developing their tasks and being part of the team. The appreciation can be within the enterprise or in a public way. This will boost their self-esteem, raise their desire for growth and success, and, therefore, they will feel totally encouraged.

In this sense, considering some trends, such as the Gig economy, which leads the way to the future of the business market, it is clear that the leadership of IT teams remotely is completely beneficial, as it is a tool that enables to offer more excellent temporary job opportunities to skilled personnel (by objectives or being part of certain projects). At the same time, it makes possible a coordinated job that balances the need of keeping certain flexibility and independence and the need of producing in a current context of high competence and hyper-specialization.