10 Best Practices for managing remote teams

Working with a remote development team can be challenging, especially if you cooperate with an offshore team. In this checklist, we will take a look at 10 practical tips on how to manage an offshore development team effectively, ensuring smooth remote team communication, collaboration, and productivity.

1. Understand the Nature of Remote Teams

Before diving into the management process, it is crucial to comprehend the concept of remote employees. You get a talent pool working from different locations: different countries, cities, or even from their homes. Embracing remote work can lead to cost savings and increased efficiency when managed correctly.

The most common problem (in software development too), is broken or inefficient remote team communication. But, engineers always liked a good challenge. With tons of virtual team communication tools, the issues are overcome quickly. Being aware of these challenges will help you prepare and adapt to manage the development team.

2. Gather the Right Team Members

The foundation to manage the development team lies in hiring the right remote developers. Many outsourcing companies like Incora offer remote team development with strong technical skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and adapt to remote work. Our customers said that the level of communication is unmatched.

Trust and Accountability

Remote team collaboration should be based on trustworthiness and accountability. These traits are essential, as remote employees will be working independently and must be relied upon to complete tasks efficiently and on time.

Assess Remote Work Adaptability

3. Implement Efficient Onboarding and Training

An effective onboarding and training process is vital for introducing new remote developers to your company culture, project requirements, and expectations. This will help set the stage for a successful working relationship between team members and management.

4. Establish Clear Work Processes

Setting up clear work processes is half of the deal when managing remote employees. These processes should include task assignment, issue management, and communication protocols. Software engineers feel more organized and less anxious with clear (but realistic!) schedules.

Encourage Process Compliance

To manage the development team and ensure that key processes are right on track, establish checkpoints where work must pause until the process is followed. This will help maintain consistency and efficiency within the entire team. In the development approach, there is sprint analysis after some work is done.

5. Foster Effective Remote Team Communication

Efficient communication is critical for remote teams. Establishing a robust remote team communication plan will help keep everyone on the same page, reducing misunderstandings and promoting collaboration. Also, if you plan to hire remote software engineers, it's best they have soft skills on top of the resume.

Choose the Right Virtual Team Communication Tools

Select virtual team communication tools that best suit your team's needs. Popular options like Slack, Google Meets, and Jira, but there are many other tools available to help with effective communication and collaboration.

Promote a Culture of Open Communication

That's often underestimated especially in large companies with remote employees. Encourage team members to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns openly. A supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing to the team's success is beneficial for development as well.

6. Implement Regular Meetings

One-on-one meetings are an excellent opportunity to manage the development team members individually, discuss their progress, and look over any concerns. Holding these meetings regularly will help maintain strong relationships and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Focus on Goal Setting and Progress Updates

During one-on-one meetings, concentrate on setting objectives and reviewing progress toward these goals. It shouldn't turn into blaming game but make sure the team is accountable and motivated to achieve their targets.

7. Utilize Pair Programming

Pair programming is an effective technique for improving code quality, increasing accountability, and speeding up the development process. By having two developers work simultaneously on the same task, knowledge can be shared, and potential issues can be identified and resolved more quickly. Incora usually has one more experienced developer helping out the juniors.

Schedule Pair Programming Sessions

Organize regular pair programming sessions for your offshore development team. Be mindful of time zones and work schedules when planning these sessions to ensure they are effective and convenient for all team members. It brings teams closer and helps with a healthier environment.

8. Encourage Team Building

Remote team members need the same opportunities to unwind and connect with their colleagues as house teams. Implement activities such as online board games, team-building exercises, or casual chat channels with memes (every team should have one).

9. Optimize Project Management Software

Choosing the right project management tools is challenging but extremely rewarding. Keeping the remote team communication organized and documentation done means investing in the right tools. Usually, teams already have preferences when it comes to it, so discuss and settle on ones that streamline your project management processes. Avoid cutting corners when selecting project management or bug-tracking tools, as this may lead to tons of frustration among your remote developers. Incora has a mixed preference: Jira for tasks, Slack for communication, and Google Meets for virtual events.

10. Maintain a Balance between Real-Time and Asynchronous Communication

Both real-time video calls and asynchronous communication methods have their advantages, so try to find the right balance for your remote developers. Use real-time communication for urgent matters and collaboration, while asynchronous communication can be employed for updates and less time-sensitive discussions. And the most important rule is” if the meeting can be written in email, there's no team meeting.”

Sum Up

In conclusion, answering “how to manage an offshore development team” means knowing best practices and tips. It can be a complex task, but with the right strategies and tools in place, remote collaboration is worth the effort. By following these 10 tips, you can create a productive and collaborative environment for your remote team, ensuring project success and long-term growth.