Motivating, leading, and achieving desired outcomes with a globally dispersed team requires actively avoiding a remote approach. Embracing connectivity is a crucial part of the solution.

At DEVxHUB, skillfully coordinating distributed teams has long been an integral aspect of our business strategy. This is not just a practicality, but a fundamental reality for us, considering that the majority of our clientele hails from Europe, America while our development team is strategically based in Rajshahi—constantly navigating diverse time zones and a full day’s journey apart.

Amid the pandemic, more individuals have had the opportunity to engage in collaborative work, even when physically separated. Many of us have encountered the dynamics of distributed teams while operating from our home offices. In this context, the distance to Bangladesh, for instance, doesn’t pose a significant barrier.

The physical location of your employees is losing its former importance. The key lies in their ability to execute their tasks and the team’s ability to meet its objectives. Where the work is accomplished becomes less critical. This perspective extends to management as well. Effectively overseeing developers who work remotely can be as successful as managing those situated in the same physical space, given the adherence to essential principles.

Presented below are 10 tips to achieve success.

• Conduct daily video meetings for effective communication.
• Emphasize clarity and presence in remote work scenarios.
• Build trust and security to foster a positive team environment.
• Set smaller milestones for easier progress tracking.
• Provide regular feedback for continuous improvement.
• Celebrate all victories, big and small, to boost morale.
• Foster a unified team culture by avoiding “us” and “them.”
• Appoint a local team lead for better coordination.
• Use digital tools to enhance collaboration and efficiency.
• View time differences as opportunities for increased productivity.

Let us take you through them step by step.

1.Conduct daily video meetings for effective communication.

Before the pandemic, many were skeptical about relying on video as the primary means of communication. However, since March 2020, there has been significant progress in digitization, and overall, the experience has been positive—video works!

Yet, when direct, daily contact with the team is lacking, guidance becomes more challenging. Access to information is generally reduced, creating a two-way communication challenge. It becomes more difficult to stay informed about ongoing activities and challenges.

To address this, regular daily video meetings are essential. In the case of distributed teams, these meetings should be slightly extended, allowing for effectiveness while providing ample time for discussion—up to half an hour. While maintaining focus, it’s crucial to allow space for more than a brief ten-minute interaction. When working remotely, the necessity for sharing aspects of everyday life with colleagues remains. Starting with casual social talk fosters a sense of belonging and builds a bridge. Whether it’s discussing odd news, sharing daily routines, or weekend plans, incorporating this human touch is appreciated by both EU, USA & Bangladeshis alike.

2. Emphasize clarity and presence in remote work scenarios

Effectively managing a team from a distance doesn’t involve any magic tricks, according to our experience—it’s primarily about communication. The key is to be exceptionally clear, even bordering on over-communication. Managing expectations becomes crucial, ensuring a clear understanding of priorities and team expectations.

Managing a project is akin to teamwork in sports, where defining each team member’s role and responsibilities is crucial. Ownership of milestones and partial deliveries should be explicitly outlined for everyone. A shared understanding of individual contributions towards the team’s success is essential.

In the final stages of a project, clarity is paramount regarding tasks to be completed by the next day. Clearly explain all criteria for considering a task solved, even if it may seem direct. This approach facilitates efficient delivery and management, particularly when working remotely.

Despite the term “remote management,” the key to success is being anything but remote. You must be close and present, albeit from a distance. To succeed, maintaining a strong presence in all communications with the team is essential. The level of closeness should be akin to sitting at the same desk, emphasizing the importance of a virtual presence. Managing a team from a distance may pose challenges, making presence even more critical, as highlighted by Petter Irgens Gustafson at NHST.

3. Build trust and security to foster a positive team environment.

Building trust and security within a distributed team is essential for fostering a positive and productive work environment. In the realm of remote collaboration, where team members may be geographically dispersed, creating a foundation of trust becomes a cornerstone for success. This involves clear communication, consistent follow-through on commitments, and transparent decision-making processes.

To establish trust, leaders should prioritize open lines of communication, leveraging video calls, messaging platforms, and collaborative tools. Regular check-ins and team meetings help maintain a sense of connection and ensure that everyone is aligned with the project’s goals. Establishing clear expectations and setting achievable milestones also contributes to a sense of security, as team members know what is expected of them and can confidently contribute to the collective effort.

Security, both in terms of data protection and emotional safety, is equally vital. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures safeguards sensitive information, instilling confidence among team members and stakeholders. Emotionally, creating an inclusive and supportive culture promotes a sense of belonging, reducing anxiety and increasing overall well-being.

Ultimately, success in distributed teams hinges on the establishment of trust and security. By prioritizing these elements, teams can navigate challenges, enhance collaboration, and achieve their goals in a positive and cohesive manner.

4. Set smaller milestones for easier progress tracking.

In the realm of distributed teams, we have found that employing a framework centered around smaller milestones and incremental sub-deliveries proves to be more effective than relying on a singular, substantial delivery at the conclusion of a project or designated period. By breaking down the overall objective into a series of manageable tasks, each delivered progressively, the team can maintain a clearer grasp of the project’s advancement and exercise greater control over the ultimate outcome.

Embracing a strategy that entails multiple sub-goals dispersed throughout the project timeline allows for a continuous turnover of deliverables, as opposed to a singular substantial delivery upon project completion. This continuous delivery model not only facilitates ongoing progress tracking but also affords additional opportunities for evaluation and feedback. Consequently, this iterative approach contributes to an overall enhancement of the final delivery’s quality.

5. Provide regular feedback for continuous improvement.

Establishing a culture of continuous improvement within your team necessitates the consistent provision of feedback. It is imperative to conduct regular evaluations, offering constructive insights on the ongoing deliveries. As the manager, your role involves thorough inspection and the formulation of actionable points in instances where outcomes deviate from expectations.

At DEVxHUB, we advocate for the implementation of retrospective meetings as a means to foster this continuous improvement ethos. These meetings entail team members sharing both positive aspects and areas that require improvement, reflecting on the recent sprint or delivery. This practice not only stimulates a constructive and open discussion but also serves to cultivate trust and transparency within the team. By encouraging an environment where feedback is frequent, detailed, and tied to specific actions, you pave the way for sustained enhancements and heightened overall team performance.

6. Celebrate all victories, big and small, to boost morale

Foster a culture of morale-boosting by acknowledging and celebrating triumphs, regardless of their scale. By incorporating numerous smaller milestones and partial deliveries into your project framework, you create ample opportunities for recognizing victories, even those of modest significance. The impact of wins, no matter how small, cannot be overstated as they serve as powerful motivators for both you as a manager and your entire team. The act of celebrating achievements, whether minor or major, has been embraced as a consistent practice at NHST.

Through established routines for showcasing and commemorating the latest deliveries, this approach not only instills a sense of pride within the team but also emphasizes the significance of their contributions to the broader organization. According to Petter Irgens Gustafson, this celebration ritual not only boosts morale but also underscores the substantial impact of the team’s creations on the larger organizational landscape.

7. Foster a unified team culture by avoiding “us” and “them.

If you have a distributed team that is completely outside your own organization (like in Bangladesh), you must first and foremost move away from the belief you may have about “us and them”. You need to treat your offshore team as if they were your own employees. What would you do if you got a brand new team in place at your Norwegian office?

– Avoid creating an “us and them” relationship. Look at the team as a distributed team, but still your team fully and completely, mutually dependent to succeed, says Petter Irgens Gustafson at NHST. He has 20 years of experience with distance management and admits to having made several mistakes over the years – and fortunately something is right as well.

– If you choose to use offshore consultants simply to save money, your focus is off. A distributed team in Bangladesh works great, as long as you have the right person in the right place. Availability of competence is critical, so my advice is to be crystal clear on what competence you are looking for. With the right expertise in place, the savings and efficiencies are great, says Gustafson.

If you have good onboarding routines, this can easily be transferred to a distributed team. If not, take the opportunity to establish such a routine. You will benefit from it when you hire locally as well.

DEVxHUB’s experience is that a good onboarding program plays an important role when it comes to minimizing cultural differences and communication challenges. This ensures that everyone involved has a common understanding of what the goal is (and how to achieve it). And then the results often follow. Therefore, we also facilitate onboarding for our clients:

– DEVxHUB takes the lead in the onboarding process and pulls you through that part. They have also done excellent work with the organization in Bangladesh so that it understands what it is like to work with Norwegians, which obviously has made it all easier, explains Petter Irgens Gustafson.

8. Appoint a local team lead for better coordination.

When presented with the opportunity, we highly recommend the incorporation of a local team lead, whether situated on-site in Rajshahi or any other location where your team might be dispersed. Especially when dealing with a team of considerable size, having a designated team lead proves exceptionally beneficial. This individual serves as a crucial point of contact with whom you can engage in more open and candid discussions compared to other team members.

Effectively managing a distributed team poses its own set of challenges, particularly when internal dynamics are at play. The absence of daily and direct insight into the team’s activities makes it challenging to grasp the full scope of the situation. Conducting team meetings through video conferencing, while valuable, may not provide a comprehensive understanding of the team dynamics. The presence of a team lead, however, becomes a distinct advantage in such scenarios. By fostering a closer working relationship with the team lead, you gain a valuable conduit through which you can navigate and address issues more effectively. This ensures a more nuanced and well-managed approach to the complexities that may arise within the team.

9. Use digital tools to enhance collaboration and efficiency.

To effectively manage a distributed team, utilizing the right tools is paramount, as emphasized by Gustafson at NHST. It’s essential not only to avoid issues like choppy video and poor connections but also to employ digital tools for seamless communication and project management.

At DEVxHUB, we recommend leveraging digital tools for direct team communication. For instance, platforms like Slack provide an open and real-time channel for collaborative work. It is also advisable to incorporate robust documentation and project management tools, such as JIRA or Trello, to ensure a smooth workflow. This approach facilitates organized problem-solving when challenges arise.

Gustafson highlights the significance of an issue tracking system like Jira, where all tasks are updated and visible to the team. Developers benefit from a clear understanding of tasks in the pipeline.

Additionally, it’s crucial to recognize that a reliable internet connection is imperative for productivity. This concern becomes particularly relevant offshore, where infrastructure may not match the standards found in countries like Norway. Ensuring that your offshore team has access to high-quality networks is vital for effective facilitation of remote work, according to Gustafson.

10. View time differences as opportunities for increased productivity.

When managing a team based in Bangladesh, it’s essential to anticipate a time difference of 4-5 hours, varying depending on the season. Rather than viewing this as a challenge, consider it an advantage. With strategic planning, this time difference can be leveraged to achieve continuous productivity, even during holiday seasons.

The time offset implies that your Bangladesh team begins working four hours before your local start time, allowing for a substantial overlap of about five hours during the workday. During the period when your local team is not actively working, your Bangladesh team can operate independently, potentially leading to fewer disruptions and increased overall efficiency. Moreover, if you have a local team in addition to the Bangladesh team, you can essentially harness twelve hours of combined development time, compared to the standard eight hours with only a local team.

Engaging with a team in a different country introduces variations in culture, holidays, and weekend approaches. This diversity can be turned into a strategic advantage for gaining a competitive edge. While you and your local team may be on holiday, the Bangladesh team can maintain full productivity, ensuring continuous progress and project advancement. This global collaboration not only extends the working hours but also allows for a more seamless and efficient workflow, providing your organization with a unique edge in the competitive landscape.

At DEVxHUB, we understand that success with distributed teams requires a combination of effective communication, technology adoption, and a supportive culture. By embracing these strategies, you can not only overcome the challenges of managing remote teams but also unlock the full potential of your distributed workforce. As the future of work continues to evolve, adapting to the changing landscape of remote collaboration is key to staying competitive and achieving success.