MANAGING REMOTE TEAMSNATALIE SEMCZUK
@TALKANATALKA
DPM SUMMIT 2015
#DPM2015
HELLO!I am a project manager and operations director. I’ve worked at agencies, in house, at large companies, at tiny companies.
I used to be a designer but turned to project management to stay sane ~5 years ago.
I’VE WORKED REMOTELY FOR 2 YEARS AND HAVE NOTICED SOME THINGS….
4 FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGING REMOTELY
COMMUNICATION RELATIONSHIPS
ISSUES TOOLS
COMMUNICATING AMONGST A PHYSICAL, IN-
OFFICE, OR MIXED TEAM, IS COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT FROM COMMUNICATING WITH FULLY
REMOTE/DISTRIBUTED TEAMS.
TWO COMMUNICATION HURDLES
1. ASYNCHRONOUS
2.BLACK & WHITE
ASYNCHRONOUS
= inconsistent communication across time zones/countries/schedules/etc
NO PHYSICAL CHECK IN OVER THESE COMMUNICATIONS
NO CONSISTENT QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS
HARD TO COMMUNICATE MORE DIFFICULT IDEAS
CAN’T FORCE SOMEONE TO READ THROUGH AS CAREFULLY AS YOU MIGHT NEED
TWO COMMUNICATION HURDLES
1. ASYNCHRONOUS
2.BLACK & WHITE
BLACK & WHITE
= text communication, more definitive language
PERSONALITIES CAN BE PORTRAYED DIFFERENTLY IN TEXT
ALWAYS ASSUME PEOPLE MEAN THE BEST FIRST
SOMETIMES TEXT HAS TO BE USED WHEN IT’S NOT IDEAL
WE MUST ADAPT IN ALL WAYS
IT’S REALLY HARD TO DO THAT!
MAKE USE OF QUALITY COMMUNICATION IN OTHER WAYS
LEAVE NOTES WHERE ALL CAN FIND THEM
BE A COMMUNICATION FACILITATOR
USE SIMPLE, CLEAR LANGUAGE WHENEVER POSSIBLE
BE WILLING TO ALWAYS DO MORE
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
THIS IS GOING TO BE SO UNNATURAL! BUT SOME IDEAS..
TWO JUMP STARTS IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS1. Regular voice calls
2. Enforcing non-work talk
EVERYDAY MEETINGS IN VOICE AND VIDEO CHATS
HELPS TRANSLATE PERSONALITIES AND QUIRKS
(PERSONAL NOTE: HELPS WITH CONTRACTS, TOO!)
1. Regular voice calls
2. Enforcing non-work talk
CHAT ABOUT WEEKEND, OUTSIDE INTERESTS, EVENTS, HOW THEY ARE DOING
ASK ABOUT WORKLOAD
CHAT SOCIALLY AND PUBLICLY
A SIDE NOTE: MEETUPS
CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS IS IN OUR BEST INTERESTS!
WE DON’T WORK IN A VACUUM
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS STUFF DOESN’T WORK?
WORK OVERLOAD / DEADLINE ISSUES CAUSES A TEAM MEMBER TO DISAPPEAR
ISSUE:
FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE PROJECT ISSUES TO THE TEAM
ISSUE:
TRYING TO MIMIC A PHYSICAL SETUP
ISSUE:
POOR FILE AND DOCUMENTATION MAINTENANCE
ISSUE:
SURPRISE: CLIENT INTERACTIONS AREN’T THAT CHALLENGING!
NON-ISSUE:
EASY SCREEN SHARE!
MANY FORMS OF COMMUNICATION!
COMMUNICATION RELATIONSHIPS
ISSUES TOOLS