How To Manage Your Development Team Remotely

If you’ve exclusively managed in-house teams, you might be unsure about your leadership style when working with a team in another nation or from home.

Many businesses now hire remote teams to develop software off-shore. You can succeed in managing a remote team even though it presents many challenges by maintaining accountability, efficiency, and productivity among your in-house and remote employees. The managers of remote software teams sometimes have a hard time accepting that despite not being visible, they can still supervise and observe the tasks being performed.

However, before selecting a development firm with which to collaborate, you must first learn how to manage a remote team for this collaboration to be effective and productive. In this article, Moontek will go over the tactics & approaches you’ll need to apply to manage an off-shore or remote software development team. In a nutshell, we’ll go over specific pointers that will help you:

#1. Hire People Who Are Passionate About What They Do

The recruitment process is the beginning of successful cooperation. When looking for a software outsourcing business, do your homework by looking at their portfolio, collecting referrals, and doing interviews. These basic methods can assist you in gaining a better understanding of the attitude of the persons you are considering recruiting.

You can only give advice, so you’ll need employees that are organized and motivated by themselves. When doing a one-on-one interview during the recruitment process, this passion becomes clear. During the interaction, keep an eye out for any red flags. Discuss his projects and knowledge of the field to gain insight into their understanding of the industry standards.

#2. A Cooperation Manifesto

Because remote developers will not be in your local vicinity, it is critical to establish a cooperative tone from the start. You should write down the goals of the work you will all be doing from the moment you engage off-shore software engineers.

Furthermore, everyone’s duties and obligations should be clearly explained. To avoid complications, even the obstacles and discrepancies that you may confront must be discussed in advance. Make sure your development team holds this manifesto in high esteem and follows it to the letter.

#3. Establish a Working Procedure

When you’re in charge of off-shore developers, you’ll require a precise and well-defined work method. Consult your remote developers about the scope and progress of the work. Ensure smooth operation by determining who holds what responsibility.

Describe in detail what you hope to achieve with the project. Make sure you have a clear vision. Make sure you communicate with your team manager on a regular basis. Effectively explain the project’s progress and the steps that must be followed next. With a clear explanation of how you work on the project, you’ll not only be able to move the project forward faster, but you’ll also be able to maintain a high level of efficiency.

 #4. Work In Multiple Time Zones

In order to obtain the best results from hiring off-shore software engineers, you’ll need to work around time zones. For example, if you live in the USA and need web development in India. You must take into account the time difference. India is 9.30 hours ahead of the USA, giving you a lot of hours to overlap. This implies you must be highly productive during the ‘golden hour,’ the time you and your team set aside to work together.

You must collect a report from your team and plan the work course for the next day while actively working throughout the overlapping hours. In some circumstances, you won’t be able to get overlapping hours, so making wise judgments is essential. Let’s pretend your team is in India and you’re in New York. With no set working hours, you must ensure that email communication is maintained on a daily basis. This should be relatively straightforward, containing information such as the team’s work from yesterday, the work scheduled for today, and any apparent concerns. Also, be sure your software outsourcing provider can contact you in an emergency, even if it’s outside of business hours.

#5. Improve your communication skills.

It is critical to work on effective and clear communication in software development services, where joint efforts are required. Ensure that both your in-house and remote teams are on the same page and that there are no misconceptions.

Meetings: If you have access to golden hour, make daily follow-ups, weekly report exchanges, and monthly target analysis a priority. This will keep you informed about everything that is going on and allow you to steer the course of events.

Additionally, once a week, rearrange schedules to hold a meeting for greater comprehension. Assign someone to be in charge of writing the minutes of these meetings. Send the information to all staff so they can refer to it. In the case that your working hours do not cross, make email communication easier.

Video conferencing: Building a rapport with your team members requires having a face-to-face meeting. It allows for a better flow of information and a more in-depth debate. Make it a point to meet at least once a month.

#6. Make Use of Necessary Equipment & Tools

Certain technologies make it quite easy for you to function better when working on collaborative activities. For example, suppose you’re considering web development in India but live in the USA. In that case, you’ll need help communicating and collaborating more effectively. So, precisely this is what the tools do for you: they give you the means to improve your work process. The following are some of the tools you should think about while hiring software development services.

Slack: This masterwork is well-known among those in the corporate world. Slack allows you to assign tasks, attach documents, integrate tools, and promote good team management, giving it an advantage over traditional text solutions.

Skype: Skype is pre-installed on every Windows PC and is highly recommended for video conferencing in business situations.

UberConference: In the realm of video conferencing, UberConference is a relatively new name. It may be used with almost any device that has a browser.

#7. Establish a Positive Working Relationship With Your Employees

It’s impossible to overestimate the value of developing a personal relationship with your staff. After a while, a workplace that exclusively encourages individuals to work becomes toxic. Instead, stimulating discussion with your off-shore software engineers about their lifestyle, hobbies, and other interests will help you better understand and collaborate with them.

Keeping track of your employees’ birthdays and major holidays is a great way to foster a sense of personal warmth and connection with your software outsourcing company. Rewarding your employees for their accomplishments, even if it’s just with a compliment, is another way to develop a positive rapport. Say things that will motivate them to improve their performance.

#8. Take a Business Trip

Take a quick business trip to see the developers you’ve recruited. Your project is off to a solid start with this. While on-site, you can hold a few meetings to answer all of your project’s queries. This way, neither you nor your team will be pressured for time. Everyone will be focused on communicating in the same conference room. You can make personal relationships alongside business conversations. Your staff will be motivated by your enthusiasm and vision for the project, which will stay with them throughout the launch.

Conclusion

Managers are panicked by the prospect of managing off-shore/remote software developers, despite their high attractiveness. When it comes to remote software development services, you should take a systematic approach from the start. However, it is not as complicated as it appears. Being a competent communicator simply adds to the process’s flexibility.