Introduction
A culture of working 9-5 has changed fundamentally in the past decade. Candidates are seen fulfilling their dream of working from the comfort of their house. Remote work is considered as the new normal.
According to one study by Owl Labs, 71% of remote staff feel happy when they are allowed to work from home. This resulted in an increase in their productivity by 86%, their work-life balance has increased rapidly.
However, not all days are sunnier & rosey. This shift towards remote work has also brought some challenges with it, the most discussed one is “effective remote team management”.
In this article, we’ll discuss the most common mistakes in remote team management. We will also learn about the best ways to avoid these mistakes. Let’s first begin by understanding what Remote team management is?
What is Remote Team Management?
When an organization shifts their approach towards a remote work model, it is known as Remote team management.
Every question has multiple answers at times. Likewise, there are multiple answers to answer the question of how you should approach remote work. A few companies might choose to go fully remote, some would cycle their employees in & out.
There are a few organizations there are a few who achieve a balance of both. The only key to answering the question is to try what works best for you & your people.
There are mainly three types of Remote Teams
- Fully Remote
- Flexible Teams
- Hybrid Teams
Regardless of what type of remote team you build, it will always be a tough task for your team leaders to answer one question. A question that says. “How to bring everyone together to achieve the same goals. Let’s work together to find the answer.
Now, let’s first understand the common mistakes organizations make while managing remote teams
9 Collaboration Mistakes in Remote Work Management
Some of the mistakes of Remote Work Management are as follows, ensure you avoid them while managing the remote work management.
Not Defining Strategies:
In many businesses, planning becomes the most important aspect, as is the case with remote work management. There have been many instances where team members are found setting unrealistic targets for their teams. Such a practice leads to disappointment & it also results in wastage of work hours.
There are two things you need to set to achieve excellence:
Workforce Hierarchy:
The organization needs to clearly state & communicate who is answerable to whom, this will increase the efficiency of work.
Communication:
The organization needs to plan all the communication channels for every employee to use.
The questions on hierarchy & strategies are often the most discussed ones & are the most challenging. But, these challenges can be minimized if proper strategies are formulated.
Not creating conversation space:
This is one of the biggest challenges faced by organizations that are managing remote teams. Unlike in-house teams, remote teams always face the challenge of interacting with their colleagues.
Due to a lack of physical office space, interaction might become a hindrance. To tackle this challenge they need to plan & strategize all communication tools to be used during the project.
Not using the right tools:
Due to the advancement in technology, people can work from anywhere around the globe. But, not using the right tools might lead to faulty team collaboration. If the organization wants to streamline the collaboration it must use the right tools.
Using the below range of tools will help them find the right balance in the collaboration efforts.
Team Management Software:
Assigning & tracking project tasks & coordinating with the team.
Workplace communication tools:
The organizations need to plan the usage of all the communication tools to streamline the interaction between the team.
Cloud-based storage:
The organization should also plan to buy some data storage tools to preserve all the data & exchange information internally.
Video conferencing:
The remote teams should also have the right video conferencing tools to interact with the clients.
Keep all communication digital:
Many organizations look forward to simply keeping the interaction fully digital. Any business or interaction becomes a success only when a flavor of face-to-face interaction is involved. Organizations should plan physical meetings of team members at least once to smoothen the project management.
Micromanaging remote teams:
If you're provided the luxury to work flexibly you would see an increase in the amount of your productivity. Micromanagement can lead the team members to burnout & they might find it difficult to work. Employees would not trust their manager & hence might lose interest in giving their 100% to the work.
Allowing the team members to work at their convenience will help the organization in boosting productivity.
Giving preferential treatment to In-house teams:
Any organization opting a hybrid work model should ensure they promote equality amongst the team members. The organization should provide equal opportunities to everyone.
Further, if you also wish to motivate your remote team, you should use the below-mentioned strategies:
- Giving them access to useful online courses related to their work.
- Inviting them to industry events.
- Sending them gift cards to make off for the face-to-face party they couldn’t attend.
- Celebrating their birthdays, anniversaries & personal milestones.
Ignoring time zones before conducting a meeting:
Time zones play a very important role in remote work. Whether it is about executing the task, scheduling a meeting or any virtual gathering, time zone plays a significant role. Any organization that wants to set up the meeting should try to find an overlapping time to encourage full attendance during the meeting.
Ignoring time zones can lead to a misalignment of the project & can result in a waste of time & resources.
How hiring a Software Outsourcing company can help?
Any organization that wants to tackle any of the above mentioned challenges should hire software development outsourcing services. And if you want to know how you can choose right IT outsourcing partner.
What does the term outsourcing software development mean?
When an organization delegates its software development project to another software development service provider, it is known as software outsourcing.
There are mainly three types of software outsourcing options available, all three are stated below:
- Inshore outsourcing software development
- Offshore outsourcing software development
- Nearshore outsourcing software development
Inshore Outsourcing Software Development
Inshore outsourcing is a software development practice in which software development tasks are outsourced to an external vendor located within the same country.
There are several advantages of adopting Inshore outsourcing software development
- Easier communication
- Similar time zones
- Compliance & Legal Ease
- Supports Local Economy
Offshore Outsourcing Software Development
It is a software development outsourcing practice where organizations hire external teams to handle software development tasks based in a different country.
There are several advantages of Offshore Outsourcing Software Development.
Cost efficiency
Access to Global Talent
Round-the-Clock Productivity
Focusing on core business
Now, let’s understand what is Nearshore outsourcing software development
Nearshore Outsourcing Software Development
Nearshore software outsourcing is a practice, where organizations outsource their software development tasks to a nearby country. For example, A country based out of the United Kingdom outsources its software development to Germany or Ireland.
In this approach, the organization can leverage the benefit of both Inshore outsourcing & offshore outsourcing.
Now, let’s understand why is India the best country for Software Development Outsourcing
India: A leader in Outsourcing Software Development
India as a country has become a hot choice for leveraging software development outsourcing. One reason that makes India a hot choice for software outsourcing is its lower cost. Now, not only India, but the whole of Asia has the lowest costs as compared to other regions.
The cost of outsourcing a project plays a vital role in finalizing the right IT partner for software development outsourcing services. It is a great idea to choose a cost-effective software development partner, but it is equally important to consider the quality of the work.
India is a hot choice for software development not because of its lower costs but because it is popular due to its high-quality services as well.
Now, let’s understand the Top Five Software Outsourcing Company in Ahmedabad
Top 5 Software Outsourcing Company in Ahmedabad
- Acquaint Softtech
Acquaint Softtech is a software development company specializing in IT Staff Augmentation Services and custom software development. Our team of experts has 15+ years of industry experience in helping our clients build custom software solutions. We can help your organization hire remote developers that meet your requirements.
- Bacancy Technology
Bacancy is a Software development company that focuses on improvising the industry, we strongly believe in the power of software & technology. We are an agile team of capable, driven & passionate people who are on the hunt to achieve excellence.
- Simform
Simform is a Digital product engineering & IT staff solutions company. The organization aims to solve complex software engineering problems. Since 2010, our team of 1000+ developers has helped businesses in upscaling their business values through our development services.
- Ebryx Tech
It is a Custom Software Development company having 15+ years of industry-driven experience. As a trusted partner, we are focused on delivering solutions that not only cater to the requirements of our clients but also help them achieve business growth.
- Agile Infoways
Agile Infoways is using its creative ideas to revolutionize businesses around the globe. We are a well-known Custom Software Development company on a mission to provide standardized cloud development services.
Starting from product discovery to understanding the requirements by suggesting the perfect technology stack as per requirements, Agile Infoways has a dedicated team for each process.
Wrapping Up!
Organizations have adopted a shift towards software development outsourcing but managing a smooth project workflow requires a few key considerations. We have mentioned nine project management mistakes that need to be taken care of while managing a software development project.
Companies from developed nations like the United States, & the United Kingdom hire remote developers or are shifting towards leveraging software development outsourcing services to meet their software development needs.