How do you organize communication for remote working?

Our point of departure is that in the long run, most people feel better, and function better, in a team than solo from home. That is why we value having an office where people can work together. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Sometimes our customer has team members spread across different offices, cities or even countries.

At Team4Code, all employees, therefore, have the necessary tools to communicate easily. Everyone has a notebook, we use Google Suite with Gmail, Hangouts, Calendar and share documents in the Drive. We also use Slack and keep track of our hours and tasks in Avaza. With all the technical tools that we have available today, it is easy to work remotely.

Personality

Just as important as the means of communication is the way how we communicate with each other. How do we ensure that everyone remains connected and involved. How do we manage our work? Some people need continuous guidance while others can also work independently, provided that the goals and framework in which they must function are clear. When recruiting new people, we pay  even more attention to personality over knowledge and skills. We are looking specifically for professionals who can communicate well, are motivated, reliable and mature. Specialists who can manage their time effectively and who can deal with the freedom of remote working. An article published by Forbes outlines the 10 essential properties of the perfect remote workers:

  1. Appreciates result over process
  2. Is a self-starter
  3. Is able to complete a test project
  4. Is punctual and responsive
  5. Is motivated by something bigger than himself
  6. Is a natural problem solver
  7. Has attention to detail and follows KPIs
  8. Has a strong technical talent
  9. Has already experience with a form of working remotely
  10. Is focused on growth

 

Provide personal contact

When people all work remotely, it is more difficult to create a team. The risk is that a group of “freelancers” will emerge, all of which are aimed at meeting the wishes of the manager, without a team working together on common goals. That is why we advise our customers to stimulate contact between team members. This can be done by making team members jointly responsible for a result, ensuring that there are meetings where the manager is not present and by not only talking about work during the meeting. Show that you are really interested in the employee. Various online teambuilding activities are also possible, museum hack gives a useful overview of this.

Making software is the work of men and women. People-oriented leadership is therefore a precondition for success. Especially when working remotely, it is important to get to know colleagues personally. Better understanding helps to understand each other better. This makes it easier to  mention problems. The result is higher employee satisfaction and colleagues who want to go the extra mile to help each other.

It is hardly imaginable, but there are still companies that work remotely without using modern means such as video chat and slack. Who barely know their remote colleagues. It often doesn’t work for these companies. On the other hand, countless companies prove daily that working remotely works for them. In the beginning it can be difficult. It requires adjustments, both from the employees and from the manager. Maybe it will take you a while to find the best way of working for you. We like to think along with you. If you want, we share our experiences and help you make remote working a success.

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What our clients tell about us

“When our project manager, Rikke, was so enthusiastic about his new dream team from Kyiv, I decided to have a sweater designed with the Med2Morrow logo and the life-size words ‘Dream Team’ on it. A week later, a package was mailed containing two sweaters, one for Demid and one for Nadir. They do a good job and we are very happy with them”.

Rutger
COO and Project Manager, Med2Morrow, Netherlands

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