How to Successfully Manage a Team of Remote Software Developers
Remote work isn’t something new that suddenly popped out of nowhere when the Corona stalled the whole world. It’s just that the culture of remote or home-based work became more widespread during covid. And now it’s gaining traction, especially among IT employees. Building up a remote team of software developers is considered more manageable and cost-effective than an in-house team. Companies must also abandon their traditional work culture mindset and embrace the trend of remote work if want to succeed. Therefore, companies must know the ways to successfully manage a remote team of software developers.
The IT industry is believed to cause high stress and health problems among IT professionals. However, the growing trend of remote work has given them hope. They don’t want to work in a stressed environment anymore. The main concern of today’s workers is maintaining a work-life balance, which was not possible in earlier work cultures. And for this reason, IT employees are now quitting their jobs without any hesitation. People are now more inclined toward becoming digital nomads. They want more time for their stuff like spending family time, starting a new hobby, traveling the world, etc.
If you’re also starting a business or already have one, build a remote team of software developers in 2023. They are not only easy to manage but also come up with a lot of other benefits.
You can also read: 5 Benefits of Hiring Remote Talent for Your Business
Why Is It Challenging to Manage a Remote Team of Software Developers?
A team of software developers is a critical part of any organization. But sometimes, managing them can be a challenging task, especially when the team is working remotely. It gets even harder if a large number of developers are involved and several projects are active at once.
Let’s look at some of the difficulties involved in managing a remote team of software developers.
More brains equal more ideas:
Remote work gives software developers time to think and come up with unique ideas. While working away from the office and in a relaxed environment help them think critically and bring out new development ideas and unique perceptions. However, like anything else, this also has its downside. Working with a remote team that has several developers means too many unique ideas thus, complicating the development process. In this situation, they will have to be stopped and asked to go with what is preferred by the management.
Trying to get developers to work according to the company’s working method and tools can hamper the work quality:
Company and developers have their own set of development tools, working methods, etc. This becomes an issue when working with a remote team of software developers. Because it has a high chance that getting remote developers accustomed to the company processes can affect their work quality. And this is one of the major challenges when managing a team of IT professionals remotely.
Every developer has their shortcomings:
Just like any other remote employees, remote developers also have their weaknesses. Some may be weak in terms of their soft skills, and some in terms of development skills. It will be your duty as a remote manager to address and eventually fix any shortcomings they may have. You will be responsible for skillfully managing their tasks in the short term so that it doesn’t affect the final product’s quality.
Each developer has a different capacity for handling work:
Each remote developer has a different capacity to handle the workload. Some will be more determined and driven than others. It will be your task as a manager to assess each developer’s capacity for handling a given workload and assign tasks accordingly.
Tips to Manage the Remote Team of Software Developers?
In the age of remote work, hiring is the first step to success, and managing the onboarded remote development team is the second and most crucial step. You must arm yourself with the appropriate skills if you want to take advantage of the potential of remote work.
Let’s take a look at 6 strategies to help you manage remote development teams effectively:
Take advantage of Agile project management methodologies:
Two of the most important things to improve remote software engineering teams’ adaptability, collaboration, and productivity are agile methodologies and project management tools. With its help, remote teams can effectively learn to manage their work and adapt to changes. Let’s have a look at some of these methods and tools that will help you to effectively manage a team remotely:
1. Do regular virtual stand-ups and sprint meetings:
In a conventional workplace, everyone gathers for brief meetings every day to discuss work objectives in a common area. On the other hand, face-to-face communication isn’t possible when working with a remote team. However, it is something of great significance. In this situation, using online platforms like Zoom and Skype to hold regular virtual stand-up and sprint meetings helps a lot.
These frequent meetings enable a remote team of software developers to continuously improve and adapt to changing requirements.
2. Take leverage of project management tools:
Project management software platforms like Google Meet, Hive, Trello, etc help remote teams in tracking progress, managing tasks, and collaborating more efficiently. These platforms are a very good way to enable teams to set their priorities and stay focused and organized.
3. Encourage a culture of constant improvement:
Encourage your team members to regularly evaluate their performance and pinpoint their areas for growth. Holding review meetings at regular intervals will help the team learn from their experiences, make the necessary corrections, and come up with new ideas.
Place a strong emphasis on participant collaboration and communication:
Encourage open channels of communication so that team members can easily exchange ideas, talk about difficulties, and offer feedback. Real-time collaboration and discussion can be conducted using tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. While more interactive and interesting meetings can be held using video conferencing services like Zoom or Google Meet.
Prioritize results over action:
This is widely recognized as a best practice for elevating employee engagement and giving them more authority. Clarifying the objectives and desired outcomes before letting staff members develop a plan of action fosters creativity and ownership.
Instead of trying to micromanage your remote team, give them the freedom to carry out your vision. A decline in trust may result from persistently interfering with others’ work. Dissatisfaction will ultimately lead to employee turnover. Because of this, you must give your remote team the autonomy they require, to ensure they can continue to be inspired to produce excellent work on schedule.
Monitor and measure the remote team performance effectively:
To maintain productivity and guarantee the success of your software engineering projects, it is crucial to measure and monitor remote team performance effectively. To monitor performance and offer assistance, try the following tactics:
1. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs):
Create KPIs that are specific to the goals and objectives of your team, are measurable, and are relevant. Code quality, project delivery schedules, or the number of issues resolved are examples of KPIs. Keep tabs on and review these indicators frequently to evaluate team performance and pinpoint areas for development.
2. Arrange regular performance review sessions:
Conduct routine performance reviews to give team members feedback on their work and discuss improvements, if any. In accordance with the preferences of your organization, it may be held quarterly, annually, or semi-annually.
3. Address underperformance and motivate when needed:
Every team has a member who underperforms in comparison to the others. No need to panic if such a situation arises; instead, take proactive measures. Have a direct and honest conversation with the person because they might be going through some difficulties. Work together, if needed to come up with an action plan to boost performance and give the required assistance.
Apart from this, regular motivations are also required especially when managing the team remotely. Because team morale almost always has a direct correlation with productivity. It is your responsibility as a manager to constantly monitor the mood of your team. And whenever you notice that the team’s mood is deteriorating, it’s time to introduce incentives and motivators.
4. Make sure to provide required help and resources:
Make sure team members have access to the equipment, resources, and help they require to be successful in their positions. To do this, the organization could provide them with mentorship, training materials, or connections to experts.
5. Accommodate different time zones:
Working with remote teams allows a company to recruit talent from around the world. But it also makes it more challenging to collaborate with software developers hailing from different time zones. In this situation, remote development teams must practice flexible time management.
Instead of expecting team members to be available 24 hours a day, this can be achieved by allowing them to work when it suits them. Getting the task completed should be the priority and not the working hours. This will boost the morale and productivity of the remote team, resulting in the production of high-quality work.
Establish clear guidelines from the beginning:
The very first step in managing the team remotely is setting work expectations right from the beginning. Always stay precise about what you expect from your remote developers.
The main objective is to complete the work in the best way possible, so make sure the standards are reasonable and attainable. Doing so will also ensure that everyone on the remote developer team is on the same page and working within a realistic time frame.
Consequently, the team’s productivity and morale will also get improved. Setting an impossible goal just to give your team a temporary boost of work, in the beginning, will only lead to failure, exhaustion, and low morale.
Create a strong team spirit:
To maintain productivity, collaboration, and motivation, distributed teams need to build a strong sense of teamwork. Here are some methods that you can use to create a remote team that is connected and cohesive:
1. Start with hiring the right talent for your team:
From the beginning, attention should be paid to every small detail in order to effectively manage remote teams. For instance, during the hiring process, it is essential but not the only thing to focus on technical skills. There are additional significant details that must be paid attention to.
Every team member needs to have strong remote work skills when creating a remote team, which is an important factor to take into account. These abilities include self-motivation, effective communication, and time management. This makes it easier for everyone on your team to work in cohesion and succeed in a remote work environment.
2. Encourage the culture of inclusivity:
Use tools and platforms, such as project management software, code-sharing websites, and video conferencing apps, to promote open communication and teamwork. Team members can communicate ideas, talk about problems, and offer support to one another because of this. Thus, resulting in increased productivity and quality work.
3. Encourage team members to trust one another:
Establish trust within the group by upholding openness and responsibility. Share business updates, involve team members in decision-making, and make sure that all opinions are respected and taken into account.
Protect data and ensure compliance in remote environments:
Two of the important considerations when managing a software engineer’s team remotely are data security and compliance. Sensitive information can be protected and industry regulations can be upheld by putting strong security measures in place and giving the right training. To ensure data security and compliance in the remote work environment, below are some strategies:
1. Put in place strong data security measures:
Create stringent security guidelines that specify the steps and conditions for handling sensitive data. This might entail employing multi-factor authentication, using encrypted data transfers, using secure communication channels, and updating and patching software frequently.
2. Educate team members best practices for security:
Train your team on the value of data security and give them instructions on how to safeguard private data. Team members can benefit from regular training sessions that keep them up to date on the latest threats, recommended practices, and corporate guidelines.
3. Make use of safe collaborative tools:
Select project management and collaboration applications that place a high priority on security and include features like end-to-end encryption, access controls, and audit logs. These tools can help safeguard the work of your development team and guarantee adherence to data protection laws.
4. Monitor and audit remote access:
Review remote access logs and activities frequently to look for any unauthorised access or unusual activity. Implement access controls to restrict the amount of private data that remote team members can access in accordance with their job duties.
Final Words:
Many people find working remotely to be overwhelming. The achievement of the company’s goals and objectives is what drives remote teams to be genuinely engaged. And this is only possible when they follow the established work procedures. After all, the performance of your team determines the overall success of your company.
However, it is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to hire a remote developer team on your own. This is where BookMyTalent can help by providing your ideal remote engineering team. With BMT’s AI-backed Intelligent Talent Cloud, you can assemble your engineering dream team by finding, screening, matching, and remotely managing the best remote developers in the world.
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