Managing Remote Teams: Best practices for Virtual Project Managers

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Since the 2019 COVID pandemic, more companies have adopted remote working models as their primary mode of operations. A 2021 survey found that 56% of companies in the United States used remote working models.

Also, the changing dynamics of the workforce compel more companies to adopt a remote working model. Most employees are millennials who prefer flexible work models, and working remotely affords them that freedom.

While the model has been hailed for increasing productivity due to greater flexibility, it presents unique challenges to managers. The need to monitor the performance of an increasingly dispersed team of employees leaves many project managers needing clarification about the best way to get work done.

In fact, many virtual managers prefer their staff to resume the traditional work model-working from the office. However, this suggestion is often met with resistance as employees now love working remotely. So, what practices can managers use to manage remote teams effectively? Read on to find out:

What are the Challenges of Managing a Team Remotely?

Before looking at the best practices for managing a remote team, it’s essential to understand the challenges virtual managers experience when using this model.

Communication Issues

Communication is a huge challenge when managing teams remotely. The traditional office setup makes it easy to call an employee to your office for a quick question or clarification.

However, with a remote model, you need to determine the best way to communicate with individual employees and the team.

In addition, managers in charge of international teams need to find the best time to talk to individual employees based on their time zone. And in the case of team meetings, what’s the best way to communicate information consistently to each employee?

Leveraging digital tools like Zoom, Email, Google Meet, and Instant Messaging make communication and collaboration between managers and employees easy.

Building Trust

You want to assure your team that you can lead and support them when in need. Similarly, you want to be confident about their availability when assigned tasks. However, the lack of visible non-verbal cues and body language makes it difficult for managers to trust employees’ feelings and levels of engagement accurately.

And with many managers still thinking that productivity is only possible when working in the same space with the employees, the onus of proof lies greatly on employees. That’s why many managers get caught up in micro-managing remote employees.

This practice can be unproductive because it demotivates employees. It would help if you employed a certain level of trust when assigning roles. Believe that work will get done even when employees are working remotely.

Sense of Belonging

In addition to getting the work done, you want to replicate the sense of community and belonging in a physical office. Remote work models make it challenging for employees to connect, which cultivates company culture and a sense of community.

Best Management Practices for Virtual Project Managers

You’ve probably experienced one or all the challenges highlighted when managing a remote team, but the following management practices might give you some headway:

Communicate Your Expectations

Communicate work expectations from the onset to foster transparency and a sense of connection with your team. A report about working remotely found that 34% of remote workers find transparency from leadership creates a deep sense of connectedness even when working remotely.

You must be clear about boundaries, i.e, when you intend to schedule video meetings and preferred communication channels for the team and the individual employees. Other critical aspects to address when communicating your expectations include:

• Work priorities, procedures and deadlines
• Guidelines for some projects
• Behavior that shapes the company’s culture
• Employee and employer’s availability

You want to begin by reminding the team about the company’s policies and procedures and then communicate your work expectations. It would also help to reinforce them regularly, e.g. weekly or monthly, to ensure everyone understands their responsibilities.

Equip the Team with Appropriate Technologies

Equip your team with the right tools to ensure a flawless interaction. For example, video conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet ensure that all employees engage in discussions.

Collaborative tools like Microsoft OneNote, on the other hand, make assigning and delegating tasks and sharing ideas easy. Be sure to inform the team about the channels you intend to use for specific engagements to avoid overwhelming your employees by using too many tools.

Develop a Friendly Work Environment

Remote work can get overly cold and impersonal but, it’s possible to create a warm and friendly environment. You could start by leveraging tools that compel teams to interact. Project management systems like Asana, Redmine, and Trello require teams to

organize documents and conversations in one platform, keeping interactions alive.

Also, collaboration tools like Google Drive, compel allows employees to work on the same document simultaneously requiring everyone’s input. This way team members keep in touch, albeit working remotely.

Check in on the Team Regularly

An office setup makes it easy for managers to check in on their employees; it’s not the case when working remotely. As such, you need to schedule extra check-ins to ensure the team successfully settles in and adapts to the new routine.

You could organize daily meetings of 20-30 minutes to communicate your observations and allow the team members to share challenges they have experienced during the day.

Be Present Without Micromanaging Employees

A virtual manager can get caught up controlling every aspect of an employee’s life, which is counterproductive. It demotivates the employee and kills their confidence to undertake any task without your approval.

Consider being a present leader, not a micromanager. This entails being mindful and approachable, regularly checking in, and helping employees accomplish tasks. You could develop an open-door policy, to allow employees to contact you or schedule a meeting whenever they have a problem.

Also, prioritize work activities and let the members know their roles. A remote work environment requires intense prioritization where members understand what must be done, when it should be done, and the person to do it. Detailed work priorities produce the best work outcomes on time and with high efficiency.

Conclusion

By implementing these best practices, virtual project managers can create a conducive and productive remote work environment while maintaining team cohesion and achieving project objectives.