Office setup = Work + Physical presence.
Remote Setup = Work + Effective & transparent communication.
Note that, in the above formulas, if the ‘physical presence’ is replaced with ‘effective & transparent Communication’, then
Office setup = Remote setup.
In other words, your communication should be so effective and transparent, that the physical absence of that person is not a concern at all.
If your working company is one of the companies that allow remote work, then you should know (at least try to know) about the following.
- What does it mean to work remotely,
- Benefits of working remotely,
- Best places to work remotely,
- How many time zones are there on earth,
- What is a remote workforce,
- Working remotely pros and cons,
- How to access anywhere,
- How remote work companies are managed etc.,
I, as a Project Manager in a startup company, have this challenge to manage an office team and a Remote team. We realized that an extra effort is needed with the remote team to achieve this equality.
We realized that, never ever make assumptions about a person's identity. Ask questions and try to understand who the person really is. Also, let your team-mates get to know who you are, by sharing acceptable personal information. Don't limit your conversation to professional topics.
The intentional communication with empathy, builds a relationship between the human beings who have thoughts, feelings and personal interests; they are not two 'work resources' who are playing the role of 'team members' for the project. Always opt for a video call instead of a telephone call.
Clearly define feedback mechanisms, high levels of daily contacts, and use of communication tools to create face-to-face exchanges. Since people (team members) operate from different part of the world and in different time zones, it is necessary to schedule a system to optimize person-to-person contact.
Validate the team members when they do or say something good. It is very important to demarcate clear boundaries between 'work-time' and 'home-time'. It is important to establish a culture of trust in people.
You have to fill the gaps with 'trust'. What we mean is you should trust that your team members are doing what they say they are doing.
Treating people like professional adults and giving them the trust and flexibility (to be present at work and at home), results in increased productivity. After all, the whole idea for you is to be a good Project Manager churning out better productivity and results.
Good Luck to you.
