Managing a development team that is based in five countries can be challenging. Below, Alex Bowell explores how they overcome the physical distance and work as a unified team.
Keeping in touch: Communication
This is one of the biggest hurdles that a predominately remote working team presents. Being a key foundation in our principles at Infigo, communication helps form the backbone for effective and efficient working.
Whilst I am a strong believer in face-to-face communication as the most effective form, in this day and age, to achieve good interaction, people don't necessarily need to be in the same office, city or even country.
* Video calls - we have a daily meeting, internally referred to as stand up, where video calling is encouraged. We also use it for any one-to-one discussions and our monthly meetings. I urge the team to turn their cameras on as much as possible as it helps drive focus and active listening while keeping people familiar with each other.
* Internal chat - this is heavily used across the business and is integral to getting quick messages out and quick responses back. The problem here is that, sometimes, it is relied on too heavily and can, in fact, make some conversations cumbersome, elongated and misinterpreted when picking up the phone or a video call is more appropriate. Nonetheless, it's another key communication channel available for the team.
* Emails - the obvious communication tool in a business. Here, at Infigo, we mainly use this for external communication, group updates or any big/strategical announcements.
Clarity: Creating standards and processes/tracking work productivity
We've worked hard over the last few years to install consistent processes and tools for our development tasks. This allows any developer in the business, from anywhere in the world, to have full visibility of each other's work, tasks and progress.
This helps provide clarity and consistency that extends beyond the development team into all areas of the business.
We use a system called JIRA for all our development task management and have created our own form of Agile development model which suits our development process to a T.
Around the clock: Timezones
Obviously, something to be mindful of when taking on a remote worker. We have relatively flexible working times which allows us to adapt our days if needed. Working at different hours of the day across the globe also provides an opportunity for each member of the team to focus on different areas or projects.
Due to our communication tools, systems and processes, it's very easy to stay in touch on the go, helping reduce the impact of team members working in different time zones.
Cultural differences: Understanding & empathy
We try and adopt a similar mindset for both our customers and our staff. This is to be empathetic and mindful of the differences in the individuals' personalities and lifestyles and is a huge part of our beliefs and values here, at Infigo.
We implement this well before a member of the team joins the business. Part of our recruitment process includes making sure that the individual will fit into the dynamics of the team and that they will buy into our values and culture.
We make it a priority to ensure our remote workers feel part of the business and not detached. This includes organising regular visits to their locations as well as inviting them to any team building and work events along with all staff.
Benefits of working with remote teams
* Hiring staff - It widens your reach of available resource opening your search up to much more talent over a greater area.
* Costs - It can help you manage costs more efficiently.
* Diverse workforce - It has enabled us to tap into many markets across the world pulling in talented people with different areas of expertise.
The truth is though, it isn't easy. But with the right tools, the right processes and the right people, it can create a rich and diverse working environment.
And here, at Infigo Software, we have all of the above - and have been doing it for nearly 10 years. We have spent much of that time fine tuning and adapting to make it work for us. And it really does.
