Collaboration - ITM Platform | Projects Programs Portfolio

Numbers are rising. A study done by Intuit found that by the year of 2020, 43% of the American workforce will consist of remote workers.

What are remote teams?

The best way to understand remote teams is to think of them as small groups of people who are committed to achieving specific company objectives. They often work for the same company and answer to the same boss but live in different cities or even countries. You can also think of remote teams as being similar to virtual ones. The reason for this is because both deal with very similar opportunities and challenges. However the difference is that virtual team members answer to different managers while working together on the same project.

Why they are the future?

The increased interest of implementing remote teams to new and old businesses comes from the numerous advantages they provide. Companies are particularly drawn by the following benefits:

It is much easier to attract and retain top talent worldwide
There is increased productivity and satisfied employees
The flexible working hours appeal to employees
Project collaboration and file sharing is made easy
Improves quality of life for staff overall

Along with this, remote teams provide companies with financial benefits as well. In fact, a study done by Forbes in 2013 found that large companies save millions of dollars on office spaces and supplies by allowing people to do remote work.

Embracing the disadvantages

There are two sides to every story and just like everything else, remote teams too have their disadvantages. However, with a good perspective and an optimistic attitude they can quickly become advantages in disguise.

The big concern companies have with remote teams is that they take a lot of time and effort to get started because all team members must learn to effectively communicate and get to know one another. Although, this shouldn’t be seen as “lost time”. In fact, this is far more beneficial to the company than it is anything else. Remote teams are capable of forming much stronger bonds with one another because they learn to connect with one another on deeper levels. There don’t exist mandatory staff meetings or board rooms to superficially unite everyone. Instead people communicate and develop relationships based on shared values and interests.

Another common fear managers have when using remote teams is that team members aren’t synchronized due to their different time zones and work schedules. What many don’t realize is that this is actually a positive factor. Since consistent communication is difficult to maintain, it puts pressure on workers to complete work on time in order for the next to begin. This will prevent future delays or confusion.

Furthermore, since communication amongst remote teams is often dispersed across longer periods of time, team members learn to communicate deliberately. The result is employees with better communication skills and stronger unity.

Making remote work a success

Setting up a remote team is the first step but once you have it up-and-running you’ve got to know how to make it successful. There are a few things you need to keep in mind during the start-up phase and all throughout the rest of its development:

You need to make sure that all co-workers get to know one another

Since the majority of employees will be scattered geographically and incapable of coming into physical contact with one another you must ensure everyone becomes familiar with their teammates. For instance, video-calling to talk about non-work related topics.

Work hard to show interest in team members

Don’t make distance a problem; take the time to mail over a birthday card or contact a bakery to have a desert delivered to their home. Keep things personal, show you care.

Avoid messy digital communication

E-mailing is becoming a thing of the past. With different time zones and locations, continuous e-mail chains become difficult to manage. Maintain productivity by taking advantage of amazing project management softwares such as ITM Platform.

Supply your employees

As mentioned, time zones have an enormous impact on the way you’ll run your business. For this reason you must provide each team member with all of the information and supplies they will need, conveniently and constantly. Once again, ITM Platform makes this possible because they operate on a cloud-based solution, making it accessible wherever and whenever.

Strengthen the bond

Lastly, you should think about ways to reach out and strengthen staff relationships without the use of work. Remote teams can often use a get-away trip or even a meet up location between those who live nearby. If these aren’t possibilities then think about creating fun social media groups via twitter or tumblr. This allows co-workers to share funny jokes or videos; all simple ideas to help strengthen the bond amongst remote teams.

If you’re interested in creating your own remote team or successfully managing the one you currently have, sign up for a free trial with ITM Platform. Our team is here to support you every step of the way.

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If you want to achieve success in your project as a project leader, you should be aware that you will need more skills than technical knowledge alone. Your ability to build interpersonal relationships with team members is decisive in obtaining good end results.

Interpersonal skills play a fundamental role in the work of a leader whenever the work needs to move beyond the scope initially planned. As leader, you cannot forget that you work with a large number of people at all levels of a project, both from within the company and from external sources. Many of them you will not see face-to-face but nonetheless, you will need to establish relationships with them in order to improve the chances of success for the end result. Hence, one of the priorities for a project leader should be to build a fast and lasting relationship with all those involved in the project, always basing each relationship on discretion and diplomacy. Similarly, there is a need to maintain good relations with sponsors so that they help you ensure work can be carried out under the best possible conditions.

How to maintain these good relations with all those involved in the work process?

Maintaining a positive attitude is always essential.

You should know how to accept the points of view expressed by others and steer them towards adaptation to your own demands. Furthermore, you should learn to speak more clearly and concisely so that all those involved in a project can understand you easily and without misunderstandings. Maintaining fluid and ongoing communication regarding the strategic objectives to be achieved and the final mission for the program is also another basic step for building a good network of interpersonal relationships between a leader and the rest of the project team. Active listening and providing up-to-date information on each step of the process being undertaken will help you ensure that the interaction between all those involved in the project substantially improves.

Of course, you always need to demonstrate genuine interest in the issues being analyzed and try to raise awareness on the need to be empathetic with all team members.

At any event, when thinking about putting all this advice into practice, it is important to bear in mind that a solid interpersonal relationship cannot be built overnight. A good leader will take the time needed to work on their inter-relationships with each of the stakeholders involved in their project, even helping them to see the most problematic aspects of the work in a positive light. The life cycles of a project are usually sequential in nature and can be divided into whether they seek functional or partial objectives, intermediary results or deliverables, specific milestones or according to financial availability.

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Nowadays, many companies have decided that teamwork is the most effective method of getting things done. But what happens during difficult times like a change of deadline, or change in work approach?

Then you, as the person in charge of the project’s administration, have to motivate everyone and simultaneously prove that collaboration is the best option.

Team management experts see transparency as a way to make everyone feel that they are part of the team. As such, before undertaking any changes or difficult situations, it is best to be upfront: Give a convincing and clear explanation for what is happening.

You should indicate how this change will better the perspectives of the team or how it will help the clients. However, not all team members may get it the first time. They will need to see firsthand, how this change will improve their prospects. In other words, talk openly with each one of the members. Pause and make sure you are fruitful conversation.

Let them ask questions and present their doubts. Give them honest and tangible answers. Good team management starts when all employees see themselves as an integral part of the work.

Once everyone understands the situation, the project manager should present and outline a plan to get through it. While you can contribute ideas and advice that will help to move in the right direction, let the team determine and develop guidelines to follow. In this way, those working feel involved and the plan has a greater chance of success.

Leave the ‘because I said so’ to the side. That alone will cause friction and put you against the team and the members will never want to contribute, even when the difficult times have passed. Let everyone contribute and comment, and once a final plan has been decided upon, communicate it clearly so that everyone knows what it is and can consult it.

Now, it is time to launch the plan! Your job as team manager will be to ensure that every member knows what tasks to develop, and that no one falls out of line. It is easy for any team member to make small mistakes as the plan develops. Ask them to all make sure that they know what each of their other team members are supposed to be doing, so that they can pitch in if necessary.

Of course the plan should be modified if other difficult situations arise. Being adaptable is another important point to consider with regard to project management.

Once the rough patch has passed, evaluate the work done and congratulate all those involved. Everyone will feel more motivated, and will know that they can deal with the bumps along the way.

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Nobody doubts the importance of the project team but it is not always so easy to identify those of us who can consider ourselves part of the project team. The project team usually consists of a project manager and the team members involved in performing the various tasks during the course of the project life cycle, undertaking a joint effort to achieve objectives whether or not they form part of the project management team.

Team members may possess specific skills or come from various groups, but the work undertaken within the project is a joint effort by the entire project team. The project manager is the team leader, regardless of the authority they have within the project governance model established for the project.

Some of the roles within the project team include:

• Project management personnel: this can be undertaken or supported by a project management office (PMO).

• Project personnel: these people work on creating the project deliverables.

• Support experts: they perform tasks required for developing or implementing the plan for project management. Depending on the complexity of these tasks, they may work full-time or as and when their skills are required.

• Representatives of the user or the client: they may be appointed as representatives or liaison officers to advise on requirements, oversee acceptability and viability of the project results and ensure proper coordination.

• Suppliers: vendors, suppliers or contractors. They provide components or services necessary to the project. They may play a significant role in the project based on their level of commitment to the risk associated with delivery of the results.

• Members from partner companies: to guarantee proper coordination.

• Business partners: an external company but with a special relationship with the company, usually through certification. They usually provide specific experience or skills.

Project team composition: this varies according to the culture of the organization, the scope and the location. Similarly, relations between the project manager and the rest of the team also vary according to the authority of the former over the latter (part-time employee or a team line manager, to provide just two examples).

Although more complex models may exist, the two basic project team focus models are:

• Dedicated: all members or a significant proportion of them work on the project full-time. They might be located in the same place or communicate via virtual channels, but they always report to the project manager. Therefore, this is the simplest configuration for a project manager as the lines of authority are clear and every team member can concentrate on objectives. This model is common in projectized organizations (see entry on organization structures).

• Part-time: if the project is launched as an additional and temporary task. All team members, including the project manager, remain at their own organizations and complete their usual duties. Functional managers maintain control over the rest of the team and the resources assigned to the project. Part-time team members can dedicate themselves to more than one project at a time. This model is common in functional organizations, while matrix organizations may adopt both approaches as required (see entry on organization structures).

These models may exist within any organizational structure. Dedicated project teams are more common within projectized organizations where most of the organization’s resources are focused on projects and where project managers have a high degree of independence and authority. Part-time project teams are common within functional organizations, while matrix organizations use both dedicated and part-time project teams. Members who have limited involvement in various stages of a project can be considered as part-time project team members.

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We all know the importance of social networking when it comes to personal and professional relationships. Let us see how ITM Platform applies enterprise social communication in collaborative work and projects.

The planning of projects, budgeting, resource estimation, portfolio tracking... All of that is very significant, but projects have to be done, and this does not depend on the system, but people.

In general, all projects, whether they are construction, engineering, administrative or development, have something in common in their execution: communication between members of the team. Here is where ITM Platform comes in, offering a system:

That is understandable and easy to use
That brings conversations around relevant elements
Is secure
Is accessible from any device

The mechanism to publish a message is very simple, just write something related to the project on which you are working and it will be shared with members of the team who have access to the particular section, task, project or item in which the post is located.

For example, if you open the "Risks" section of the "Customer care center" project, the message will be visible only by those who have access to this section.

From that moment on, it will be possible to start a conversation with a comments system very similar to the more popular social networks, being assured that only those authorized can access and participate in it.

Automatic notifications coming from the system will be reflected in the communication panel, as, for example, the assignation to a task.

Additionally, preferences to receive these notifications by e-mail can be set, ensuring that you don’t miss anything important.

Each user will find in their personal communication panel (either on their mobile device or the web), messages that concern them, messages that have been sent by other people or whether automatic system notifications. Thus, each user will have a different and personalized communication vision.

In a complementary way, each project, service, or program has in the main section a communication panel with all messages related to the same topic, whether they come from the general tab, a particular task or any project section.

This is the way in which information flows naturally between different elements managed among ITM Platform and its users. In addition, it is possible to add a privacy level and send private messages between users that also can be related to projects and its elements.

In conclusion, the objective of this system is twofold:

For the team members, a simple and familiar mechanism that allows sharing of information that is relevant to their work.
To the project or organization manager and the organization itself, ITM Platform provides a single information and communication point, avoiding dispersion and dilution of responsibility caused by email. Additionally, it is a shared communication instrument that allows implementing practices related to the motivation of the team and the award collaboration.

Comments welcome at daniel.piret@itmplatform.com