In this talk I cover the reasons why you may want to use a remote team, the skillsets to consider when hiring a remote team, and tools, issues, pros and cons, and communication in managing remote teams. Presented at the Sharatoga Tech Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs4GS4uHEIY

1. SO YOU WANT TO MANAGE A
REMOTE TEAM
NATALIE SEMCZUK
PROJECT MANAGER

2. ME

3. • PROJECT MANAGER
• REMOTE
• IN-HOUSE
• AGENCY
• CONTRACT

4. WHY HAVE A REMOTE TEAM?

5. • NEED DIFFERENT SKILLSETS
• DON’T WANT TO BE RESTRICTED BY
GEOGRAPHY
• NEED MORE CAPACITY
• NEED SOMETHING DONE
FASTER/CHEAPER

6. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A
REMOTE TEAM?

7. MANAGING
REMOTE TEAMS
• Upfront communication and
expectations
• Documentation
• Keep everyone in the loop
• Asynchronous communication
• Customer buy-in or not?
• Cultural differences
BEING ON A
REMOTE TEAM
• Same, plus:
• Find a personal and organizational
workflow
• Get to know people
• Understand hierarchy
• Set and keep expectations
• Be reliable and open
• Let people know what you need

8. THE TOOLS

9. • CHAT PROGRAM
• PM SOFTWARE
• VIDEO CONFERENCE/CALL TOOL
• SCREENSHARING CAPABILITIES

10. THE PROS AND CONS

11. ADVANTAGES
• Can take on new projects that
need different skills and
deliverables
• Can add new skills and
thinking to the team
• Flexibility with projects and
lifestyle
• No restrictions (kind of)
DISADVANTAGES
• Different stakes in the project
• Difficult to on-board
• Difficulty in communicating needs or
issues
• Work culture might need to be
“forced” at first

12. THE ISSUES

13. • COMMUNICATION – BE CLEAR
• CONFLICT – TAKE “OFFLINE”
• DOCUMENT – EVERYTHING

14. KEEP IN MIND

15. • TEAMS ACROSS TIMEZONES
• CONFLICT RESOLUTION
• GET TO KNOW PEOPLE
• LET CLIENTS KNOW

16. GO FORTH AND WORK
REMOTELY!