managing technical professionals: managing remote teams
TRANSCRIPT
IEEE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT REVIEW, VOL. 41, NO. 2, SECOND QUARTER, JUNE 2013 3
Managing Technical Professionals:Managing Remote Teams—TUNA B. TARIMPresident, ManagerIEEE Technology ManagementCouncil
IEEE DOI 10.1109/EMR.2013.2259971
IN today’s globalized world,managing the activities of remoteteams and employees is almostinevitable. In the last few articles,we discussed the challengeswe to face when transitioningfrom individual contributor tomanager, dealing with difficultemployees and ways for handlingperformance reviews. Sincehaving remote teams is becomingmore of a norm these days andless of an exception, I decidedto focus this article to managingremote teams, and include someof my own experiences.
What would you say are the majorchallenges of managing remoteteam: different time zones,different countries, differentcultures, different languages,not seeing faces and reactionsduring meetings, and not beingable to stop for a quick chat. Toavoid the perception of “out ofsight, out of mind” recognize thatcommunication drives successfulremote team performance. Thislist is not conclusive, and youmay add many other challenges,based on your experiences.So, if so many challenges areencountered with remote teams,why would any one want to haveremote teams?
Years ago one of my newmanagers told me that he wantedto manage one of my remoteteams. When asked “why,” heresponded that his team wastoo small; if we consolidatedhis team with the remote team,his team would become larger.Needless to say, he did notend up managing the remoteteam—he required coaching.Another new manager told me
that, she not only didn’t want toinclude any remote employeesin her team, but she didn’t evenwant any remote employees inour organization participatingin any of her projects, becauseit was too difficult to “control”their activities—she also requiredsome coaching.
Managing team members’activities that are not sittingnext to your office is indeeddifficult, but then again, thisis just another responsibilityof the manager. Remote doesnot necessarily mean anothercountry; it could be the nextstate, the neighboring city, oranother site in the same city.Regardless of the location of theremote team, the manager hasa responsibility to find a way towork effectively and efficientlywith the team members. At onetime three teams reported tome; one of them was remote,the second a mix of local andremote employees, and the thirdone was all local. At first mylocal team was so problematic,that during my performancereview, my manager told methat I had a better relationshipwith my remote team, than Ihad with my local team andthat I had to fix that. Sheanalyzed the situation correctlyand I did fix it. In the finalanalysis managing the activitiesof remote teams depends ontwo-way communication thatis understood by both senderand receiver. Here are a fewpoints to consider as you try tomanage remote teams and meetobjectives.1. If you are responsible fora team in another country,
4 IEEE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT REVIEW, VOL. 41, NO. 2, SECOND QUARTER, JUNE 2013
find a local and trustworthymanager to manage the team.The local manager can dealwith the cultural differences,the site specific issues, andwould be familiar with allemployees at the local site.My current remote team issuccessfully managed by alocal manager and I trusther implicitly. She and Italk regularly, she knowshow I think, is aware of myexpectations, and we have noissues with our remote team.
2. When working with a teamin a country other thanyour own, understandingits culture and how itworks reduces the problemsnormally encountered. If youtend to think that your workculture has all the answers,you’ll be disappointed. Givingfull participation rights tocolleagues in other culturesenhances your potential fora successful project. Keepin mind, you can’t changecultures in the short-term;find a way to integrate thecultures.
3. When your employees workat remote locations, youcan never assume anything,and you need to alwaysmake sure that you’re being
as clear and concise aspossible, in both writtenand verbal communications:For example, if you’re ona teleconference, you maythink that your remote siteis hearing you well, butthey may be having phoneproblems, or you may bespeaking too rapidly, or yourremote team’s may not havea good command in thelanguage you are speaking.
4. “Pick up the phone” if youhave a question or if youremployee has sent you aquestion in an e-mail; itwill be faster, more effectiveand an opportunity todemonstrate your interest inresolving the issue.
5. Use video calls when possible.Most computers have anembedded camera andif the tools you use forsharing presentations duringmeetings support it, youcan see the presenter orthe audience. In addition,some organizations haveconference rooms whichsupport video calls, and ifyour company has suchfacilities, I strongly urge youto make use of them.
6. Communicate withyour remote teams and
understand what it takesfor you to help them meettheir objectives. Remember,that your remote teamscould be feeling vulnerableand isolated, because theyare remote. Avoid thefollowing situation where amanager was responsible fora remote team in Europe,and after working togetherfor four years, they informedthe manager that theywere always afraid thatheadquarters would shutthem down. The managerrealized that many situationsthat occurred in the past fouryears began to make sense.
When you begin to manage theactivities of a remote team andlearn to live with around theclock coverage, dealing with anew culture, and integrating thedifferences you will be preparedto accept the challenges andhave a much more efficientand productive team. And don’tforget to talk to your remoteteams regularly; remember thatunderstanding each other is thebeginning of a responsive andopen-minded relationship. Pleasesend your comments to Dr. TunaB. Tarim at ([email protected]).