Fifteen Tips for Remote Collaboration

by Indi Young

May 6, 2003

Eight weeks ago I broke my leg while running. After five days in the hospital, surgery, a titanium rod, and several painkillers, I found myself conducting all of my business remotely. On the upside, working from my couch has given me an opportunity to hone techniques for working with remote teams.

It will always be easier to rally a group of people who work in the same building, but you can accomplish just as much (or more) with a motivated remote team. Getting team members motivated in the first place and holding their interest are your goals. Here are fifteen quick and useful tips to get you started.

1. Get ready.

The first rule in working with remote teams is to respect everyone’s time. When the team is gathered — whether remotely or face-to-face — use every minute wisely. Gather data, make analyses, and draft documents and diagrams in advance. This preparation will jump-start discussions and provide structure for the meeting. Emphasize that all team members should complete their assigned tasks beforehand.

2. Use meeting time to work.

Use your time together to get on the same page, brainstorm ideas, and make decisions. Finalize draft documents. Edit diagrams and draw pictures. The goal is to have no homework after the meeting. That means the group should make all decisions and update all documents by the time you leave. Use templates to make documents consistent and compliant with company guidelines.

3. Don’t call them “meetings.”

When someone says “meeting” it conjures images of wasted hours listening to semi-relevant facts. You’re not here to present, you’re here to work. Call “meetings” by some other name. The name I use is “working session.” Choosing a new term will help put everyone in the right mindset and will emphasize the collaborative nature of your sessions.

4. Have decision makers present.

Everyone at the meeting should be empowered as a decision maker. Saying, “Well, I’ll have to check with Marcy on that” only prolongs the project and derails the meeting. Make final decisions in the meeting and record them.

5. Show the documents as they change.

If there are multiple people in one room, use a projector so the entire team can see the documents. For those who are dialed in, use remote software to display the documents live. WebEx or NetMeeting are good examples. I can “share” a Visio diagram with the whole team, and together we can move elements around on the screen.

If there is no diagram to manipulate, show the meeting notes or issues log. Use software to attract people’s eyes to the screen and involve them in discussion. Pass control of the document from person to person, if needed.

6. Use the right software.

Remember as you prepare for your working sessions: PowerPoint is for executives and classrooms; working documents are for project teams. A PowerPoint presentation summarizes work you’ve already done, or explains work you plan to do. Working sessions are about finishing tasks. Use Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Visio diagrams, and whatever other software you use to make deliverables.

7. Give yourself time to accomplish your goals.

I schedule three-hour working sessions. Yes, three hours. (Often longer!) I’ve found that it takes this long to wade through the details and discussion necessary to make decisions. Set up recurring meetings for the duration of the project several times a week.

Map out goals for your working session at the beginning so everyone knows what you hope to accomplish. Allow team members enough time to prepare their work between sessions.

8. Take structured breaks.

We are chained to our biology. Since working sessions will be long, you must schedule breaks. Set up rules for these breaks so they don’t stretch from five minutes into forty-five minutes. Tell team members to refrain from checking email or voicemail.

Also, supply food and verify that remote locations will have snacks available as well. Food helps bring team members to the table and maintains their energy level. If your working session runs over lunch, arrange for take-out.

9. Encourage participation.

Conference calls can lead to daydreaming, so establish ground rules for active listening. To encourage team members to participate with questions, opinions, or new ideas, tell everyone, “Silence is assent. If you’re quiet, everyone will assume that you agree with everything that’s being said.” Reward participation by verbally acknowledging contributors.

10. Convey facial expressions verbally.

Since body language isn’t discernable over the phone, routinely talk about facial expressions. During one working session, I was on the phone with five team members in New Jersey and one in Wisconsin. The project leader interrupted with, “Indi, we have a lot of puzzled expressions around the table.” We were able to back up to the last point we were discussing and readdress it.

11. Give everyone a session assignment.

Another way to encourage active participation is to assign roles to different people on the conference line. Ask one person to keep the schedule and remind everyone of break times. Ask another person to log issues that come up, and another to take meeting notes. Ask topic experts to record decisions that relate to their area of expertise.

12. Respect time zones.

If you’re working with a team that spans time zones, especially international zones, be considerate and rotate meeting times. If it’s 2 p.m. in California, it’s 11 p.m. in parts of Germany and 6 a.m. in Singapore. The next working session should be scheduled for 6 a.m. in the U.S., giving team members in Germany the 2 p.m. slot. Keep rotating the time so that no one group feels particularly put upon.

13. Don’t ignore office politics.

Politics can be devastating to a project, so address them head on. At the kickoff meeting, ask everyone on the team to lay their delicate issues on the table without commenting on other people’s agendas. Encourage honesty, respect, and humor. Ask for creative ways to express blunt truths. Someone whose boss is a micromanager might say, “I lose time defending my decisions to my manager too often.”

Once you know about the group politics, look for opportunities to use the dynamic to your advantage. For example, the person who believes the team is doomed to fail should be responsible for your risk-management plan. Who better?

14. Be liberal with praise.

When reporting team progress to other groups, be sure to praise individual contributors on the team. People want to be proud of the work they’ve accomplished and everyone can use a little positive attention.

15. Designate a “higher being.”

A project sponsor who is at a high enough level in the organization that everyone on the team reports to him or her is a useful asset. Your project sponsor will be the person to whom the team reports progress, and he or she should be able to break stalemates. Alternately, a clear goal or measurable return on investment can also act as inspiration for teamwork.

From the Couch

After I broke my leg, one of my first thoughts as I lay face-down on the trail was, “I won’t be able to start work with my new client tomorrow!” Luckily, when I called the client from the hospital bed, she was sympathetic and encouraging. Her team was well versed in working remotely, and they were happy to try an engagement with me without having ever met me in person.

Don’t let lack of experience deter you and your team from working remotely. By using these techniques, you can overcome lack of interest, slow progress, and inability to visualize. Share these ideas with your team, and help guarantee participation and a timely conclusion.

Indi Young is a founding partner and practice lead at Adaptive Path. This essay was derived from a presentation she made with Jackie McSwanson of Agilent Technologies at the User Interface West 7 conference in March 2003. And, yes, they let her sit on a couch for the presentation.