How to Start Your Remote Project Team Off on the Right Foot

Congratulations. You have a new project. You’ve found someone new to bill for the next few months or, if you’re an employee, a higher-up within your company sponsoring and supporting your work. Your project plan is practically done because the spec in your winning proposal is just that good. You have a virtual team to work with, scattered across multiple places. You are ready to kick out the jams.

Not so fast, buckaroo. Working with a remote team requires more than basic project management techniques (although they’re important, too). Before starting work with a brand new team, make sure that the team is ready to work effectively together. Invest a little bit of project time so everyone can get comfortable with the web tools that you’ll be using. This is more than just where to click and how to log in; you should get a feel for what your customer and colleagues expect, and demonstrate how to get that using the tools at hand.

Start by establishing a framework for where, when, and how you will communicate. You may do your best work between 10:00 PM and 3:00 am, but if the client needs an update for the 9:00 meeting with her boss, you’d better be prepared to end your “workday” with a detailed email about what you’re up to. Ask both about preferences and how to indicate when communication requires an immediate response will help you keep the conversation on track from the start.

Using online tools like Basecamp, GoPlan, Kayuda, HiTask and their ilk is a great way to put project working documents and progress reports in a place where everyone can get at them at their convenience. Remember, your new client and team members may have never heard of these things. Spend some quality time in your first few project meetings to go through the online workspace of your choice in detail. Show everyone exactly how to find things, put things, get things, and make sure that everyone who needs access to project materials has a login and knows how to use it.

Almost every project requires a lot of meeting, and if you’re not close enough to zip over to the client site on your Vespa, you may need to help your team use videoconferencing and other virtual meeting tools. Send the project team a few cheap web cams and set up instant messaging accounts for the team members. Again, a little time spent getting people oriented will pay big dividends when the client is available to you for a quick question, or when you can see the frowns pass over their brows when you present your design.

Be alert to problems. If a key contributor can’t seem to get the hang of editing documents jointly, call him privately and offer some extra help in learning to use the online environment. If someone is a terrible typist, don’t belabor the IMs; use an online phone call or videoconferencing instead. Don’t let people suffer in silence — if you don’t hear from someone in a couple of days, ping her in another medium and see what is going on.

Investing in making your team and your customer comfortable online will have a direct impact on your bottom line. For more tips on making virtual teams as effective as possible, see Seven Habits of Successful Virtual Teams and The Challenge of User Adoption with Small, Remote Teams.

What is the best technique you’ve tried to cajole clients and colleagues into the web work world?

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