How to Work Effectively with Telecommuting Teams
Working with distributed or remote teams can be challenging. Here are some ways to make it almost as easy as working in the same office.
The problem with distributed, remote, or telecommuting teams
Nowadays, the concept of distributed teams is prevalent, especially in tech companies that are in the hyper-growth stage. It’s inevitable that in your tech career, you’ll have the opportunity to work with or lead teams across multiple time zones — and even countries or continents.
Throughout my career, I have worked closely with people and teams from across different locations, including Edinburgh, London, San Francisco, Shenzhen, and Singapore. Pretty spread out, right? But it’s not as hard as you think it might be!
It’s a strange adjustment to make, though. When I was new to working with remote teams, I struggled. I spread myself thinly across my many responsibilities as an engineering lead and manager. This caused my teams to stay late or come too early in the office. The results included delayed deliverables, miscommunication, and misalignment in our collective goals, which caused further delays. All in all, it didn’t look good for our team or our company.
