Organize your collaboration with a remote team
Remote work is growing in popularity. In a recent poll from Gallup, 37% of respondents said they already did some type of remote work. Obviously, going remote is the best way to go but of course, let us recognize the fact that it has its challenges. Once you decide to go remote, it can be difficult to approach organizational issues that come with managing staff all across the world.

Tip 1. Schedule communications
Your remote team will be working from a different location and probably a different time zone. Strictly keeping to scheduled meetings will help you organize your day and your team's workflow. Not having timely meetings can cause gaps in communication, delaying the launch of your project.

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Tip 2. Tools for remote teams
Tools are essential for remote team collaboration as they help you structure your team's work. An effective remote team will have a set of tools: an email service, file sharing capabilities, an instant messaging platform, project management software, video conferencing, and anything else that's required.

Many collaboration tools exist to support well-structured communication.

For all-in-one solutions that allow you to organize, prioritize, chat about work, send files, and manage your projects, you can use:

All-in-one solutions

Troop Messenger, BasicOps, TipHive, Hibox, Paymo, Hive

Managing tasks

Avaza, Taskworld, TeamGantt, Fusioo, Trello, Jira, Twoodo, Wrike, Worksection, Finit, Eylean Board

Document collaboration tools

Google Drive, Bit.ai, TipHive

Team communication tools

Skype, Slack, SocialChorus, UberConference

Tip 3. Find a nice work spot
Find a nice quiet place where you can conduct regular meetings. The best place is an office room equipped with a good internet connection and a modern computer with a microphone and video camera. If you lack one of these things, your communication won't be successful and productive. If you choose a noisy place, you may get distracted and lose focus.

Tip 4. Define work procedures

Create clear project guidelines for productivity, teamwork, and accountability so your employees know what to expect. Present the idea of your project and describe what you want to be done in detail. The estimate for your project will depend on what you communicate to your team. Your team can start developing your product faster and give you a more precise quote if you provide your vision for the project clearly.

Set clear tasks and give detailed answers. Review the project requirements document attentively to make sure you have included all functionality. Respond promptly to emails from your project manager since they are the one to pass down what you say to the team. The development of your product will depend on the information your team get.

Most IT companies work according to Agile methodologies. It's wise to break development down into iterations. Discuss how often you're going to conduct project meetings and what communication tools you'll use (Slack, Jira, Skype, or others). Agree with your project manager to have a quick summary session after each meeting to form new goals and analyze the decisions you've made.

Tip 5. Go on a business trip
Go on a short business trip to meet the IT professionals you've hired in person. This is a good start to your project. While on-site, you can have a few sessions where you settle all questions regarding your project. Neither you nor your team members will be pressed for time in this case, and everyone will be dedicated to communicating together in the same meeting room. Alongside the shop talk, you can establish personal connections. Your employees can also get inspired by your excitement and vision for the project, which will stick with them and keep them going through the launch.

Tip 6. Get really involved
The success of your product depends on your involvement. If a client doesn't care, leaves their employees without notice, and comes back when it's time to launch, the result may be disappointing. Your team will expect you to show genuine interest all the way through the launch. After all, you're the project initiator and your team's cheerleader. For a start, be the first to show up online for meetings, showing that you're dedicated to your business.

Tip 7. Provide constant feedback
The results of every iteration and sprint depend on how quickly and e?tensively you provide feedback. Discuss with your project manager what tool you'll use so that you can inform everyone of the decisions you've made and tasks that need to be done.

Tip 8. Stay on the same page
To keep communication clear, make yourself easy to understand. Decide on the terminology that you're going to use so that everyone means the same thing when talking about the project. Try to express your thoughts without using slang or idioms that may be misinterpreted.