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In 1679, the Hudson Bay Company issued a statement about distributed teams: “We know it is impossible at this distance to give such orders as shall answer every occurrence and be strictly observed in all points, so that when we have said all, we must leave much to your prudent conduct, having always in your eye the true interest and advantage of the Company, who have chosen and trusted you in the chief command they have to bestow.” HBC was first established in 1670 with its headquarters in London and its operations, thousand miles away, in Canada. The concept of distributed teams is not novel since companies like HBC have been propagating it now for 350 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, meetings were scheduled with calendar check-ins and it became a catalyst for the concept of distributed teams.
‘Distributed teams’ involve team members who are individually working from different parts of the world—a new term for hybrid teams. The team has no particular central location to meet, even if each member works at a different global office. Distributed team members may work remotely as well.
The chaos and crisis wrought by the pandemic became the breeding ground for creativity and innovation. Several companies now have office roles that are entirely or partially remote—simultaneously influencing them to develop the tools and frameworks needed to enable efficient remote work where Zoom reached 20 million daily meetings and 74% companies permanently decided to adapt to remote working even after the pandemic.
Companies are adopting hybrid work setups owing to a significant shift in employee attitudes and priorities—with increased demands for workplace flexibility, whether it be due to financial savings, the ability to travel and work from anywhere, or spending more time with the family. Since the average individual now spends 90,000 hours at work throughout their lifetime, nearly 76% of millennials prioritise flexibility above their pay and would even accept a reduction to acquire greater flexibility. This shift indicates that businesses too have changed to become more flexible and employee-centric.
Remote teams vs Distributed teams
While ‘distributed work’ is a discipline for the entire organisation, ‘remote work’ is a discipline for the individual worker.
Remote work, as the name suggests, lets people work from anywhere instead of going onsite. The employees need only be privy to a wifi connection. Technology and tools are employed to replicate conventional style of work and real-time assignments in remote work.
Conversely, distributed work is considered from an organisational perspective where the default setting is that workers are placed in different locations. The aim is to have an asynchronous work approach to empower workers. Evaluation is undertaken based on the quality of employees’ work, not their timings.
Benefits of Successful Distributed teams
- Access to global talent
Working as a distributed firm broadens the talent pool and makes it possible for businesses to hire the top talent from across the globe. Due to the flexibility of distributed teams, businesses can hire contract and freelance workers anywhere in the world.
- Reduced employee turnover
The conventional workplace paradigm offers two options: either accept that some employees will have to work remotely or risk losing talent. A distributed model eliminates the need for businesses to ever lose talent due to location. Fully remote working has also reportedly been linked to improved employee well-being and happiness, thereby leading to greater talent retention.
- Fewer distractions imply better productivity and focus
Harvard Business Review found that employees working remotely reported an increase in productivity by 13.5%. Not only do employees have greater freedom in remote setups, deadlines are met even if some employees are more creative outside their work hours. This also enables them to concentrate better on their work without distractions typical to conventional work setups.
How to create and manage a successful distributed team
It is very important to hire people that you can trust and are comfortable working with individually. Hiring people who can constructively contribute to their teams without peer pressure or micromanagement is paramount because checking-in with every remote team member is not ideal.
- Onboarding the team in real time
Establishing a good on-boarding procedure aids employees in adjusting quickly. They are more likely to build trust and belongingness once they’re given the opportunity to introduce themselves and get to know their team through tools like face-to-face video conferencing.
- Setting credible expectations
Creating clear expectations and rules when converting to a fully remote staff should be prioritised. Majority of teams are diversely composed. So, while some employees may be completely new to working remotely, others may have past remote work experience. Establishing reasonable expectations with clarity for your entire team is important if one wants to make sure that everyone is operating on an equal footing.
- Communication tools
Your team needs the appropriate tools to assist them in meeting your objectives and have an efficient workday after you have established your expectations clearly. Since the average office worker has five or more applications open at any given moment, it’s critical to make informed decisions to prevent further app fatigue or ambiguity regarding where employees should seek information. To assist distributed teams in maintaining productivity, there are many tools, collaborations and communication solutions available.
- Over Communicate Goals
Emphasising results is the greatest method to evaluate an employee’s effectiveness. Trusting your team and letting go of the unrealistic and mandated work setups are necessary for developing a results-oriented culture. Consider the contributions made by each team member individually. As long as the work is done effectively and on schedule, it shouldn’t be too much of a concern how or when it is finished.
Though every business is unique, an effective toolkit dictates:
- Simplicity: to promote simple adoption.
- Flexibility: incorporating existing team members’ solutions.
- Scalability: to support teams that are getting more and more international.
Managing remote software teams effectively will be essential to a company’s success in the future—whether it be a software startup on the fast track or an established business embracing digital transformation. Your capacity to recruit and keep top digital talent will be impacted by how quickly you transform as a result of this new reality. The modern industry is no longer restricted to ‘one office’. Companies need dependable ways to keep everyone connected and productive—with remote workers, contractors, and freelancers dispersed over the world.
This article is written by a member of the AIM Leaders Council. AIM Leaders Council is an invitation-only forum of senior executives in the Data Science and Analytics industry. To check if you are eligible for a membership, please fill the form here.
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