Master remote collaboration

THE ART
OF STAYING PRODUCTIVE
EVEN ACROSS DISTANCE
SIMPLE TECHNIQUES
TO MASTER REMOTE COLLABORATION
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In the past several years, virtual teams have become a key trend
in business. More and more companies prefer to work with their
project teams spread across multiple near or far locations.
Despite the obvious perks, like saving time on daily commute
and being able to work from any chosen place and time, remote
collaboration brings up several organizational issues like how to
stay in control and sync with your team.
Introduction 2
Why would this e-book be helpful?
• It will give you a snapshot of the trend, with facts and figures about
remote collaboration
• It will provide an in-depth look at the main threats and dangers of
working across the distance
• And, most importantly, it will arm you with practical and easy-to-
implement techniques to overcome all the possible difficulties along
the way.
So, buckle up and enjoy the ride!
“Almost all teams are virtual today. It may have
been a very long time since you completed a project
where everyone worked face-to-face through
the whole thing. It takes a thoughtful combination
of people, technology, and process to gain the value
of virtual work. This short ebook is a great start with real world
examples.”
Terri Griffith, Professor of Management,
author of The Plugged-In Manager

CHAPTER 1
The truth behind remote
collaboration: Facts and Stats

Chapter 1. The truth behind remote collaboration: Survey findings
One night several members of our team shared the same dream.
They saw empty offices and dusty water coolers, people in cozy
pants and people chilling in hammocks during prime working hours.
These focused but smiling people all over the globe had one thing in
common. They were working remotely. And they rocked it.
Excited and intrigued, our team members woke up and decided to run
an independent survey to see where things currently really stand
with remote work. This survey revealed some fascinating points, and
we just couldn’t keep them to ourselves.
To make sure we truly got the big picture, we ran the survey with
1,000+ international respondents representing organizations of all
sizes, from small startups to Fortune 500 corporations.
4

Remote Collaboration: Current state
So, how widespread is this trend? Apparently – more than our
oracles from the team could imagine.
83% of the respondents said they spend at least
an hour or two working remotely every day.
Have you ever checked on the latest update for your project while
lying in bed in the evening, or shoot an important e-mail on the go, or,
perhaps, worked the entire day remotely from home? If your answer is
“yes” to at least one of these questions, count yourself in the majority
dealing with remote work at least occasionally.
5

The trend is growing
As many as 43% reported that today they spend more time working
remotely than they did 2 or 3 years ago.
43% 83%66%
So, does anyone still only work in the office?
It appears that only 17% of people do. Considering that there are
certain industries where virtual work is physically challenging — for
example, with work involving manual labor the number is impressively
low!
The main question here is “Why?”
43% of respondents
work remotely more often
than 2-3 years ago
66% believe that their
office might go fully virtual
in 1-5 years
83% spend at least a part
of the day working from home
Out of 1000+ employees that took part in our survey
6

Why do employees work remotely instead
of the classical “office model”?
For more than a third of respondents,
the answer is – time. The saved time
that you can spend with your friends
and loved ones, or on personal projects
is what matters the most.
41% Saving time
Increased productivity
Other
Focus on work, not on office policies
20%
10%
29%
The other benefits are:
7

Crucial!
89% of people are ready to make some “sacrifices” for the sake of
being able to write a monthly report from the cozy hammock in Goa.
How important, do you think, people find
the opportunity to work remotely?
78%
54%
31%
25%
Would accept
reduction in salary
Would accept
reduction in vacation
Would forego
paid cellphone plan
Would forego
free meals
But working remotely is not all sunshine and roses. Or, better yet – not
all hot tea and a warm blanket. So...
Out of 1000+ employees that took part in our survey
8

What are the main difficulties
of remote collaboration?
22%
38% Lack of direct communication
21% Hindered data accessability
19% Poor visibility into colleagues' actions
22% Other
38% 19%
21%
Any solutions out there?
Apparently, yes. To handle those tricky challenges, the vast majority of
respondents rely on online collaboration tools. Specifically, 87% think
that solutions like GoToMeeting, Wrike, etc., are mission-critical
for managing teams across distances.
9

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
what’s in future for them all?
Our survey revealed that remote collaboration holds a stronger
position than one might think. And the respondents expect it to grow
even larger with time.
See for yourself: one in four respondents foresees his office
going fully virtual within just a year or two.
10

47%
Business owners
50%
36%
47%
Executives Managers Team members
Who is affected the most?
The executives appear to be the most involved with the current trend
of remote collaboration:
Almost 47% of business owners predict a rapid shift to virtual teams
in their companies. As they are the actual decisions-makers, this may
be a great sign for the big future of remote working.
11

Take aways:
• Remote work is already an integral part of many
people’s work styles;
• Workers across all organizational levels expect a
continuing expansion of the trend;
• One of the most powerful forces driving this
forward is the rapid, ongoing development of
cloud and mobile applications.
12

3
CHAPTER 2
How to make it work.
Tips for fine-tuning collaboration
across distances

Chapter 2. How to make it work. Tips for fine-tuning collaboration across distances.
The perks of virtual collaboration are quite obvious. It gives employees
the freedom to choose where and how to work, allows companies to
plug in the best talent across several locations, and even contributes
to saving the environment as employees don’t drive to work. However,
keeping a virtual team in sync across distances can be quite a
challenge for any manager.
In this chapter, not only will we give you an arsenal of tips and
techniques to deal with the challenges of remote collaboration, but
we will also back them up with multiple case studies. No made up
solutions here. Just the ones that work :)
14

Carrot or Stick?
15

• The bigger the virtual team, the less people tend to
communicate. A joint study by a few European universities
shows that communication and overall productivity tends to
suffer with teams of 20+ members. In order to not get lost in the
miscommunication pit, make sure everyone on the team follows
the communication ground rules. Be it a process of logging in task
updates and files in the task management tool, or a particular
reporting system.
• Flexibility pays off. One team member might need more
guidance and peer review, whereas another might be more
comfortable working independently. Being a bit of a psychologist
is a helpful skill for a project manager and a valued bonus for the
teammates.
The first thing a leader and his virtual team need for sync, efficiency
and success is a common ground in terms of work organization.
Stick path: Set the ground rules
Every team is different and needs to co-create its own process. As
mentioned in The Plugged-In Manager, a book by prof. Terri Griffith,
it’s important to negotiate to create a workflow that works for the
people in involved.
Keep in mind that:
16

The devil is in the details
Karan Sorensen managed a global infrastructure project at Johnson &
Johnson and paid extra attention to team communication rules. The
decision that made her project a huge success was quite simple. She
thoroughly studied her workers’ cultural differences and time zones
and planned calls to match people’s schedules (so that certain people
weren’t woken up by calls at midnight). The efforts paid off in spades.
Sorensen completed the project under budget and well ahead of her
deadline, saving J&J more than $200 million over three years.
17

Apparently, it’s not only a material reward that matters. Our recent
study on working habits showed that it is the sense of responsibility
that works best for motivating team members!
To lift up your team’s spirit:
• Let people take some responsibility for the project’s success
and make sure team members are aware of each other’s
contribution. In a virtual team, it’s easier to lose grip of each
other’s responsibilities and actual workload. So sharing this data
helps to build trust amongst the distributed team. As well as setting
clear goals and expectations, make sure that individual roles and
responsibilities are publicized within the team.
• Highlight short-term achievements at your weekly meetings and
celebrate bigger milestones as you reach them.
• Think of sending thank-you e-mails and regularly give praise
for good results – everyone likes being appreciated. For instance,
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, a company known for its exceptional
organizational culture, sends motivational open letters to encourage
his employees as a part of his “happiness framework.”
• Besides verbal appreciation, consider offering your workers perks
like online courses, sending a small personalized souvenir, etc.
Carrot path: find ways to motivate your team
18

Wrike’s tip: Visualize the progress and responsibilities
In Wrike, every time someone starts working on the task it is
displayed in the common Activity Stream (newsfeed). This way,
every team member can see what others are working on at the
moment, get a better understanding of each other’s workload
and responsibilities, and even collaborate on the task by leaving a
comment right from the Activity Stream.
19

Imagine two possible scenarios.
In the first one Pitt, a copywriter working remotely, is communicated
to by his boss, Jane, only via status updates and reports. Pitt doesn’t
feel involved in the company’s life and doesn’t actually feel a part of the
team. As a result, he isn’t that committed to the project or the goals.
In the second scenario, Jane goes the extra mile to make Pitt’s
communication with the team at least partly real-time. Knowing how
crucial it is for both operational and psychological health of the whole
team, she organizes regular Skype video calls and makes sure Pitt feels
included in the everyday life and work of the group.
Which scenario do you think would work better?
Communicate instead of checking
20

Internal communication
Your remote team members are deprived of the usual water cooler
conversations which, according to Gallup studies, significantly boost
team’s productivity. So, it is important to ensure your virtual colleagues
maintain a constant dialogue with the rest of the team.
To compensate the lack of personal communication, try organizing
informal video calls with “virtual water coolers”, where your team
members will be able to discuss some personal aspects of their lives
as well as work issues. Some companies also introduce buddy systems
and coaching to increase the level of “relatedness” in the team.
Of course, the overall atmosphere within the team does depend on
each team member, but as this recent research from the American
Psychological Association shows, the team leader plays a special part
in it. Based on the experience of 40 global remote teams, researchers
concluded that when the team leader communicated frequently,
the virtual team member was much more likely to contribute to
team decision-making.
21

Wrike’s tip: Open communication
Wrike’s team is spread across several offices and time zones. Open
communication is what makes things work for us.
This is how our VP of Customer Success sees it:
“Within the customer success team that I lead, I’m
always available for open discussion, brainstorming
improvements, and getting feedback on various ideas
(constructive criticism is very welcome, too!).
We work very closely with the engineering and
marketing departments. I think this is one of the key things that support
a very friendly and positive atmosphere within the company.”
Nic Bryson, VP of Customer Success at Wrike
External communication
Let’s look at remote collaboration from another angle -
communication with project stakeholders. Have you ever
experienced that project progress reporting that is ultimately formal
and dry? The “20 tasks were completed” style. Then, you probably
know how unhelpful and general it actually is.
Spark your communication with more details. For instance, give a brief
overview not only on what was achieved, but how; what interesting
observations were made, etc. Add in some fascinating and even funny
details that will give your stakeholders a better understanding of the
process and not only of the results.
22

According to research, at least 46% of virtual team members have
never seen each other face-to-face, and 30% only meet once a year.
Although it may be a costly and not very easy thing to do, whenever
you get a chance, organize a team face-to-face meeting. In their book,
Uniting the Virtual Workforce, Karen Sobel Lojeski and Richard R. Reilly
notice that the face-to-face meetings can be especially important in the
initial stage of the project, when there are major hitches that need to
be discussed openly, and when presenting results to clients.
Face-to-face interaction is always
a good idea
23

• It’s easier to treat a new remote colleague as a “foe”. If you
have the opportunity, make the onboarding meeting face-to-face.
In his book Your Brain at Work, David Rock describes what the
brain goes through when you meet a new person. It automatically
considers him a foe. However, a simple handshake, swapping
names and discussing something in common, be it the weather
or traffic, is often all it takes to make the brain switch from “foe” to
“friend.”
In the situation where the first meeting is virtual, it’s important
to leave some time for people to get acquainted and “related.”
Give your teammates a chance to exchange a couple of personal
pictures, tell a little bit more about themselves, or just have a little
chit-chat about the day in the beginning of the introduction call.
• Travelling to your remote offices will contribute to bonding.
Hartwell Pacific, a global metal recycling company that operates in
six different cities in four countries, came up with an interesting
global management system. They created a mobile management
team of the executive committee members from Headquarters
and a general manager of each subsidiary that met monthly
at different locations around the world. This broke down the
geographic and psychological borders between subsidiaries and
involved all of the senior managers in a regular, rigorous business
analysis of each operation.
• Nothing unites people more than shared positive
memories. So, if possible, organize a field trip for the whole team,
and make sure your remote team members are there as well.
Keep in mind that:
24

Wrike’s tip: “On air” time
At Wrike, we give a particular team member some “on air” time
during the all-hands meeting to let the remote colleagues get to
know that person a little better. From time to time every team
member acts as the team’s representative on the call. This also
increases the “relatedness” and the sense of general responsibility.
While working in a virtual team, it’s
often easy to get captured by the
feeling of “seeing the forest and
forgetting that it’s made of trees,” as
Joseph Ferrari puts it. That’s why it’s
so important to first tackle a smaller
“tree” or a “branch,” i.e., a task that
looks more feasible, and then deal
with the remaining work.
Keep it granular
When constant communication is impossible, splitting work
into smaller tasks might be a helpful tactic.
25

The benefits:
• It’s easier for the worker to clearly understand the goals and
the expected result;
• Tracking progress (for managers, stakeholders and customers)
and reporting (for workers) becomes easier. When the team
reports on a more granular level rather than abstractly saying
that “60% is complete,” you don’t need to run meetings so often
to clear up the details. You get the opportunity to receive earlier
feedback from your stakeholders and make sure you’re moving in
the right direction.
• Beating an enemy like procrastination might be another
productivity benefit of this method.
26

One of the major hindrances for virtual teams is difficult access to
relevant project information.
Sharing is vital for making workflow transparent.
And guess what makes a good virtual teammate, according to
RW CultureWizard’s survey? That’s right. The fact that “He shares
information!”
When your team is spread across the country and even the globe, it
becomes especially important to keep all plans and updates available
for other teammates to see. This way, they aren’t spread across
personal storage spaces, but can be accessed in real-time by everyone
who’s impacted.
Make sure you find a suitable system that would connect all your
project data together as it can make the work of you and your
team considerably more organized and save valuable time. Wrike, for
example, can help gather all your project schedules, task descriptions
and updates, including comments, latest file versions and plan
changes.
Sharing is good
27

One of the biggest perks of running a virtual team is the opportunity
to get the best talent. Neither geography nor cultural differences can
stand in the way of creating something great together! The nice thing
about having a team spread across several time zones is that you can
build a feedback loop that would basically last 24 hours a day. It might
also become the basis for leveraging the open innovation model in
your organization.
But, keep in mind to always leave place for some fun. After all,
it’s one of the main reasons we do what we do, isn’t it? :) For example,
employees of Volvo IT, an organization with a global staff of more
than 60,000 people, would order food delivery to an office in another
country, and this would bring up a short, impromptu party.
By the way, in our survey, a good mood was ranked as the No. 2
efficiency trigger, after a sense of responsibility. So giving your virtual
workers a reason to smile might pay back.
All in all, Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, put it in a really
nice way: “Have fun, do good, success will come.” We sign under it.
Let’s get creative!
28

Take aways:
• Even though remote teams lack the opportunity
to communicate directly and discuss issues face-
to-face, there are helpful ways to make their
collaboration smooth and efficient.
• A virtual team can actually be no less, and
sometimes even more efficient and successful,
than a co-located one. The virtuality gives you an
opportunity to broaden your geographical and
talent reach!
29

Conclusion
Our journey has come to an end.
We hope that you enjoyed the ride.
Now, you just need to find your own mix
of methods and tools to get the best
from your remote project team.
To productivity and beyond!
With love,
The Wrike Team
App that makes remote teams efficient!
Start free trial
30

Eager to learn more?
• The past, present and future of remote
collaboration: Wrike's new infographic
• Virtual water-cooler breaks: The value of informal
communication in remote teams
• Project schedules, hamster wheels and your
team's hidden superpower
• 5 practical tips on making virtual collaboration
efficient
• First-hand experience to succeed with a
distributed team
31

Master remote collaboration

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