Within a matter of weeks, the way we work, live and do business has drastically changed. In the rush to contain the situation, we’ve turned to technology as our saving grace. In doing so, we’ve effectively hit a “fast-forward” button on many tech trends that were already in place. From remote work and virtual events to virus-monitoring big data, technologies that were perhaps only familiar to a fringe tech community are now entering center stage, these changes are likely here to stay.
While communication, collaboration, project management and innovation have become buzzwords, the challenges of remote working continue to impact businesses. Let’ take a look at the implications of the current rapid change in work environments and how technology can help alleviate challenges:
1. Communication
Communication is the number one issue in most work environments — not just among remote teams. However, varying time zones and flexible schedules can wreak havoc on workflow and team collaboration. Thus, employers need to step in and provide enough structure and leadership to set the tone for communication among their staff.
Tips for Improving Communication Among Remote Teams
Tools and processes are only as good as the people who use them. Ask for team member input and honor their preferences to the best of your ability. Find or build communication applications that connect team members. Using a low-code platform can help to create modern applications that will ensure better communication between team members at a speed that your business demands.
2. Project Management
Project management is hard enough, and it can seem a challenge when team members are dispersed worldwide. However, depending on your industry and types of projects, several online tools exist to align team members, assign tasks, track progress, and make changes. If you already use software applications to manage projects for in-office teams, you would have no problem managing remote employees with the same tools.
Tips for Managing Projects with Remote Teams
Cloud-based project management tools work best for virtual teams. There are dozens of options to choose from, so try the demo versions of platforms until you find one that makes sense for your project and team. Also, consider using the agile project management method and hold daily scrum calls to keep everyone on task and to maintain leaner and meaner teams. Agile is especially helpful for projects with fast-approaching deadlines and numerous milestones.
3. Innovation
There’s something to be said for whiteboard sessions and sharing creative energy with colleagues. Since the remote workspace changes the nature of collaboration, it can also create barriers for creativity and innovation. Team members may not catch the same vibes over the phone as they would live in a meeting room.
Tips for Harnessing Innovation within Remote Teams
Give your teams the space and processes they need to communicate freely, share ideas, and hold brainstorming sessions. Leverage video conferencing and online apps like Zoom, Slack, Lucidchart, Webex, and Teams to document the development process. To provide bandwidth for innovation, empower your teams with emerging tech such as low-code. This not only helps them to deliver more with less, it gives them access to a modern software stack and an environment to collaborate, upskill, and focus on tasks that deliver business value.
4. Security
How do you keep information safe among dispersed team members and devices? You want to ensure that your company’s sensitive and confidential information is secure no matter where your employees work or what devices or applications they use.
Tips to Ensure Security within Remote Teams
Education and training are essential when it comes to information security. Help your employees understand the risks and how to mitigate them in their daily tasks. Create security policies that set requirements for anti-virus software, uploading and downloading information and applications, creating passwords, and clicking on email links. When creating your own applications using low-code platforms, security is typically inbuilt and is an integral part in the entire application development lifecycle. With granular authorization, comprehensive authentication, and OWASP compliance support, applications can be developed using fine-grained controls with out-of-the-box security. In this way your remote teams can build and use secure and scalable enterprise-grade applications.
In a future riddled with uncertainties, a forced metamorphosis or transformation is necessary. How business is conducted, the way teams work, and the work culture is changing and you need to be prepared and agile to tide over. In such times, technology has proven to be a robust backbone on which business continuity is ensured. Making the most of this situation, now is the time for you to adopt technology to transform the way your remote teams work and future-proof your business.
