Don’t Forget Me! Ensuring Distributed Team Members Aren’t Left Out

In today’s high-tech world, we’re having to learn not only how to give feedback in real time that’s effective, but how to keep the lines of communication open with team members working beyond the physical office.

In this post, I'd like to answer three specific questions about how to create open communication and opportunities for feedback with distributed team members:

• How do we ensure overall expectations are clear?

• How do we ensure distributed team members are on the same page as in-house team members on a day-to-day basis?

• How do we ensure that remote team members feel included in meetings?

I’ll address these by providing some tactics to make sure you communicate clearly and efficiently among distributed teams:

Q: How do we ensure overall expectations are clear?

When working with remote team members, pick a structured method to communicate expectations and provide feedback, then stick with it.

I use a method I call ICE: Identify, Clarify and Extend.

• Identify: As soon as I engage with distributed team members, I define what the objective of our conversation will be and ask them to paraphrase the expectations back to me.

• Clarify: Team members are more likely to take away value from a meeting or a feedback session when they understand why what you’re discussing is valuable. Explain clearly the importance of the conversation and make sure they understand.

• Extend: Ask if your team members have any questions or need clarification.

I leverage various technologies alongside the ICE method to ensure that team members are communicating effectively.

• Use video: I’ll quote directly from a Huffington Post piece Jaleh Bisharat, oDesk’s senior vice president of marketing, wrote about the value of video when working with distributed teams: “You'll communicate better with your team when you can see them—their expressions, their non-verbal cues and their reactions. Many great video conferencing technologies like Skype and Google Hangouts are free. Invest in the associated hardware—including computers, webcams and large screens. It will pay back in spades.”

• Keep notes all in one place: I often use shared Google Docs to make notes and add or append notes and comments—the threaded concept is key to staying organized from week to week. That way, I, along with my team members, also have the notes available at all times.

• Ensure that technology use is consistent: If one team member, for example, isn’t using Google Docs when the rest of the team is, it may be hard for him or her to take or share notes.

Q: How do we ensure distributed team members are on the same page as in-house team members on a day-to-day basis?

Have quick, daily meetings that are structured to be productive.

Just as the ICE method is good to ensure feedback is clear, the 4P method—Progress, Plans, Priorities, Problems—ensures that teams working with many distributed members are on the same page.

The product and engineering team at oDesk includes 12 product managers, 20 product architects, 100 developers and 30 test engineers—all of whom are distributed around the world, many in countries like Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Greece and the United States, just to name a few. For this team, given the agile process and need for constant feedback, communication and adaptation, our senior vice president of product, Stephane Kasriel, recommends daily, 15-minute meetings that follow the 4P method:

• Talk about progress of the previous period, day, week or month

• Plan for the upcoming period, day, week or month

• Prioritize the most important things you will get done in this time frame

• Discuss any outstanding problems (things that are in the way of progress)

Because the meetings always follow the same structure, all team members—including those distributed around the world—know exactly what to expect.

Q: How do we ensure that remote team members feel included in meetings?

Create an environment where distributed team members are comfortable asking questions.

Team members who are joining a meeting—whether it’s a one-on-one or a group gathering—may find it difficult to engage. As teams shift from in-person setups to distributed, difficulty engaging is normal at the beginning. Here are a few ways to help distributed team members engage:

• Set expectations that remote team members should come to all conversations with questions or comments.

• Start conversations with questions so you’re sure to address them up front. It’s as simple as asking, “Before we get started, what questions do you have?”

• During the conversation, create opportunity for distributed team members to chime in by pausing frequently and asking, “What questions do you have?” Otherwise, they may feel reluctant to interject.

• When asking if distributed team members have questions, be sure to pause and wait. When you ask, it’s unlikely that someone will chime in right away. Silence often encourages people to ask questions.

What methods work for you when opening up lines of communication with distributed team members? Let me know in the comments.

Gary Swart is the CEO of online workplace oDesk.