Collaborating on a Project with your Remote Team - Benefits and Points
As you might have noticed, we write a lot about collaboration and how it effects remote teams. This is simply because the collaboration is the thing that will make or break your team. And this applies to any team, doesn't matter if it's remote or not. How the people in your team work with each other, how well they get along all of this is key. As important as this is, it is not always easy to know how to get it right. If you are a project manager, you should know that as important as management, is the collaboration that goes in on your projects. This blog is focused on making collaborating on a project easier across your team and firm at large.
Why collaborating well on a project matters
Before going on to the ways to improve how your team in collaborating on a project, we shall first understand its importance. Consider a game of football. You have the ball and have gained a good lead and are close to the center line. However, you are more of a defender only and the strike department isn't something you ace. So, you pass the ball to a mid-fielder. This guy will then take the ball a little ahead and dribble with it until he is in a good position near the goal area. Then, too, he might have to pass it on to the striker to avoid being off-side, who then nets the ball. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, give a watch to this video.
Collaborating on projects is similar to that. Without every person contributing to the game, the game goes nowhere. Similarly, without every member of your team putting in their best effort, the effort of some is pointless.
Benefits of collaborating well on a project:
The benefits that are in good collaboration for you and your team are aplenty. We have stated a few of them here:
- Better Ideas - Indeed, when the members of your team are all put together, they will give suggestions that might not have even occurred to you as an individual. This is one amazing point about good collaboration which is best seen through experience.
- Faster Output - When the members of the team are working on the thing together, if they collaborate well, the benefit in the output is great. The output will not only have multiple good inputs, but also be achieved at a faster rate.
- Focused communication - The members in your team will work on their communication skills while working on the project. This will help them in becoming more efficient communicators and get an idea of where they are falling short. They can then work on this.
- Interpersonal relations - When your team is forced to work on a project together, they will inevitably be forced to work with each other. This will make them know how the next person is and how they work. This could also lead to good bonding.
How do you do this, though? Surely, your team can not contribute in the same manner while collaborating on a project. Due to this, we have penned down the below strategies that should make this collaboration better and smoother for you.
Some key point to keep in mind for collaborating on a project
1. Build the team right
Yes, this is very important. A circus ring master may be capable of putting together a lion and a rabbit in the same ring and making them put up a show, but that doesn't work in other settings. You need to be smart while putting together your team. Build a team that will not only work well to get the goal of the project, but one that will also work together in this pursuit. You can read more about how to improve the group work put in by your members in this blog.
2. Communicate everything
While collaborating on a project, this is most important. Over communicate at every place, if you have to. But leave no room for doubts. Every little point should be crystal clear to the members of your team and they should be able to explain it to any person. We cannot emphasize enough on this. Over communication is key. This is emphasized by almost every person we have spoken to.
3. Use the right tools
There are a good number of tools available that will make the collaboration in your team more efficient. Find the ones which work best for your team. Use these while collaborating on any project. Some tools will be paid while most tools have a free version which will be good enough to serve most of your use cases. Decide on the tool you wish to stick to through a bit of experimentation. Tools such as InVideo help you create videos with custom content and branding. So, shelling out a few extra bucks might be worth it in the long run.
4. Keep it open
Let people tell what they feel about the working of the group. Let the members of your team also have a say in where they think improvement is needed. At the same time, let them know your plans and run it by them before implementing it. You never know where or who can make collaborating on the project better with just a simple idea. It is then very vital to keep things open for everyone to know and have a say in.
5. Focus on the goal
While collaborating on a project, keep in mind that you are working on an end goal. This will be the main focus at all times. Whatever step you take, ask yourself how it is going to affect the main goal that you are focusing on. Make the members of your team do the same. This way, they will by default work towards the goal. This will ensure that no member is doing something different from the others in the team and the team as a whole works together towards the goal.
What is your take on the above points and suggestions while collaborating on a project? Do you also agree to these? Are your views different? Write to us and let us know. Also, we have listed some tools that will make collaborating on projects better for your remote team. Do have a look!
Also take a look at our other blogs around achieving successful collaboration in a remote team: