Project management has never been an easy job but with the sudden switch to remote work last year many teams are still struggling in gaining back their grove. One of the things that could help solve such issues is taking on proactive work management techniques. Which allows you to step in front of the problem instead of having to chase it.
Reactive project management is still widely used around the world. However, with the changing market and uncertainty that is fostered by the last year's events, this approach is no longer effective. Taking on proactive work management practices instead will allow you to avoid delays, meeting fatigue, and uncertainty in important work processes. Resulting in a happier team and better project outcomes.
To establish proactive work management practices, take a look at the three-axis that of your company - culture, management, and tools. All of them play a major role in how the project is run and what results can be achieved. Thus, it is important to instill the right values and priorities in each.
Proactive culture
To improve your remote team results, you should first take a look at its culture. How does the team work together, are there any outstanding issues to be solved? Talk to the team members individually and as a group to see which aspects are affecting their results most and how can that be improved. Try to agree on and commit to 2-3 specific things that will be accomplished during the next few months. Once it is done, come back to the drawing board and commit to new things that should be improved.
Also, consider implementing more asynchronous communication channels. When working remotely it is important to keep in touch, but getting a call every few minutes can become really distracting and mess with your productivity levels. Instead, ask your team members to communicate asynchronously - write a message, leave a comment or send an e-mail. Agree on the timeframe for responding and enjoy a more productive remote teamwork environment.
Proactive management
Next up, review the efforts to manage your remote team. You do not have to take on completely new project management methods, but some tweaks here and there can make a great deal of difference to the results. The three things you should focus on are - a centralized list of tasks, accurate task descriptions, and process visualization.
You and your team should agree on and stick to this rule - 'We only work on the tasks in the centralized list.' While this may seem excessive, most of us know the feeling of little tasks popping up here and there throughout the day. They seem simple and we feel like we can do them quickly, but end up taking way more time than expected and cause us to be late with other work. When working remotely, this issue becomes even larger as those tasks are not seen in the plan. So make sure all tasks are accounted for and planned.
When adding new tasks to your plan, it is also very important to add an accurate description of what has to be done. Use something like S.M.A.R.T. criteria and give your team a full understanding of what is expected. This will save you a lot of time and confusion along the way.
Lastly, consider visualizing your process on a Kanban board. With visual project management tools like Teamhood, you can lay out the whole process and see what each of your team members is doing. By seeing the planned tasks, progress, and current assignments, you will be able to drastically reduce the number of status meetings and still keep in control of the project.
Proactive tools
The final axis to be considered when talking about proactive work management is the tools. Choosing the right ones for you, can make a great deal of difference and help achieve better results. To help your remote team, consider a centralized list of tasks and planning and prioritization meetings.
As mentioned before, a centralized list of project tasks is a great help for the team. You can see the whole scope of work that has to be done as well as quickly check in on what will be done next. Leaving no space for doubt or uncertainty in your remote team.
Another tool stemming from the Agile project management approach is regular planning and prioritization meetings. Instead of planning the whole project in advance, hold monthly, or bi-weekly meetings to plan and prioritize work for the next iteration. This way, you will be able to focus on the most important work at all times and react to market changes without the added stress.
Summary
Proactive work management is a great approach for remote teams as it allows them to plan and prioritize ahead of time. Both you and your team will always know what is happening, what is coming next, minimize the need for status meetings and improve morale in these uncertain times.
