Nowadays, especially in the IT field, more and more professionals are working remotely. In my field of project management, I find this to be particularly true. More and more, I find myself managing virtual teams on a daily basis, not only with team members across the country, but across the world as well.

Leading and managing virtual teams requires a number of skills beyond knowledge of the IT requirements to complete a project. That’s because the successful IT Project Manager is communicating roughly 80-90 percent of the time with their team.

For any IT project team, but especially when you’re managing virtual teams, the goal, or overall objective of the project must be made crystal clear. Everyone should understand exactly what is happening and the importance of their part in the project. When the team is scattered across the globe, this part of the process, as well as implementing the project itself, requires sensitivity to international timing, cultural, economic, technological and motivational differences.

Timing 

Project managers are the ones who say what should be done and when. They put together the master plan so each part of the project is completed, in succession, on time so that the project can keep moving forward towards a set deadline. To make the deadline, timing is always important. But when you’re planning a project across borders and oceans, with down-to-the-minute deadlines, it becomes even more challenging.

For example, when I’m working with people in Europe, I have to take into account that when it’s the morning for us, it’s the end of the day for them. The time zones of every team member must be observed so meetings are called at convenient times, calls are placed at an appropriate hour and team members have deadlines scheduled on the same day, even when they are across the international dateline from each other.

Cultural Differences 

Sometimes Americans can forget that people in other countries are different from us. The way they communicate, the words they use, their mastery of English, etc. can all make a difference not only in how they communicate, but how their communication is received.  We, like them, can easily offend the person on the other end of the phone line simply due to cultural differences.

I have been fortunate to be able to work with clients in Germany and German team members. We communicate well together, but I have found that the way they do things and the way they communicate, compared to Americans, can come across as sounding more demanding when it is not meant to be that way. Originally, I was a little taken aback. But knowing and understanding these differences going into the relationship can help a project manager look past the different tone and word choice of the message, and instead concentrate on the content of it.

Economic Differences

As a project manager, part of my responsibility is to purchase technology. If I’m making the purchase from one of the team members abroad, I must take into account the currency rate so the accurate cost in dollars (or whatever currency is necessary) for the new technology is documented.   It’s a little thing to know and remember, but the consequences of making a mistake can be huge for the client and the customer!

Technological Differences

In other countries, just like in the United States, there are differences in how technology is to be installed and used and the regulations governing these activities. Power sources and their capabilities are different across countries, as are rules for installing and positioning A/V equipment.

For example, in the U.S., there are A/V installation rules to accommodate the disabled that you will not find in other countries, like Germany.

It’s also important for a project manager to know the technological risks and special needs of the international team and make sure they have everything they need to complete the job safely.

For example, in China, where cybersecurity issues are high, a savvy IT project manager will make sure their team has the protection they need in place to do their work for the good of the team. In areas where connectivity may be an issue, it is the responsibility of the IT project manager to provide what they need to work seamlessly with the rest of the team.

Motivational Differences

Without a doubt, it’s easier to keep a project team motivated when they are all in the same office, under the same roof.  You can take a team out to lunch, call a special motivational meeting or have an action (like moving a leaderboard or ringing a bell) to celebrate every small win. But there are still ways to keep a team motivated, even when they are working virtually and disconnected on a daily basis.

Sometimes, travel can be used as an incentive or motivation, and can even be worked into the budget as a possible expense. Many team members would see it as a reward and a pleasure to fly somewhere different and come face-to-face with the people they have only known over the phone.

To an IT person, having access to even better technology, if available in the budget, can also be added in as an incentive for achieving a specific project goal.

So as you can see, managing a virtual team on an international scale poses special challenges, but it’s all in a day’s work for the competent IT program manager. If you have an upcoming IT project that will require coordinating efforts of a team across the world, please call me at (630) 300-8828.