Digital Project Management Tactics To Establish Good Communication

We live in a world where telecommuting is the norm – instead of workers commuting to the office, they can set up shop and work from the comfort of their own living rooms. As a result, not only do companies not need as much overhead, but they can also cull some of the best talent from around the world, as SmartOps Services has.

Coupled with the increased revenue from higher performing workers and the cost savings from ditching a bigger office, you have a recipe for success and sustainability. However, one of the biggest challenges of hiring remote workers is efficient project management. If you have ten employees located all over the world – in multiple time zones – how do you keep track? Here are important digital project management tips for remote workers.

Daily And Weekly Meetings

Have a daily catch up meeting and a weekly team meeting. Communication is important when you have remote workers. Without proper communication, it can be hard to know what your team’s status is when it comes to pending projects and deadlines. So, you want to make sure that you touch base with your team members every day – even if it is only for a moment. And every week, you want to get your whole team on to one chat – just to brief and debrief. This is almost as crucial as having backup software for your project. Make sure you implement this strategy as soon as possible.

Speak Up

When problems arise with clients or with remote workers, be sure to speak up. Do not be afraid to speak your mind when expectations are not being met or when there seems to be miscommunications. Every client is different, and every remote worker is different. You need to be able to be honest with these people, or else they will not know your expectations. Speaking up is a requirement when you are managing a digital project. Make sure you find your voice and use it when you need to.

Employee Benefits And Perks

Give your workers benefits and time off. Just because you have remote workers, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to offer benefits and other perks. Even if there is a wage difference in the country you are hiring remote workers, you still want to offer these benefits, because it can increase loyalty and it can make your workers much more efficient. If you are driving your team to finish a certain project, you could simply offer a few paid days off after the deadline has been met.

Outsource Project Management

Use a project management service. Many companies need a dedicated IT team, but with a dedicated team of information technology specialists comes the need for IT project management, which can be difficult to maintain. This is where companies like CompuOne come in handy, because they can manage your IT team for you. When it comes to managing certain departments, having a management service on call is vital and imperative to the success of your business.

Devise Deadlines

Deadlines are critical when you are trying to manage a team of remote workers and efficiently utilize teamwork project management. Without a deadline, it will be hard to actually get projects done in a timely manner. So, you need to be very clear and strict to your remote workforce about the importance of deadlines.

Multiple Communication Methods

Use different methods of communication. In the remote workplace, it is important to utilize all modes of communication. Of course, cell phones and other mobile software can work wonders, but you also want to use video conferencing platforms and even some applications. When it comes to texting and communicating with your remote workers who may be overseas, there are many applications that make constant communication not only efficient, but also affordable. In the end, being able to reach your remote workforce at all times is crucial.

Develop Digital Project Scope

No project is completed without having a proper project scope. For any digital project, you must have a well defined scope, or goal, of what your team will accomplish. This may include using digital project manager or other digital project software to help you complete your tasks. Or, it could be as simple as an Outlook pst file sent to everyone. Today, there are a wide variety of software that can help manage digital projects.

IT PM vs. Digital PM

IT project management is slightly different from digital project management. Unfortunately, most professionals are unaware of this distinction, just as they are unaware of the differences between top sales tools. There is certainly some overlap between digital project managing and IT project managing. However, digital project managers typically work on smaller project with a quicker turnaround. Digital PM is more direct consumer focused.  IT project managers, on the other hand, work more on projects dealing with enterprise grade system integrations. These are larger projects with a big budget that can last years before producing results. These are key differences to remember.