Problem-Solving with Remote Teams

Every team will face issues at one time or another depending on the projects they work on and other factors. Solving these issues is the best way to ensure a project stays on track, the team meets deadlines, and it delivers the best product. Problem-solving in remote teams is different from doing the same with in-office teams due to the inherent differences in the two arrangements. With a plan, however, this process becomes more manageable for remote teams.

Photo source: https://pixabay.com/photos/computer-monitor-video-conference-6977449/

Categorize and Prioritize Tasks

The issues or problems remote teams face differ in urgency, importance, and potential impact on projects and business. For this reason, they should have a way of categorizing and prioritizing issues so they can work on them systematically.

There are different ways of doing this and various tools for the task. However, a priority matrix makes the categorization and prioritization easier while providing a visual representation of the identified issues for easier understanding.

Teams can use a priority matrix template for this process by adding tasks and issues to one of the four quadrants. These are ordered by importance on the x-axis and urgency on the y-axis. Once added to the matrix, teams can move tasks and issues to different quadrants as things change or remove them altogether as they work through them.

Teams can start with the most urgent and important tasks and then work on tasks that are not urgent but important before moving to ones that are urgent but not important. Tasks that are not urgent and not important might not yield much value and so should be relegated to be worked on only if the necessary resources become available.

Set Goals and Expectations

Once the team has worked out the urgency and importance of the tasks they must complete to solve specific problems, the team leader should set clear goals and expectations. They should communicate with the team to define guidelines, scope, and timelines. They should also let everyone know their roles throughout this process.

By doing this, they ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities, which makes them accountable for specific parts of the process. It also avoids task duplication that could lead to resource wastage.

Leverage Communication and Collaboration Tools

Online tools that enable and enhance collaboration, communication, and documentation can be very useful in the problem-solving process. They help team members be on the same page, know who is working on what, seek help from each other, and document the process for future reference.

There are numerous free and paid options for these purposes. However, businesses should consider those with the features they need for their problem-solving processes. For example, the project manager or team leader might want to assign specific tasks to a team member and set a strict deadline. The tool they choose should allow them to do so and also communicate with the team members so they know their roles.

Conclusion

Problem-solving in remote teams can be challenging if leaders do not handle it correctly. Using the right tools to prioritize issues and assign them to specific team members, ensuring regular communication and productive collaboration, and ensuring everyone knows their roles and responsibilities can make this process go smoothly and be productive.