10 Tips To Manage Remote Developers (2024)

Remote work is here to stay. Ensure your remote developer team thrives with these 10 expert tips on communication, collaboration, and productivity. Read on for essential insights to manage remote developers in 2024.

10 Tips for Managing Remote Developers: Ensuring Productivity and Success

As a business owner, you may be thinking about hiring remote developers. This is a great idea! There are many benefits to working with remote developers such as lower costs and increased productivity. However, there are also challenges that come along with it such as: not being able to see them in person and lack of constant interaction. In this blog post, we will discuss 10 tips for managing remote developers so your project stays on track and runs smoothly from start to finish!

Remote work has been growing in popularity and it is expected that by the end of 2021, 32% of the workforce worldwide will be working remotely according to Gartner.

But managing remote developers is hard, and the modern world is littered with horror stories.

The likelihood of remote developers screwing up has led to a systematic distrust, as one mistake can lead to catastrophic results.

To be able to successfully manage remote workers, employers must find better ways to ensure employee productivity so you will not hinder your business growth.

This post provides tips to leverage remote developers who are not in the same room with you. It will help you ensure they are working as you expect and let them work without feeling like a caged animal.

 

As you absorb our 10 essential tips for effectively managing remote developers, keep in mind that the first step to success is building a strong team. If you're looking to expand your remote development team with proficient and reliable talent, our job portal is here to help you connect with the right professionals.

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Now, let's continue with more insights on maximizing productivity and success with your remote development team.

Here they are:

Design the roost, set clear expectations - Remote employees are a great tool when used correctly. They can work in the comfort of their own home while saving money on commuting and other expenses. Before taking action, gather key details about your project, including deliverable dates for various pieces of the work. Define specific, measurable goals around what you are trying to accomplish.

Keep the goals clear and set an overall vision of the company’s culture so everyone knows what is expected of them based on their role in the organization. It is best practice to create all documentation before hiring the remote team. This would make it easy to communicate your expectations to them.  An important note: we'd want you to remember that software developers are not all the same - specialties vary, so try to find the best fit developer that can meet the expectation of your company.

Establish a communication strategy - With remote employees comes a lot of challenges, but one thing is certain - you need to be in constant contact with them to make sure they are doing their job correctly. To avoid losing any time, you should invest in a good communication strategy. With the rise of Slack and HipChat, you should consider using a modern chat service to save emails and phone calls for more important things. You need to make sure your remote employees know how to work with these tools and that they have access to them. You can’t send an email every time you want to ask a quick question. Also, make sure everyone has access to some video chat tool at the very least.

For more complex tasks, you should consider using tools like Github to track the progress of your project in real-time. This would make it easier to understand your progress and make sure you are on the right track.

         This is what you should do:

• Check-in with them every few days to see if they have questions about the project. It's a perfect opportunity to make sure they are on the right track and doing what you expected them to do.

• Make sure your employees understand their responsibilities. If there's anything they don't know, it's better to tell them so that you can avoid disasters later on.

• You can even consider holding weekly or monthly meetings for this purpose as it would make sure everyone is on the same page.

• At these meetings, you should go over their progress and provide feedback after every sprint so they can work on their weaknesses. Also, this would give them opportunities to ask questions and share their concerns.

• Finally, effectively communicate your message with pictures, videos, and graphs; use the right medium to make it easy for them to understand. For example, if you need a feature on your software, sharing a screenshot would help them understand your requirements much faster.

Leverage technology to manage remote workers - Help your remote employees to work better with you by investing in a project management tool that works for both of you. This would be a great way to save time and money on unnecessary meetings. The best approach would be to go for a tool that can combine screen sharing, video chat, and task management - this would save everyone’s time.

Examples of tools you should consider for managing your remote developers include

• Project management tools - Trello, Redmine, Asana, Basecamp.

• Task management tools - Github, Bitbucket

• Chat and video chat tools - Slack, Skype

• Document sharing and storage tools - Dropbox, Google Drive

The best part about these tools is that they can help teams to stay in touch and work together - even if they are working on different projects.

It's essential to mention that you should consider using a tool that integrates with your current IT infrastructure - this would save you time and money.

Pro Tip: Use EliteBrains.com to find the best (fully verified) remote developer for your project. EliteBrains matches you with developers based on how well they fit your project. 

The best part of using EliteBrains is that it is an all-in-one solution.

It has everything you need to make sure your remote developers are working correctly, including task management tools and chat services for better communication.

Keep on time zones in mind when  - If you are planning to work with a developer from another country, it's important to make sure your time zone is in sync. This would help you avoid unnecessary confusion and misunderstandings - which can lead to more serious problems later on. When it comes to time zones, it's essential to choose the time zone that works for you and your employees. 

Overlapping schedules is a key consideration when you are planning to work with someone from another country.

For example, if your developers live in the UK and Australia - you should choose a time zone that is somewhere between those two.

Resist the urge to Micromanage - Micromanaging is the act of interfering excessively in the work of others. It’s an ineffective way to manage because it does not give anyone the chance to work independently. Remote employees have a lot of passion and pride in their work, but that is not enough to succeed. You need a certain degree of trust from the company’s leadership.

Trust can be broken in a heartbeat. To avoid this, you need to give your remote employees the autonomy they deserve so they stay motivated and deliver great work on time. Developers that choose to work remotely value their autonomy and they would not be happy if you interfere with their work.

Stay flexible and ready to adapt -  Remote employees are working harder than ever before because they know that technology is on their side. They can do their work from anywhere, anytime. This means that they are not confined to the walls of the office and there is no commute time either. To give your remote workers the flexibility they need, you should be flexible as well.

For example, if a developer is stuck with something and can’t complete a task on time - you should not freak out. Instead, be ready to adapt and make sure they have everything they need to succeed.

Make sure your remote workers have access to all the tools and resources they need so they can complete their tasks on time without fail. You should be ready to adapt to remote working if you want your employees to feel empowered and valued.

Take into account your developer's feedback -  Remote employees are always happy to provide you with feedback. You should listen carefully and take into account what they have to say, but do not forget that you are the boss. There will be situations when their feedback can help improve your workflow and overall productivity - so it's definitely worth listening to them.

On the other hand, there will be situations when you should not give in to their demands or suggestions because they are impractical or impossible to implement. If you want to keep your remote developers happy and motivated, it's important to take their feedback into account from time to time.

Consider NDAs for your remote workers -  A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is an arrangement between two or more parties to share information with each other but prohibits them from sharing the information with others. NDAs are used in many industries to protect sensitive or confidential information that is shared between companies and their clients or business partners.

NDAs are not just for big companies. They can also be used by small businesses and remote teams to protect their intellectual property, such as their ideas, concepts, and work-in-progress. The best way to use NDAs with your remote developers is to make sure they are comfortable with the terms and conditions before sharing any sensitive information.

For example, if you want to share a new product idea with them - make sure they are okay with the fact that they cannot share it with anyone without your permission.

Don't be selfish; keep developers' needs in mind -  Remote developers are not office workers, they do not work the same hours and they might have different needs that need to be met. However, they are not any less important than employees who work in the office.

You need to be able to show you care, that you are willing to go the extra mile for them and help make their work-life easier. Don't forget that developers are people too and you should treat them as such if you want your remote employees to feel valued and appreciated.

• Ensure they're adequately compensated - and paid on time
• Be appreciative. You should be grateful for your remote developers and make sure they know that you are.
• Developers are not just good at programming. They also know the value of their work and they expect to be treated like professionals.

Remote developers won't stay with you for long if they feel undervalued and taken advantage of. They will quickly move on to a better job. On the other hand, remote developers who feel well compensated and paid on time will be loyal employees.

Don't be ignorant of culture differences -  It's important to respect cultural differences when working with remote team members from all over the world. Remember that remote developers might have different cultural norms and standards, so your feedback on their work or the way they interact with you might not be received as intended.

It's important to make sure they feel welcome - not alienated - and respected. This might be challenging at times, but it's worth the effort because you will get to work with talented developers who can bring a lot of value to your business.

 

Hiring the best remote developers is even more important than hiring great employees for your office location. You need to make sure that your remote developers are not only skilled and experienced, but also tech savvy and willing to put in the work. Recruitment will either make or break your remote team, so it's best not to cut corners and hire the first person who seems to fit your needs.

That's where EliteBrains comes into play.

EliteBrains is the best place to go when you need developers for your remote team - or to hire a remote team for your company. We have vetted the best developers from around the world and we encourage you to browse through our directory of remote developers.

Don't wait any longer and find the best remote developers for your business.