In research projects, excellent communication can be the difference between success and failure. But if your team is spread across different states or countries, communication can easily break down. To make your geographically dispersed team more unified, you’ll want to implement a few key communication strategies.
The challenges of geographically dispersed research teams
Geographically dispersed teams can be necessary for some research projects — and they have benefits like hiring flexibility, a wider range of research subjects, etc. But no one can deny it’s more difficult to manage projects and teams when they’re spread far and wide. Some of the top challenges of geographically dispersed research teams include:
- Less engagement than on-site teams. We’re humans. Facetime matters and can affect team morale, productivity, and outcomes. With teams spread out and unable to meet regularly, engagement levels can suffer.
- Difficulty developing personal and management relationships. Successful research might seem like it all depends on data, but it also depends on people. The ability to delegate and trust your team is critical. Collaborative success can be difficult when managers and teams are spread across different locations.
- Less productive workspaces. While this doesn’t apply to a lab setting, research administration teams often can work remotely. Unfortunately, a home office isn’t always the most productive setting and can affect outcomes in some cases.
- Time lag in collaboration across different time zones, office schedules, etc. When your team is spread out, there’s no easy way to quickly solve an issue in person. You typically must wait for a response to an email or a report, rather than troubleshoot right away.
- More opportunities for error, inaccuracy, and miscommunication. It’s more difficult for teams to communicate when they are not in person. Miscommunication or misunderstanding is easier, and even errors can go unnoticed more frequently.
7 communication strategies for geographically dispersed teams
While a remote team can pose challenges, most of us will be part of one at some point. The challenges don’t have to affect productivity, job satisfaction, or team collaboration. Rather, you need effective strategies to support yourself and your team across locations.
Here are seven communication and collaboration strategies for geographically dispersed teams:
- Set clear expectations. Outline your team’s goals and establish a vision. Document what you expect from each team member and discuss their responsibilities from the outset.
- Document and follow procedures consistently across teams. It can be easy for management to favor their local team or treat teams differently, but maintaining consistent procedures will be critical to success. Your team members will know if they aren’t being managed fairly.
- Set deadlines or intervals. Have a shared platform with a calendar of deadlines or intervals when tasks or goals are due. Make it clear across the team when things should be completed or projects moved forward.
- Track project progress. Progress should be transparent across the team. It’s helpful to have a single “source of truth” where everyone can track projects in the same place.
- Avoid micromanaging. Explain how and when your team should keep you updated, and then try to be hands-off unless they need you. Deploying an automated system can prevent micromanaging and reduce team errors while allowing you to keep track of progress.
- Use technology for collaboration and communication. Digital solutions help teams collaborate in real-time across multiple locations.
- Leverage a “single source of truth.” Software platforms keep all your data and activity in one place, so your team always knows they’re sharing the same information and have the latest data available.
How technology can help
Technology is nonnegotiable for dispersed teams. Paper records and filing systems don’t work efficiently across geographic distances, and even email can be cumbersome. Digital solutions help teams:
- Reduce risks through smart alerts and checks
- Boost efficiency through automation
- Drive collaboration through real-time information sharing
- Simplify and integrate data into a central source
- Simplify communication through digital functions
In today’s marketplace, remote work is a reality, and being able to access critical information from multiple locations is now the rule rather than the exception. While research is a hands-on industry, research administration can become more flexible, collaborative, and efficient with the right technology.
