Working with remote teams in Project Management
An overview with Christina Sookram
Welcome to the latest edition of PPM Hub! Today, we’re examining how the shift to remote teams is changing project management approaches. We’re excited to be joined by Christina Sookram, founder of CNS Project Consulting Inc. With 20 years of proven project leadership experience at some of Canada’s top technology firms, Christina has extensive experience managing diverse teams and driving successful projects.
Join us as we explore her insights and strategies for navigating the evolving landscape of remote work in project management.
Hi Christina, we’re happy to welcome you to our PPM Hub! To kick things off, could you please introduce yourself and share some details about your experience and expertise as a certified project manager and product owner?
Christina Sookram
I’m Christina Sookram. I have been working in the field of project and program management for 20 years. I have worked for some of Canada’s largest technology companies. Currently I work for a large tech multinational and run my own project management consulting business (CNS Project Consulting Inc). I have the honour of teaching project management at two universities in Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University and OCAD University). Previously, I have had roles that were a hybrid of project management and the product owner role (which may be more common than we think in smaller businesses like tech start-ups). I have both PMI project management certification and the Scrum Alliance product owner certification.
I’m Christina Sookram. I have been working in the field of project and program management for 20 years. I have worked for some of Canada’s largest technology companies. Currently I work for a large tech multinational and run my own project management consulting business (CNS Project Consulting Inc). I have the honour of teaching project management at two universities in Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University and OCAD University). Previously, I have had roles that were a hybrid of project management and the product owner role (which may be more common than we think in smaller businesses like tech start-ups). I have both PMI project management certification and the Scrum Alliance product owner certification.
The motivation behind this interview is to share practical experiences on working with remote teams. To start, how does one adjust their project management approach when shifting from managing an on-site team to a remote team? Can you provide an example of a successful transition you’ve managed?
Christina Sookram
For most people, the shift towards remote teams happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were forced to quickly adapt to the new reality of remote teams due to government lockdowns that prevented in-person team gatherings. COVID-19 was a push for many to adapt, but there were also quite a few project managers working with remote teams if they worked on international projects or had team members based in different geographies. One of the key adjustments project managers should make for remote teams is being flexible. Remote working arrangements need to be flexible to allow for collaboration, but also allow the individuals on your team to work according to their own style and preference.
For most people, the shift towards remote teams happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were forced to quickly adapt to the new reality of remote teams due to government lockdowns that prevented in-person team gatherings. COVID-19 was a push for many to adapt, but there were also quite a few project managers working with remote teams if they worked on international projects or had team members based in different geographies. One of the key adjustments project managers should make for remote teams is being flexible. Remote working arrangements need to be flexible to allow for collaboration, but also allow the individuals on your team to work according to their own style and preference.
For example, in an office/in-person setting, if someone on your team has a question, they may be able to just walk across the room and talk to a team member. They can visually see if the team member is available. In a remote team setting you can’t necessarily do this as you can’t see your team members all day long. You need to be flexible in terms of how you collaborate and communicate so that it is a good balance for all. In this case, the remote team may use a chat tool where they can post questions for the team, without disturbing a team member who may be working on a task.
Earlier in my career, I managed a project for a financial institution where originally the project manager and the team were in one location and had an onsite project manager. The project manager left the organization, and I was transitioned into the team along with two new additional project team members from my location. As we had two different locations where team members were, we had to transition being a remote team as it was not possible to interact with each other in person every day. To accommodate the needs of the team, the team agreed to have a set of core office hours where team members could interact with each other. Team meetings were scheduled during these core hours for events such as sprint planning and demos with our sponsor so that team members could still feel connected but could also have time allocated to work on their individual tasks. As the two locations were an hour and a half driving distance away (which is not that far away for North America), the team also decided to meet in person at one of the offices alternating months for lunch team meetings to build the team bond.
What strategies do you recommend for establishing trust and solid connections among remote team members?
Christina Sookram
I am a big fan of having a dedicated time where team members connect on a regular basis. If a team is following the Scrum methodology, this is built-in to some of the Scrum ceremonies such as the daily stand-up. Having a common time where the team comes together daily can help build bonds among remote teams. As for trust, this can be challenging in a remote team as you can’t physically see what team members are doing, but it’s not impossible to build trust in remote teams. Have dedicated tools such as online whiteboards, group chats and set time aside in schedules for regular check-ins to monitor progress while allowing team members to work at their own pace. This creates a culture of accountability and ownership, which ultimately will lead to trust.
I am a big fan of having a dedicated time where team members connect on a regular basis. If a team is following the Scrum methodology, this is built-in to some of the Scrum ceremonies such as the daily stand-up. Having a common time where the team comes together daily can help build bonds among remote teams. As for trust, this can be challenging in a remote team as you can’t physically see what team members are doing, but it’s not impossible to build trust in remote teams. Have dedicated tools such as online whiteboards, group chats and set time aside in schedules for regular check-ins to monitor progress while allowing team members to work at their own pace. This creates a culture of accountability and ownership, which ultimately will lead to trust.
What do you consider to be the most common mistakes project managers make when leading remote teams, and what is the best approach to avoiding or mitigating these challenges?
Christina Sookram
All teams, especially remote ones, can benefit from a shared understanding of the rules, norms, and standard operating procedures. In a waterfall project environment, a tool that some project managers use to create this common understanding is a team charter. In a remote setting or if the team is an agile team, a working agreement can be used. Because you are separated by distance in a remote team, it’s important as a project manager that everyone on the project team has a good understanding of how the team will work together (and any rules or norms). For example, it should be clear to everyone on the teams which tool will be used to communicate updates or ask questions (a group chat or email). Likewise, expectations for when team members will be available in remote teams are sometimes missed. It’s recommended that for remote teams maybe there is a set of cores working hours where everyone from the team will be online and available. These details should be outlined and communicated to everyone on the team to ensure there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications on how the team will function.
All teams, especially remote ones, can benefit from a shared understanding of the rules, norms, and standard operating procedures. In a waterfall project environment, a tool that some project managers use to create this common understanding is a team charter. In a remote setting or if the team is an agile team, a working agreement can be used. Because you are separated by distance in a remote team, it’s important as a project manager that everyone on the project team has a good understanding of how the team will work together (and any rules or norms). For example, it should be clear to everyone on the teams which tool will be used to communicate updates or ask questions (a group chat or email). Likewise, expectations for when team members will be available in remote teams are sometimes missed. It’s recommended that for remote teams maybe there is a set of cores working hours where everyone from the team will be online and available. These details should be outlined and communicated to everyone on the team to ensure there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications on how the team will function.
How does one keep track of and evaluate performance in a remote team? Based on your experience, could you characterize the importance of technological advances in modern project management?
Christina Sookram
Keeping track of performance and productivity in a remote team can be challenging, but not impossible. Technological advances and what we are seeing in the market with the availability of many project management software, makes it easier for project managers and leaders to see the progress of the team’s work based on customizable dashboards and reports. While technology can be a great help to remote teams, in my experience, they cannot totally replace human interaction. For remote teams, it’s also important to ask questions (probably more questions than you would ask if you were located in an office with your team). It’s important to communicate to your team that the purpose of asking questions is not to micromanage, but rather to help get an accurate view of the progress of the work. We learn by asking questions and listening. For remote teams, it’s important to have a good mix of technology, but also the human element.
Keeping track of performance and productivity in a remote team can be challenging, but not impossible. Technological advances and what we are seeing in the market with the availability of many project management software, makes it easier for project managers and leaders to see the progress of the team’s work based on customizable dashboards and reports. While technology can be a great help to remote teams, in my experience, they cannot totally replace human interaction. For remote teams, it’s also important to ask questions (probably more questions than you would ask if you were located in an office with your team). It’s important to communicate to your team that the purpose of asking questions is not to micromanage, but rather to help get an accurate view of the progress of the work. We learn by asking questions and listening. For remote teams, it’s important to have a good mix of technology, but also the human element.
How does one determine the importance of selecting the right tools or software for managing remote teams, and what criteria should be prioritized when evaluating these options?
Christina Sookram
You need to identify the needs of the team and organization when selecting software for remote teams. For example, do you need to stay within a purchasing budget and cost is a factor, do you need a tool that integrates into other applications the team is using? Do you need a tool that can be used for waterfall, agile, and hybrid projects? Outlining the needs of the organization and team can establish criteria for evaluating software options. As each team and organization is different, there’s no set criteria that can be applied, but two factors that should be prioritized are:
You need to identify the needs of the team and organization when selecting software for remote teams. For example, do you need to stay within a purchasing budget and cost is a factor, do you need a tool that integrates into other applications the team is using? Do you need a tool that can be used for waterfall, agile, and hybrid projects? Outlining the needs of the organization and team can establish criteria for evaluating software options. As each team and organization is different, there’s no set criteria that can be applied, but two factors that should be prioritized are:
- Ease-of-Use: How easy is the software tool to use? Does it require extensive set-up and training before the team can use it?
- Accessibility: Is it accessible for your team to access – offered in the cloud and not just on premise? Is the software available on multiple operating systems (Window, iOS, Linux)? Is there a mobile app available for the software? Does it integrate into other apps the team needs (for example, a CRM, ERP)?
These should be considered when building a criteria and ultimately selecting a software tool for a remote team.
In your opinion, what are the most critical factors for ensuring the productivity of remote teams?
Christina Sookram
The team needs to see and believe in the overall goal and mission of what the business is trying to accomplish in the project. This could be the overall project goals or if agile, the sprint goals. When planning the project or sprint, it’s important to go over the goals with the team and ensure everyone understands. If everyone understands what they should be working towards, productivity will follow. This is especially important for remote teams that may not feel ‘connected’ because of the distance.
The team needs to see and believe in the overall goal and mission of what the business is trying to accomplish in the project. This could be the overall project goals or if agile, the sprint goals. When planning the project or sprint, it’s important to go over the goals with the team and ensure everyone understands. If everyone understands what they should be working towards, productivity will follow. This is especially important for remote teams that may not feel ‘connected’ because of the distance.
Based on their experience, how does one handle conflicts or disagreements among remote team members?
Christina Sookram
Conflict among a group of people is inevitable. Anytime you bring a group of people together, you are bringing together different personalities, cultures, opinions, and styles of working. What is key for a remote team is to address disagreements and conflict among team members as soon as it occurs and in a transparent manner. Addressing it as soon as it occurs is important as you don’t want team members (who are already separated by distance) to become less engaged with the team and withdraw. This can happen easily on a remote team if there is conflict. It should also be addressed in an honest and transparent way so that everyone feels that it is being addressed in the open and not in a manner that is secretive.
Conflict among a group of people is inevitable. Anytime you bring a group of people together, you are bringing together different personalities, cultures, opinions, and styles of working. What is key for a remote team is to address disagreements and conflict among team members as soon as it occurs and in a transparent manner. Addressing it as soon as it occurs is important as you don’t want team members (who are already separated by distance) to become less engaged with the team and withdraw. This can happen easily on a remote team if there is conflict. It should also be addressed in an honest and transparent way so that everyone feels that it is being addressed in the open and not in a manner that is secretive.
Using tools such as video conferencing platforms can ensure that the team participates in any discussions and people can physically see how people are responding if they have their camera on. This is important to ensure that disagreements are addressed and that the culture of the team does not become toxic.
How do you ensure effective coordination and collaboration among cross-functional teams when working remotely? Can you give an example of a project where you successfully facilitated collaboration across different departments?
Christina Sookram
Using software collaboration tools can help to ensure that team members have the information and visibility they need to collaborate on projects if they are remote. Many of the software collaboration tools have features like a virtual Gantt chart or kanban board that allow team members to see what tasks need to be done for the project and who is doing what. This can be used by a project manager to assign tasks and manage timelines. Using a tool like this in combination with regular check-in meetings can help the team stay on track and collaborate. On a project, I worked on for a go-to-market product launch that included representatives from the marketing, sales, and engineering departments of the organization, an online version of the Gantt chart was presented during the weekly status meeting for everyone on the project team to see the status of the activities and what dependencies existed in the project.
Using software collaboration tools can help to ensure that team members have the information and visibility they need to collaborate on projects if they are remote. Many of the software collaboration tools have features like a virtual Gantt chart or kanban board that allow team members to see what tasks need to be done for the project and who is doing what. This can be used by a project manager to assign tasks and manage timelines. Using a tool like this in combination with regular check-in meetings can help the team stay on track and collaborate. On a project, I worked on for a go-to-market product launch that included representatives from the marketing, sales, and engineering departments of the organization, an online version of the Gantt chart was presented during the weekly status meeting for everyone on the project team to see the status of the activities and what dependencies existed in the project.
What are some of the key emerging trends that project managers should be aware of to optimize performance and collaboration within remote teams?
Christina Sookram
A trend that project managers could leverage when working with a remote team spread across different time zones is a technique called time shifting, which essentially expands the number of hours in a workday. For example, in an onsite, the team usually is scheduled to work a standard set of hours (for example, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week). If a team is remote based and has team members in different time-zones, they can look to assign tasks to be started by team members starting their day earlier and then have the task finished by team members located in a later time-zone. On a project team I have worked on, I had team members located in the EU (Central Europe) and on the East Coast of North America (with a 6-hour time difference). Team members in Europe started working on some of the tasks and if they couldn’t finish it within their day, they handed it over to the North American team to finish it that same day. This meant that instead of a task taking 2 days, it essentially took 1 day (a very long day). This can be a very handy technique to use if a project manager needs to compress a schedule or if tasks can be done in parallel. For remote teams at the same time-zone (and remote teams in different time-zones), the trend of virtual social events should also be used to help build a sense of team unity (which will help with collaboration and productivity). Holding events like a virtual coffee meet-up or doing online games like trivia are fun ways to build the bond and create a sense of team spirit among a team.
A trend that project managers could leverage when working with a remote team spread across different time zones is a technique called time shifting, which essentially expands the number of hours in a workday. For example, in an onsite, the team usually is scheduled to work a standard set of hours (for example, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week). If a team is remote based and has team members in different time-zones, they can look to assign tasks to be started by team members starting their day earlier and then have the task finished by team members located in a later time-zone. On a project team I have worked on, I had team members located in the EU (Central Europe) and on the East Coast of North America (with a 6-hour time difference). Team members in Europe started working on some of the tasks and if they couldn’t finish it within their day, they handed it over to the North American team to finish it that same day. This meant that instead of a task taking 2 days, it essentially took 1 day (a very long day). This can be a very handy technique to use if a project manager needs to compress a schedule or if tasks can be done in parallel. For remote teams at the same time-zone (and remote teams in different time-zones), the trend of virtual social events should also be used to help build a sense of team unity (which will help with collaboration and productivity). Holding events like a virtual coffee meet-up or doing online games like trivia are fun ways to build the bond and create a sense of team spirit among a team.
Christina Sookram, Delivery Lead/Senior Project Manager
With over 20 years of corporate experience as a project manager, Christina Sookram is an experienced project leader and educator. She has provided project leadership experience at some of Canada’s largest technology companies. She has subject matter expertise in both waterfall and agile project delivery and product management functions with a focus on Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe® agile methodologies. A successful entrepreneur, Christina founded CNS Project Consulting Inc in 2020 to help clients in the IT and education industries. Christina is also an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University and OCAD University where she enjoys sharing her love of all things project management and entrepreneurship with students.
With over 20 years of corporate experience as a project manager, Christina Sookram is an experienced project leader and educator. She has provided project leadership experience at some of Canada’s largest technology companies. She has subject matter expertise in both waterfall and agile project delivery and product management functions with a focus on Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe® agile methodologies. A successful entrepreneur, Christina founded CNS Project Consulting Inc in 2020 to help clients in the IT and education industries. Christina is also an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University and OCAD University where she enjoys sharing her love of all things project management and entrepreneurship with students.