How to Ensure Effective Remote Team Management
Last updated:
January 29, 2026
8 min read
Business
Artem Barmin
Technology Evangelist
Alexandra Lozovyuk
Content Strategist
Contents
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Knowledge is power as long as it's shared. So, today we are going to share with you some practical tips on managing a remote team. They are the result of the lessons we've learned and the knowledge we've accumulated during our work experience as an outsourcing software company.
Hope this essence of our management expertise will come in handy!
According to UpWork's "Future Workforce Report", by 2028 73% of all departments are expected to have remote workers.
Remote work is more inclusive as it provides flexibility to employees to combine their work with parental responsibilities and other family duties. It allows some kind of specialists on-the-job travel around the world. Finally, it enables team members to be on equal footing as other teammates globally and avoids an unhealthy organizational model with 'major' office players and 'minor' remote workers who feel overboard the boat of company life.
In this article, we want to tell you how to manage a remote team efficiently and benefit from embracing an agile future.
Be on the same page - using a knowledge base
The first point in your to-do list is setting up a work environment for remote employees. It includes specific infrastructural stuff as well as digital workspace software.
Mindset matters. Knowledge pool matters. Expertize exchange is vital too. Putting it all together is a high art of management.
We at Freshcode organize an ever-increasing pool of knowledge in the structured comprehensive system, including code repositories, release checklists, ideas lists, market research, internal training programs, etc.
Advanced tools for managing remote teams replaced a lot of the benefits of the traditional office workspace. Confluence and Notion are some of the management platforms we use daily.
Confluence is a leading global platform providing data-driven management solutions. This collaboration tool was developed by the Australian software company Atlassian.
It helps to keep everyone organized – with everything from meeting notes to IT documentation – through primary management solutions:
- performance tracking and attribution to evaluate and enhance strategies
- integrated data processing
- performance reporting
- financial reporting
- multi-asset risk & risk analytics
- regulatory compliance and analytics to comply with regulatory mandates
Confluence has add-ons for integrations with a flexible programmable API. It's relevant as a tool for requirements that you can link to tasks in the Jira issue tracker.
Notion is one more all-in-one digital workspace that gives teams the toolset for planning, tracking, and updating multiple tasks. It blends many workflows into one place, whether it is
- a task list
- a product roadmap
- a design repository
- (list can be continued)
Every member of your team can customize his/her own workspace with Notion's LEGO-style building blocks and create a smart and user-friendly toolbox for daily usage.
We haven't implemented Notion as a сustomer сommunication tool yet. But we already use it to lead an internal collaboration of management and marketing Freshcode teams. And we have to admit it's worth it!
Stay in touch - Choice of communication tools
Communication is the backbone of any type of team management, and in terms of remote managing across the globe it takes on new importance. Communication is what makes teams strong. And, at the same time, effective communication is one of the most difficult tasks for companies.
All the decisions, discussions, brainstorms, interviews, and training take place online, so they should be maintained via handy and powerful pieces of software.
Let's highlight the next couple of our favorites among team management tools: Slack and Google Meet.
Slack is a digital ecosystem for communication and collaboration. Different organizations around the world use it to connect teams and drive the business forward.
Via 2,500+ apps and a robust API, Slack allows building apps and integrations to:
- streamline workflows
- automate repetitive tasks
- bring context into conversations
As a messaging system with lots of add-ins for other teams tools, it provides two chat methods:
- channels (group chats)
- direct message (1:1 chats)
Also, it allows using video and voice chats, which helps you share information faster and clearer.
Google Meet is a leading video-communication service provided by Google. It offers the following free features:
- unlimited number of meetings
- live captioning
- video and audio preview screen
- compatible across devices.
- screen settings and adjustable layouts
- controls for meeting hosts
- screen sharing
- messaging
We use G Suite, paid business version of the Google toolset, that opens access to more advanced features, including Meet's ones:
- dial-in phone numbers
- larger meetings
- meetings recording
o conversations
Meet your project deadlines - managing software teams
Your success depends on your ability to work well together and to analyze the state of progress to improve processes and implement required changes.
Jira and Trello help us to deal with it!
Jira is a bug- and issue-tracking project-management app developed by already mentioned Atlassian. It's widely used by development teams to track bugs, stories, epics, and other work tasks.
Jira supports any Agile methodology, be it Scrum, Kanban, or your own hybrid model.
From handy dashboards, backlogs, roadmaps, reports, to integrations and add-ons we manage our software development projects from a single platform. It helps to keep everything through 4 types of primary management packages:
- Jira Work Management (generic project management toolset)
- Jira Software (agile project management features)
- Jira Service Management (IT operations & business service desks)
- Jira Align (strategic product and portfolio management)
Trello is one more widely used collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. Its core components are:
- boards
- lists
- cards
It's our favorite constructor of the sprint lists that allows structuring and handling task tickets. You can assign them a
- label
- members
- checklist
- due date
Also, you can add attachments (loaded files or URLs), indicate progress, and track activity details.
Flexibility & work-life balance - embrace async team communication
In today's world dictated by schedules, calendars, and work plans, people are conditioned to perform in synchronicity — a collaborating model where 2+ parties exert effort to be in the same place (physically or virtually) simultaneously.
But if you want to build a more smart and productive workplace, it's time to embrace asynchronous communication.
Asynchronous (async) work communication is the art of moving projects forward faster. Organizations mistakenly associate constant connectivity with quality collaboration. But in fact, asynchronous communication often leads to better collaboration and improved productivity.
Asynch communication cannot be implemented without the digital tools we've described above. It's about...
It helps your employees to keep the conversation going on their own time and provide plenty of advantages:
- No need for additional stakeholders to be available at the same time
- Fewer interruptions in employee's workday
- More time to do deep work
- Accommodating different communication styles and expressing yourself in more effective ways
Staying up to date - include documentation and reporting
With remote team management, keeping a close eye on quality becomes more challenging. Make it a habit to record updates, work progress, and any project changes. Handing over outdated documentation to your team is not the best practice.
We ate Freshcode use Trello dashboard for tracking work progress. Our team leads and managers create the following core lists to prioritize and manage tasks properly and fast:
- EVERGREEN - the core description of the onboarding process and long-term overall company's goals. It's the crucial column in the management template.
- TODO - section with cards representing tasks and ideas
- IN PROGRESS - this progress bar contains cards with tasks that are currently being performed. It ensures the team concentrates on finishing old work, rather than starting new work.
- DONE - probably the most pleasant section with a list of completed tasks
Such structure represents just basic principles and can be customized according to the needs of your company. It prevents work from piling up and streamlines workflow in a great way.
And remember, aim for progress, not perfection: done is better than perfect.
Takeaway
Keep a top-notch remote work environment with right toolset and:
- enable a flexible workforce
- adapt to the new reality with bright business perspectives
- get better business outcomes
- enhance employee experience
At Freshcode, we are helping businesses unleash their potential through transparent and effective team collaboration. Our management experts have impressive experience working with different teams worldwide. We know the benefits of different team patterns, their drawbacks and use cases. And we are ready to share our expertise with you.
Initial consultation with a Freshcode representative is free. It allows you to get basic recommendations of how to hire a remote product development team and what tech solutions and collaboration models fit your business.
with Freshcode
