Best practices for

distributed remote
teams
March 2020

CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY

Any use of this material without specific permission of McKinsey & Company
is strictly prohibited
About this document

Background With increasing travel restrictions, “working from home” has became a
necessity globally. However, remote collaboration usually causes many
issues. This document provides our perspective on best practices to
allow work to remain efficient by borrowing principles from agile way of
working supported from various digital tools.

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Remote and dispersed teams have to tackle several challenges
Context Common challenges in remote & dispersed teams
• Work from home Lower • Problem solving much harder without a joint whiteboard to draw on
arrangements create communication • Vicious cycle of scheduled discussions for sr colleagues (less efficient, eat up
remote & dispersed efficiency all the time); people not reachable via phone
teams (i.e. team • Written communication takes more time/effort than spoken one and use of
members not working less efficient communication media leads to misunderstanding (e.g. short
onsite and frequently not messages/chat missing context; formality/escalation nature of long eMails)
in the same team room)
• Frequent technical issues (e.g., latency, voice distortion, trouble connecting)
• This leads to set of
• High potential for version control issues due to everyone working on individual
challenges around
version with limited transparency
communication efficiency,
process management & • Much harder to have a collective view on status & progress, particularly in
culture/identity large teams
Process control
• The remote model • Unclear roles or not knowing who to contact can result in questions can
requires teams to piling up and activities and milestone getting delayed
operate differently, and • Spontaneous ideas can be easily lost without the team acting as sounding
engage differently board
• This document addresses • Challenge to create a common identity as ONE team, particularly for newly
typical challenges and formed teams or large teams
provide practical Culture & Identity
suggestions • Less bonding opportunities without coffee/dinner/lunch time
• New team members find it difficult to onboard, understand whom to reach out to

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7 principles for effective distributed teams

1. Acknowledge the challenges and form a joint commitment with the team to address them
2. Address the culture aspect – create transparency, assume good intent, proactively reach
out
3. Invest into communication – keep others up-to-date proactively, loop new team members
in, and use the best tools / channels for various communication purposes
4. Structure work in small teams that maximize continuity against achieving concrete
outcomes
5. Use and get the best out of digital tooling (e.g. Zoom, BOX & Slack)
6. Manage cybersecurity and awareness
7. Adopt a test & learn mindset – pilot, learn & improve ways of working

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Best practices for effective distributed teams

Culture •
A1 Foster open communication, transparency & good-will
•
A2 Get commitment from all team members to be self-disciplined and responsive (e.g. pro-actively provide updates,
be responsive to team members’ questions)
•
A3 Conduct frequent retrospectives & team learnings to improve the way of working

Team setup •
B1 Split large teams into smaller teams of <5-7 people organized against concrete outcomes, to maximize efficient
communication
•
B2 Create clear & shared understanding on roles & responsibilities in the team; for large teams maintain
transparency in a facebook
Process and •
C1 Create a weekly sprint plan and prioritized backlog, with a dashboard that allows to identify blockers/risks easily a
cadence and focus problem solving time on those
•
C2 Structure and follow a weekly cadence for the team, incl. check-ins/check-outs and problem solving sessions
•
C3 Create a team-wide accessible “single source of truth” across process and content, using digital tools
Effective •
D1 Use full repertoire of remote communication channels and tools. Consider complexity of the topic, output, reaction
communi- time, and team preference when deciding which format to use (e.g., VC, screensharing, joint-editing on BOX, etc.)
cation •
D2 Get the best out of Zoom, setup virtual team rooms and facilitate effective remote problem solving & co-creation
•
D3 Use group chats / channels on Slack for persistent, seamless real-time communication in small topic-focused
channels
•
D4 Keep safe through cybersecurity awareness & best practices during remote work
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C2: Teams should establish a clear cadence of pre-scheduled daily
and weekly meetings / ceremonies
Illustrative

Key team activities (detailed explanation followed)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Scheduled
9:00-10:00 9:00-9:15 9:00-9:15 9:00-9:15 9:00-9:15
Meetings
Weekly Planning Morning Check-in Morning Check-in Morning Check-in Morning Check-in

18:00-18:15 18:00-18:15 18:00-18:15 18:00-18:15 17:00-18:30

Evening Check-out Evening Check-out Evening Check-out Evening Check-out Weekly Review

Routine 11:00-12:00 13:00-14:00 10:00-11:00 10:00-11:00

Commun- 10:00-12:00
Problem solving Other Call Problem solving Other Call
ication Online Training
Call (experts) Call (experts)

Team member on-line collaboration (via messaging, content co-creation, etc.)

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C2: Guidelines for key periodic meetings
Activities Purpose
Weekly planning Align weekly plan among all
team members
Morning Check-in & Sync task status among
Evening Check-out team members, help each
other solve obstacles
Weekly review Review the completion
status of week task list, find
improvement actions for the
next week
Best Practices Output
• Clarify and align this week’s tasks for all team members. • Weekly task list
• Use online tools to share all tasks and status change (e.g., and assignments
Jira/Trello) • Identified obstacle
• Clarify obstacles and balance workload among team members and risk list
• Keep it short (usually less than 15 min) • Task status update
• Update everyone’s progress and obstacles from yesterday, and in online tools
today’s focus • Follow-up problem-
• Arrange follow-up problem solving sessions for specific solving sessions
problems raised during the check-in
• Adjust weekly task list, and reassign task owners if necessary
• Review what has been done versus what is planned • Task status update
• Forecast and prepare for next week’s tasks together in online tools
• Find out what can be improved in the next week in terms of • Follow-up problem-
way of working, quality control, etc. solving sessions
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C3: Team-wide accessible “single source of truth” is a critical
enabler for distributed teams

Best practices

• Align priorities in weekly planning session, and list in digital dashboard

tool (e.g., Box Note, JIRA, Trello, etc.) • Create transparency so
Process
the broader team knows
• Assignment and workload is clear to everyone, and can have a view
what’s going on and
of the overall progress of the week
where the goals &
• Maintain a backlog that can continuously prioritized priorities are
• Constant tracking of overall process by daily and weekly check in to • Communicate
enhance efficiency and remove blockers proactively – e.g. to
• Proactive updates to leadership (e.g. via eMail or voice note) leadership on progress,
team members not
joining key meetings on
• Well organized folder structure on BOX: a well organized content outcomes, other
folder; structure is constantly maintained and reviewed workstreams where
Content
help will be required
• No conflict information: clear version control on who does what and
consistent naming format during the study • Manage version control
and final deliverables
• Easy to find the right version, right content: Seamless alignment via well from Day 0
common place file storage & sharing and clear hierarchical content
mgmt.

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C3: Digital tools can facilitate collaboration to ensure “single
source of truth” across the team

Activities Recommended digital tools Key Features

Weekly planning • Project mgmt.

• Dashboard mgmt.
• Backlog mgmt.
Morning Check-in &
Evening Check-out • Issue tracking & risk registry

• Video conference
Weekly review
• Screen sharing & real time
markup
PS call, training or • Shared notes
expert call

Update according to your specific tools

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D1: Optimizing communication channels for purpose is crucial in a
remote working model
Communication channel Characteristics
1:1 Call Realtime; Personal; (sometimes)
requires scheduling
Telco Realtime; Reliable ‘on the
road’; no visual information;
requires scheduling
VC (Zoom) Realtime; requires good
connectivity; allows co-
creation; requires scheduling
Chat (Slack) Near-realtime; continuous
channel; easy to misunderstand;
usually not approved for
confidential information
Voicenote (sent via Neartime; easy/fast to pack
eMail) information; difficult to listen
eMail Neartime; universal; (semi-)
formal
Best for…
Syndicating sensitive topics
Classical problem solving with project leadership
Relevant meetings
Team problem solving & co-creation using shared screen or whiteboard
Advanced problem solving with project leadership using shared screen
Workshops & Trainings (using tools such as surveys & pools to facilitate interactions)
Process syndication
Surfacing urgent issues & getting guidance with whom to address
Detailed input from project leadership outside from PS sessions
Debriefs after meetings that team can’t join
Update & status eMails
Sharing documents (or links thereto)
Formal communication
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D1: Communication tools used should be tailored to different
scenarios

Purpose Recommended digital tools Key requirements Rationales

• Maximize efficiency during busy • Simple and fast

days communication is the
Process check-
• Fast responses from team members key here for regular
ins
team communication

• Suitable for longer discussion and • Share the document on

complex problem solving the same screen to
• allow live changes and
Content heavy Same screen annotation, low latency,
low noise, screensharing annotation to maximize
communication effectiveness
• VC can be used to capture gestures
when helpful

• Joint editing and

• Seamless material sharing via common common storage is
Review and place file storage and clear structure to crucial and it typically
alignment manage content can be done by call +
live edit on Box

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D2: Getting the most out of Zoom/VC for remote distributed teams
Zoom best practices
• Schedule directly from Zoom’s
app
• Manage large groups well (e.g.
mute on default, moderator
privileges)
• Use online input tools to
facilitate effective input
gathering (e.g. surveys)
• Use screenshare to co-edit
documents
• Make participation easy by
providing dial-in codes for
countries participants are in
• Don’t share you entire screen,
only a particular application
Virtual team rooms on VC Zoom equipment in the office
• Standing VC that all team members in a • Bring high quality Zoom video-conferencing
sub-team / squad join as a default (audio& video) to your site
• ‘On mute’ unless colleagues need to ask • Allows remote contributors to join meetings
questions effectively
• Avoids having to schedule meetings &
hence encourages ad-hock
communication
• Use Zoom’s virtual backgrounds function
to anonymize background and make
people more comfortable to appear on
video
• Setup up multiple Zooms in parallel with
camera on whiteboard to facilitate joint
whiteboarding
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D3: Using Slack for channel-based communications

Work with colleagues and teams anywhere, quickly and securely. Use Slack and reduce Manage your channels: Bring most-
emails, WeChat messages, and even meetings. used channels to the top, and hide,
mute, or leave less-used channels to
minimize sprawl.

Right click a channel

in your sidebar to:

1. Star your most

important channels
to easily find them.
2. Leave channels
you don’t need.
Public channels are
open to everyone in 3. Mute channels you
your workspace to don’t check often.
join, e.g., #dna-news Pin important
documents to
Use private channels the channel. Set your Slack availability and status
for confidential
workspace
message so others can see if and when to
conversations, contact you.
Start a thread
to group
Direct messages are Do Not Disturb: Pause all
messages.
private and allow you notifications for a set period.
to chat with anyone Add an emoji.
1:1.

Send a message to all @mention a colleague.

colleagues in this channel.

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D4: Keeping ‘safe’ – practical cybersecurity awareness
during remote work

Being aware & managing risks practically

• Increased risk during remote work due to increased use of digital tools for communication & user mistakes (e.g. share full
screen on VC while having another document open, or eMail popup notification from sensitive topics, including wrong person in
an eMail chain, etc.)
• Doublecheck eMail addresses (i.e. ‘reply-all’), use strong passwords
• When sharing screens on VC, doublecheck that no other confidential information open, ensure neutral directory names, etc
• Only use approved tools for confidential information (e.g. Box, Zoom); use chat software (WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, etc)
only for conversations you’d have in public (i.e. ‘coordination’ at best) and never for sharing files
• External apps, can be used for confidential information only if approved by the organization
• Unless fully certain of communication channel, for document sharing a good practice is also to encrypt documents and use
neutral filenames

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