Distributed Teams Need Face Time

I've been managing a project/software development team for about six months now. While software development can be tricky in the easiest of times, we have certain challenges with our team which include having team members who are spread out across the country.

Beyond the normal time zone challenges that obviously occur, it is difficult to make sure that information flows and that folks can and do work together appropriately. We have struggled with these challenges since project inception and so I thought that it was time to take the time and invest in the expense to bring everyone together. 

Travel expenses are often characterized by managers and cost-cutters as evil. They suggest using the phone, video conferencing, IM clients, etc. Well, each of those technologies have a time and a place, but they aren't enough. Teams need to be able to sit across a table from one another, sit side by side and have a chance to learn who the people are that are on the other side of that phone or IM session.

This taken for granted by those who work in the same location. However, the outsiders often not granted the same consideration as they aren't considered "real people."

Once folks get a chance to spend a week with one another, go out to lunch and/or dinner it can truly transform a team. People start to bond, they get a feel for character, voice inflections and so on. I'm quite happy at the energy levels that I saw as a result. While we lost days to travel, I believe we gained energy and intensity from the process.

The only trick now, is to make sure that we can keep doing this regularly. It is clearly best for the health of the team and for the health of the project.