By Luiza Calderan, Producer at Kokku

Team management by itself is a challenging experience. But when it comes to managing an outsourcing team, how can we ensure that those people feel integrated into the project while we provide the service?

In the beginning, there was nothing

Yes, awkward silence, closed webcams and little to no small talk.

Almost every team will start from this point, and as a team manager, it is your responsibility to first create a safe space where people feel good about opening up not only about their daily tasks and blockers, but also about their improvement ideas, dissatisfactions, or even birthday plans.

To create this environment, the effort must come from example, so if you’d like people to turn on their cameras, start with yourself, creating an inviting environment without demanding it.

Something nice that I always like to add as part of daily stand-ups is updates on my tasks as well, not only about the team but maybe about the free time available if they need something asap or medical appointments if that is the case. That takes you out of a watcher position and brings you to a team member place, where everyone is working for the same results and with shared responsibilities.

Little Talks Into Big Talks

After making sure the team is integrated into itself, it is time to look outside.

Almost like a post-production process, you can use the daily meetings to start conversations that make people look critically at the project and workflows. Everything that is in the outsourced team pipeline can be a topic of study and discussion. This has the objective of stimulating the team to look for possible improvements that can make our lives and our client’s lives easier, and it also gives a sense of ownership to the team.

Turn Speech Into Action

So now you have an integrated team that has a list of possible improvements. The next step is what will guarantee that all your work will bear fruit: you need to turn these ideas into action, because each plan or idea registered as something to be taken forward needs feedback. Otherwise, people will lose faith and cease to actively participate in the project, becoming task solvers only.

Moving ideas forward, even if at a slow pace, is key. Do it in a way that gives people visibility into its progress, especially if it’s something that came up during a team meeting. People need to know and understand that their inputs matter and can create positive change.

Share Your Gold

And since we are speaking about outsourcing teams, here comes the big jump. When you find an improvement and validate it, share it! You can use meetings, direct messages or emails, documentation, but make sure to spread the word. That usually strengthens the bonds your team has with the client’s team, encouraging a more fluid dynamic in work, because at the end of the day both teams have the same objectives and goals; they are just under different umbrellas.

Okay, but what if you have no gold? What if everything you brainstormed with your team generated more questions? Then share the questions. If you think that both teams are basically working on the same product, you both likely face very similar challenges, and if you show your intention to look for improvement, that could never be seen in a bad light.

Remember, a leader with a collaborative spirit makes the team thrive.