Remote work is looking to be the way of the future, providing professionals from virtually all industries with new opportunities to take greater control over their workdays, and find innovative ways to collaborate across oceans and borders. With industries now also being able to pick from global talent pools, it’s been a lot easier for data analytics teams in particular to connect with industry talent that possess specific skill sets.
Digital tools like project management software and video conferencing solutions have also made it a lot easier for remote teams to meet and collaborate. But simply having access to these tools isn’t enough to optimise your remote team. It’s up to business leaders and department heads to take charge of shaping the processes, workflows, and habits of their remote teams to support optimal productivity every day.
So how can remote teams invest in their productivity? We’ll be answering this question below, namely by sharing our top tried and tested productivity hacks that remote data teams can implement to help keep their workflows smooth, swift, and seamless.
Top productivity hacks for remote data teams
Use WhatsApp for secure messaging and file sharing
Data analysts are constantly sharing files, whether they be exported CSV or XCL files from digital databases, or even DOCX or PDF files outlining project requirements and other business or client documents. So naturally, remote data teams do need to invest in robust and reliable file sharing methods to help reduce risks of delays caused by inaccessible or unreadable sent files.
A great solution here has been to use WhatsApp for easy file sharing across various devices. Identified as one of the high-performance alternatives to Skype, WhatsApp supports global data teams in staying connected across text, calls, and file sharing. When using WhatsApp for comms, teams generally also have a regular need to compress large files before sharing. Here, you can use tools like Adobe Acrobat to compress your PDF files online and send them through automatically.
Pro tip: Did you know that when sending PDFs on WhatsApp, you can also share a link instead of having to send an entire file? This makes it even easier for remote data teams to share PDF files securely and without risks of invalid file types or file permissions.
Break down project tasks for easier collaboration
Data analytics teams often find themselves working on big data projects by breaking them down into bite-sized chunks. Not only does this approach make it easier to track progress on any given project, but it can also support collaboration, namely by allocating different components or tasks that comprise a project to individual team members. From here, team members can complete their section of that task independently, and then regroup with their team later to collate their findings and complete that overarching project.
This is just one method for collaboration in analytics teams, however. Data analysts can also use document collaboration tools to make individual project tasks easier to break down. With features like edit tracking and in-doc comments, collaboration tools like Google Sheets or even Microsoft Excel via OneDrive online can easily be used to collaborate securely across borders.
Schedule collaborative sprints with time-blocking techniques
Of course, getting everyone in the same collaborative online document is just one half of the equation when it comes to supporting productivity for remote data teams. If projects aren’t well-structured, then your team may lack the motivation to tackle the task in front of them. This is where business leaders can provide direction by setting the tone and encouraging specific work styles and methodologies for their team to use.
A great example here is the integration of ‘sprints’, a model of collaboration that has strong roots in coding, developing, and engineering. Sprints are basically fixed periods of time where a team of developers (or in this case, data analysts) work together to complete a set of pre-defined tasks in order to meet a shared objective. As sprints themselves are designed to be swift, they support productivity by requiring deep focus within a predetermined window of time – be it a half-day or just 2-3 hours before lunch.
Because sprints are so intensive but quick, they can be a great way to foster teamwork in remote data teams from the ground up, creating a shared context for collaboration that builds a culture of teamwork. This makes sprints a foundational component of any work week for remote STEM teams, which includes data analytics teams.
Use project management software for efficiency and accountability
It’s easier to break down tasks when you have a centralised platform to manage all of these task components. This in a nutshell is why project management software has become such a gamechanger for digital teams today.
Much like all other hybrid and remote workplaces, data analytics teams can utilise project management software to:
- set individual tasks for different team members,
- nestle tasks under parent tasks,
- track total progress of project completion, and arguably most importantly,
- maintain greater accountability over project components.
With the right project management software, remote data teams can ensure their collaborative projects are completed faster, easier, and with the utmost certainty that every team member has made their own contribution.
Encourage team members to cultivate their own specialties
Speaking of team contributions, oftentimes the strongest teams play to their own strengths. Investing in tailored training for data analysts can help ensure your remote team includes a great diversity of talent. This can be advantageous in more ways than one.
Teams that are composed of professionals with their own specialised industry knowledge and diverse experience, are more likely to be able to tackle complex projects with ease – because at least one member of your team is sure to have experienced any particular variables or contexts before. So long as you’re always guaranteed to have one expert on your team, tackling any project that falls into your lap is guaranteed to be easy and efficient.
With team members having their own areas of expertise, it can also be a lot easier for your remote team to distribute tasks and workloads, as every member of your team is confident that they’re the right fit for the task list they’ve been assigned. And if there are any disagreements or even questions surrounding task distribution, they can easily be ironed out in your next team sprint.
Collaborate with virtual assistants for data entry tasks
Finally, in remote data analytics teams, it’s important to keep in mind that there is genuinely no time to be wasted on data entry and other administrative tasks – especially if you’re keen to scale up your business and take on more clients and projects over time. For remote teams that don’t have the luxury of a fixed office space where they can maintain focus across defined work hours, it’s essential to invest in administrative tools just as much as you invest in project management tools.
Thankfully, the digital age has provided a pretty elegant solution to this problem in the form of virtual assistants. Alongside being a great resource for outsourcing scheduling and customer service tasks, virtual assistants can also be used for data entry and administrative data management applications, meaning your team won’t have to spend hours in their workday simply organising spreadsheets – they can just jump in and get right to work.
With strategic planning, you also won’t even need a VA for each staff member. You can easily invest in just one or two virtual assistants to support your team outside of or during business hours, making sure that your business and client data always stays well-organised and easily accessible every day.
Strengthen the output of remote data teams with these productivity tips
To recap, you can support your remote data teams in maintaining peak productivity with the following measures and investments:
- Use WhatsApp and other file sharing tools
- Use project management software to break down projects into bite-sized chunks
- Schedule collaborative sprints for productivity and to foster a culture of collaboration
- Invest in specialised training for staff to create a team of diverse experts
- Invest in virtual assistants to handle data entry and other administrative tasks
With all these structural investments in place, your remote data team should have all the resources and supports that they need to maintain a higher output day in and day out.
