Trabajar con un equipo remoto en la industria del juego. ¿Cómo puedes fomentar una comunicación efectiva para el éxito?

We've been working with a remote team for a while, the best way is to communicate daily using a business chat app like Slack. Keeping in touch on a daily basis and once in a while schedule a call with the team manager.

During college, I worked on many remote teams creating games and software. Most issues we had arose from a misunderstanding of task ownership. Start with a clear understanding of the team's goal and create tasks from there. Make sure each person knows exactly what their role is and what they're contributing to the project. Using project management tools like Trello or Notion will be a big help in understanding your and your team's progress. Additionally, having clear individual responsibilities will ensure tasks aren't forgotten or repeated.

If you need a sign that your team should have a producer, let this be it. Even on small teams, it can make a world of a difference having someone whose job it is to track and unstick priorities and make sure everyone is on the same page. I’d argue this is especially important for remote teams to consider since things can get lost in the sauce when working asynchronously.

Asynchronous text-based updates are a great and low-time way to keep the team in sync. There are many tools available to do this, I've found doing it through Slack (or the team's primary communications channel) makes these updates easy and natural to give. Daily check-ins should focus on what you're working on, what blockers you have, and who you need help from. Doing this daily will help ensure nothing ever backs up.

You need to find a balance between checking in regularly for alignment, and checking in too much that it affects productivity. The key is to have a light enough touch through messages that work can happen, but enough face to face time so you're all on the same page. This changes per team and per person. Some people looove to talk things through, some just need the info in a message.

Here are some effective tools you can use when working with a remote team in the gaming industry, based on personal experiences: For communication -> Slack, Discord, Google Meet, Zoom For task management -> Asana, Jira, Trello For documenting -> Google Office, MS Office, Notion For file sharing -> Google Drive, Slack For organize a meeting -> Google Calendar

Make a Gather office! It’s a ton of fun to give people a space to meetup in the virtual world. The Google Suite is amazing to collaborate on real time with a ton of people. Use strong project management tools like Jira, Asana, Notion, GitHub Projects, or Cerebro to keep everyone on task and informed.

There are no bad questions, and there are no terrible solutions. Encourage everyone to give input, sometimes it might not be the best use of time, but it’ll help everyone feel included. People should expect feedback, and take it as impersonally as possible. Your manager wants your ideas to be amazing solutions, if they aren’t perfect, go back to the drawing board and come with an improved iteration.

It's super important to BE NICE TO PEOPLE! And if someone's doing a good job, TELL THEM! Saying "Thank you!" and "Good work!" is really important. Only giving constructive criticism and no thanks is going to hurt your team's morale. Celebrate the small things as well as the big things.

Lead with kindness! Always think about what your peer wants from a conversation, and put yourself in their shoes. Be there for them, through good times and bad times. Celebrate their wins, and advocate for them when they’re struggling. Be human, and spread love!

Having worked for years remotely, here's a few examples: If someone doesn't reply instantly, it's all right. They might be in a flow state or doing something that warrants their full attention. If it's urgent, tag it as such or ping by their name. It's okay to ping someone, and to be pinged. Take it as a friendly tap on the shoulder. When something needs to be tracked or preserved from getting lost, use appropriate channels such as email instead of Slack or Discord. Be friendly and polite. Double check if you think you may have misunderstood something. It never hurts to ask.