By Alonso Badilla – GlobalNow IT QA Lead
As a software QA professionally, I would like to share my experience in building trust within distributed product teams from locations around the world; which at times can be a challenging due to factors such as cultural differences, personalities, skill levels and communication issues.
From my personal experience a good approach is to get to know those people working with you; which helps to build confidence in each other and creates a genuine team bond. This means initially taking some time to inquire about the person’s life and interest by engaging conversations at the level person feels comfortable with. This engagement lays the foundation of trust which allows team members to better organize work and receive and assign tasks in a more enthusiastic way. It also encourages members of the team to be forthcoming with problems that need resolution while sharing ideas in a “safe” environment.
To maintain this cohesion, it is important to communicate frequently and routinely; Ive learned that just calling people directly and letting them hear your voice (and not a text) can have a positive impact on productivity. Being forthright and timely is essential – never fear to contact anyone at any moment if you find a roadblock or have something to share about any relevant topic.