How to build a distributed marketing team

I have been working in the freelance marketing world for more than 10 years and have been considering outsourcing some of my projects to a remote team. I recently had the chance to sit down and speak with Josh Breinlinger, Director of Marketing for oDesk, and manager of their successful distributed marketing team to learn a bit more about the whats and whys of managing a team of remote workers. Here's what he had to say...

DJ: How do I know if a distributed work team is right for my project?

JB: The 3 most common indicators that a project can be performed via a distributed workteam are: 1. The work requires "general knowledge work", not physical, manual labor 2. The work doesn't require extensive on-site team member presence, with contact being subsidized by existing technologies 3. The work should be able to be clearly scoped, with specific goals, identifiable milestones and ongoing communication.

DJ: What are the challenges of instituting a distributed work team.

JB: I can't stress enough the importance of communication. It's the number one reason that contract work projects fail, accounting for in excess of 80% of the fault in an incomplete and unsuccessful distributed work relationship. The good news is that there are plenty of available technologies that make strong remote communication possible. Personally, I believe in using shared documents, wikis, ning communities, anything that helps me to communicate with my team. Ultimately, as a manager, I feel that it's impossible to overcommunicate. 

DJ: Once a company realizes that a distributed work team fits, when should they implement, and at what point would they utilize a project manager?

JB: Basically, once a company has a clearly defined strategy to serve as a cornerstone for the projects, the sooner the team is put in place, the better, so that team members can get a stronger sense of ownership and motivation. I like to be more hands-on in managing our distributed work teams as long as I'm familiar with the area. However, if I'm not as comfortable or knowledgeable in an area as I feel I should be, I'll start by bringing in an experienced project manager. 

DJ: How much can I expect to save with a distributed work team?

JB: It depends mostly on the skill set and then the physical location of the company headquarters. If you're located in Silicon Valley, you're going to pay a premium due to cost of living, whereas if you outsource remotely, you'll realize a cost savings as a result of the variations elsewhere. I've heard of savings of 20-80%, but more realistically, if you balance labor savings with productivity, you can expect to realize between 30-40% savings. 

DJ: What are the critical success factors in managing a distributed work team?

JB: The most important factor is clearly communicating an understandable vision, from activity levels through to end goals. Again, communication is key, and the better it is, the greater the chances and size of success. I'd also like to add that I don't change my management style just because people are off-site. You have to stick with your system. 

So, with special thanks to Josh, I learned that, once I've determined that I have a work project that fits the model, I'll need to to develop a good management system utilizing the most appropriate technologies to keep the remote team feeling local, focusing on communication as the primary challenge and key to success in building a successful distributed marketing team.