Guide to Working Remotely for Product Managers

Many questions and uncertainties arise for career changers working in the world of technology. The trend in the world of technology to work remotely is also increasing. However, of course there are challenges that can affect daily work.

Apart from salary, the attraction of working remotely is flexible working hours. However, the role of product manager certainly has its own challenges if done remotely. There is a need for expertise and support from tools that support efficient work.

Apart from the various benefits and advantages that can be achieved, product managers who work remotely must also be ready to face the challenges. The following is a work guide that a product manager can prepare when working remotely.

Skills Required by Remote Product Managers

Working remotely requires a lot of qualified tool support. However, at the same time product managers must also have the following skills.

1. Technical expertise

All product managers (PM) must be able to interact efficiently with the development team. A PM must at least understand the technical nuances to be able to communicate ideas appropriately even if they don't understand coding.

2. Understanding user experience (UX) design

Regardless of the work environment, the fundamental thing that PMs must understand is UX. This includes ensuring each digital product caters to the growing online user base, aligning with their preferences in the digital world.

3. Data interpretation

A PM must also be able to sift through a series of metrics and analyze behavior before making a decision. It is important to have the ability to parse and interpret data that aligns with user needs and business goals.

4. Think critically

PMs also always direct complex decisions. It is important to be able to evaluate the factors related to product decisions and ensure each strategy is effective for implementation on a global scale.

5. Communication skills

In a digital workspace, a PM must also be able to choose the appropriate channel for communication. This relates to accuracy and clarity when conveying messages to the teams involved.

How to Become a Remote Product Manager

The role of a product manager that is carried out remotely will certainly be different and may feel scary. However, you need to successfully master it, especially if you are in the digital world. Here's how it works to become a remote product manager.

1. Determine work boundaries (work-life boundaries)

Even though it seems cliche, boundaries in work are very important when remote. You can manage your availability at work and determine priorities each week.

The Slack or Google Chat function is very helpful for collaborating and communicating while working, but it can also be annoying. Because of this, you can choose one day not to check it and just focus on work.

2. Communicate everything

The biggest challenge in remote work is ensuring that everything is delivered well. This may seem excessive, but each team member must understand the decisions taken along with the track record of the reasons.

Things like this can be done through a wiki system that can be accessed by all team members. Every time there is a change, make sure everyone gets the information via group chat.

3. Remote product research

You also need to think about how to carry out the product research process. Research participants who may feel intimidated if too many people are involved. This can be overcome by holding a joint viewing session after the interview session is finished. Use remote collaboration tools like Trello and Mural to record analysis from those research sessions.

4. Create interactive presentations

You can also take advantage of various features in the video conference application to explain a presentation clearly and efficiently. You can use diagrams, tables, or images that can be visually interesting.

The reaction feature can also be an interactive means of communication for the participants involved. This can be used to ensure they understand the topic raised. They can also respond if you need clarification.

5. Information sharing and accountability

Quoting from an Atlassian article entitled "How to thrive in remote product management," it is stated that they hold weekly meetings with all team representatives. The goal is to ensure that each team can be responsible for their respective roles.

In the session, various achievements, challenges and concerns that may arise as operational challenges were mentioned. On this occasion, all parties involved can be given brief information to discuss it in another meeting session.

In general, product managers must have the skills to divide roles and actively contribute to the development process. The most important thing is that the focus of communication must be based on user needs and the goals the organization wants to achieve.