Hybrid and Remote Proposal Team Success: Three Best Practices for Managing Geographically Dispersed Teams

In today’s environment, proposal development often involves hybrid or fully remote teams spread across different locations and time zones. While this enables teams to leverage the best qualified team members while minimizing travel costs and impacts on personal lives, it also introduces some key challenges. These include communication breakdowns, challenges coordinating across time zones, lack of visibility into progress, version control issues, and limited opportunities for real-time problem solving. 

Clear communication, efficient workflows, and team cohesion become even more critical when your contributors are not in the same room. To follow are some best practices to help proposal managers lead hybrid or remote proposal teams effectively.

Start With a Clear Proposal Management Plan

Just as we do with a collocated team, before drafting begins, the proposal manager must take time to develop and circulate a clear and complete proposal management plan. The proposal management plan should include:

• A proposal schedule with all key solicitation milestones (questions due dates, intent to bid due dates, site visit dates, proposal due date) and internal deadlines (internal questions deadlines, pens down dates, color team review dates, etc.)
• Outline and compliance matrix
• Roles and responsibilities matrix
• Contact list
• Action items tracker
• Proposal style guide and wall of truth 
• Proposal templates
• Relevant past proposals and boilerplate content

The proposal manager should share the proposal management plan details during the kickoff meeting. This will ensure everyone is aligned on the objectives, expectations, and processes. Consider recording the meeting for those who cannot attend; then post the proposal management plan in a shared collaboration space.

Use Collaboration Tools

Remote proposal work depends on effective collaboration supported by various tools and technologies:

• Proposal workspace: It is critical to set up a workspace where you can share solicitation files, answers to questions, section drafts, win themes/other capture materials, the proposal management plan, graphics, source materials, and other proposal content. You’ll want to choose a tool that with access control and document version control capabilities, such as SharePoint.
• Communication tools: Messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams enable teams to ask quick questions. These tools also typically have video calling capabilities, which can act like “popping into someone’s office.” Texting, email, and phone calls can be great to use as well. Consider including preferred communication methods in your proposal contact list. 

During the kickoff meeting, train your team on these tools. You should also set some norms and expectations, such as when to use email versus chat, expected response times, and expectations for enabling the video function (or not). You should also review the proposal workspace, how things are organized, how to edit files while maintaining version control (e.g., whether you are checking files out or using collaboration modes), and other proposal workspace best practices.

Set Up a Regular Cadence for Communication 

In a hybrid or remote setting, poor communication can lead to assumptions and missed deadlines. To avoid this, the proposal manager should schedule daily stand-up calls (which should be quick, less than 30 minutes), weekly progress meetings/in-progress reviews, and color team reviews. To the extent practical, the proposal manager should schedule a time that works best for all time zones involved. Encourage honest, proactive updates on the stand-up calls: team members should flag risks or roadblocks early so that additional resources can be identified if necessary. As part of the roles and responsibilities matrix, clarify who to contact for specific issues (e.g., technology, graphics, compliance, formatting, subject matter expert support, etc.). Have the proposal manager or proposal coordinator send out a summary of actions email following each meeting.

Final Thoughts

Hybrid and remote proposal teams can deliver excellent results if managed thoughtfully. By providing structure, leveraging technology, maintaining open communication, and fostering a sense of teamwork, proposal managers can overcome geographic barriers and guide their teams to success. The key is to lead with empathy and clarity, ensuring every team member knows what to do, using which tools, and by which deadlines. With these best practices, you can turn the challenges of remote collaboration into a competitive advantage.

Written by Ashley (Kayes) Floro, CPP APMP
Senior Consultant and President
Proptimal Solutions, LLC
proptimalsolutions.com
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