Managing technical teams has fundamentally changed since 2020. While some organisations still wrestle with remote versus office debates, leading delivery managers have moved beyond basic questions of where teams work to focus on how they work effectively.We interviewed delivery leaders from companies including Schroders Personal Wealth, Evari and Purple to understand their proven approaches. Their insights reveal practical solutions to common challenges facing technical leaders today.The research uncovered several key themes:
Remote Collaboration That Works
Evari has developed a virtual office model that genuinely replicates the best parts of in-person collaboration. Teams maintain dedicated virtual rooms where people drop in and out naturally throughout the day. This creates space for both focused work and spontaneous interaction - addressing one of the biggest challenges in remote technical teams.
Building Trust Through Data
Purple transformed their delivery forecasting by implementing Monte Carlo simulations based on historical team data. Instead of relying on optimistic guesses, they now provide stakeholders with evidence-based probability ranges for delivery dates. They now consistently hit their 85% confidence interval targets.
Cross-Timezone Team Management
Delivery managers have found creative ways to keep work flowing across time zones. Irina Ribeiro's team at Primark reduced headcount from eleven to seven while increasing productivity through better coordination. Their success came from carefully structuring handovers and ensuring meaningful work during non-overlapping hours.
The full report covers these topics in more detail and includes:
- Detailed case studies from multiple organisations- Practical implementation guides- Common challenges and solutions- Tool recommendations and usage patterns
