Security is easily the number one hurdle when it comes to setting up remote teams. So often I am questioned regarding how I handle information such as passwords and access to websites with somebody that is working for me on the other side of the world. I often will intentionally shock the person by telling them I handle access to my website the same way as I do my PayPal account… by giving them the username and password. They are often horrified that I could trust somebody who I had never met with access to my PayPal account.

 
The truth is that I trust them with this information in the same way that I would trust a friend or some body that I work face to face with. Ultimately it all comes back to relationship. When you know someone you can trust them. When you spend enough time with them you trust them. When you empower them with a small amount you can entrust them with a large amount.

Here are 3 steps to help you build that relationship and grow your trust with your team members:

 

1. Baby Steps

When I first meet a new team member I don’t immediately give them access to every username and password that we use. In the same way that if somebody knocked on my door I wouldn’t instantly give them free access to my home. When building trust it comes with baby steps.

Firstly I would want to establish their work ethic and I do this by using trial tasks and projects to ensure the person is a good fit for my team – not only in skill but the way they apply themselves and their attitude. This is generally the first step that I take. Once they have proven themselves through the trial stage I can entrust them with larger projects and more responsibility and the same applies with sensitive information.

Suddenly their not working on a site of insignificance to me but they may now be entrusted with one of my major websites or projects. Over time they would eventually have access to spreadsheets that contain passwords, usernames, and access requirements for everything that my team works on.

Many systems will often allow you to set-up additional access without having to give out your master password. For example, I can establish an FTP account for one of my programmers that is specific to their username and password. Therefore if at anytime I need to remove their access it doesn’t impact the rest of my team being required to update passwords for their own systems.

Take baby steps towards being able to put full trust in your team member. Allow them to prove that you can trust them and don’t assume that every person is untrustworthy.

2. Rotate Passwords

There have been times when a team member has left my employment and for security reasons I have changed passwords on everything that they had access to. It is a good practice and discipline to have whether you work with a remote team or even just for your own security to routinely change your passwords.

Unless you are keeping accurate records of who you gave passwords to, it is a good way just to ensure that nobody has access if they no longer require it.

3. Keep Accurate Records

The responsibility is upon us as the managers of our team to keep track of who we give passwords and other sensitive information to. If a relationship does go sour or somebody leaves your team, you should be well informed with what they had access to and if you are required to change that password for the security of your information.

In our team we use a Google spreadsheet. This spreadsheet holds all the information for our websites and how to access the different areas. With this method, instead of having to constantly chase up usernames and passwords every time a team member starts with us or joins an existing project, I now only have to give them access to the Google document. They can then find the information themselves without needing to hassle me.

This also helps me to build the behaviour of initiative within my team where they would need to search for information themselves and if there are any changes or new websites, update the document for other team members.
Remember trust comes from building relationships. Spend time with your team, get to know them, engage in conversation that is not about work and very quickly you will trust that person enough to provide them with the information they need to do their job effectively.