Many businesses have been making the transition to remote teams, but actually managing remote teams can be frightening. Whether you have a new remote team or have your current employees working remotely, there are many things to consider.
Even if this is your first time dealing with remote work, these tips can help bring you success for your team and limit frustration.
1. Communication
Sometimes managing remote workers is troublesome, due to the communication dynamic being broken down. Although, once you're used to it you can establish quality collaboration techniques on a daily basis.
A regular videoconferencing meeting can allow a lot of your teams problems to get brought up and make the situation more comfortable for everyone. If you, the manager, remain engaged and connected your team will likely follow.
Putting in this extra effort will go miles in helping your employees feel valued and connected during this time. Staying in touch can help you identify potential problems, prioritize projects, and keep collaboration flowing.
2. Acknowledging Your Team
Keeping the trust of your team is essential to managing remote teams successfully. Otherwise your team will likely feel separated and alone without direction.
Make sure everyone knows when they can reach you and when they cannot. Keep everyone in the loop even if it doesn't always seem necessary. This can save your team members some un needed confusion.
Sometimes scheduling one-on-one meetings are more beneficial to allow them to share concerns without an audience.
Although you aren't able to physically be with your team, making this efforts will cumulatively help everyone stay connected and work cohesively.
3. Provide the tools
There's a good chance your team doesn't have all that is necessary to make remote work a breeze and are missing many office essentials and access to technology.
A happy worker makes a more committed employee so check with everyone about what essentials or comforts they might need to do their job better.
If there is something that they need you can either send it to them or allow a trip to the office to retrieve it. Depending on their home office environment, working remotely can be a chore so being there tp provide these tools can make quite the difference.
You'll want your entire remote team to be as comfortable as possible and equipped with quality tools they need to focus on work.
4. Have Empathy
Although remote work brings a lot of great things, not everyone meshes very well with it.
There will always be growing pains for trying new things, but expect there to be a longer period with while switching to a remote environment.
Some team members may have to home school children or may be worrying about sick or vulnerable family members. They may be under a great amount of stress on top of trying to work from home for the first time.
It can be a challenge working around their families and turning their normal comfort in home into something work related. Sometimes your team will be more stressed and it's up to the manager to address them as the occur. Talk with your team and keep an open line to try and anticipate this problems before they blow.
Make sure they know that you care and are available to help them tackle whatever problems they might face.
5. Setting Realistic Expectations
For the sake of your business, it's important to get your whole team on the same page. Knowing what you expect helps them do their jobs with less stress and worry.
The more transparent you can be with your team, the better. Keep your expectations high but realistic. Your employees need clarity about their individual role and how they will contribute to the team as a whole.
You want clear communication regarding what you expect but be just as clear about what they can expect from you as a manager.
6. Maintain Flexibility
Due to the Coronavirus and CDC guidelines, businesses have had to adjust their normal operating procedures. Most businesses have adopted some form of flexible work arrangements to protect the health of their employees and customers.
If you have a good team in place, trust them and offer them the freedom and flexibility they need to get the job done. It's impossible to monitor a remote team in the same way you would an in-house team.
If possible, allow trusted employees to have options for where and when they work. Many remote workers love the freedom of fitting work in around other important aspects of their lives.
Allowing your team a little flexibility will boost morale and productivity.
7. Focus on Outcomes
As manager, your job is to give your team all the tools they need to be successful. Make expectations clear by defining the scope and deadlines you foresee for each project.
Listen to your team. Trust them and adjust your expectations as needed.
You shouldn't try to micromanage every aspect of your remote team's work or time. That's unrealistic and a waste of your time and energy.
Instead, measure success on the outcomes you're seeing. Praise and reward your remote team when they meet or exceed your expectations.
Managing Remote Teams
Covid-19 has forced us to look at work in new ways. Advanced technology allows business owners the freedom to hire the best people regardless of location.
Whether you're putting a new remote team together or your current employees are now working from home, your business and your employees can still thrive.
Managing remote teams successfully requires reliable, efficient, and secure technology solutions. That's where we can help. If you're in Dallas, Houston or surrounding areas, contact our support team today.
