At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders and other health and safety restrictions forced businesses all over the world to temporarily halt their onsite operations and adopt work-from-home setups. Many of these companies found themselves scrambling to implement remote working models for the first time with very little preparation. Keeping remote employees engaged, productive, and on-task is one major challenge managers at such companies frequently report struggling with in the thick of the pandemic years.
Now that COVID restrictions have eased, however, companies may not necessarily be eager to completely return to their old working models. Many organisations are interested in leveraging remote and hybrid work setups to drive productivity, increase profitability, and put them in touch with a wider pool of talent. Employees, meanwhile, have become increasingly vocal about their desire for more flexible working arrangements and other provisions to support a healthy work-life balance.
Workplaces seeking to implement hybrid or fully work-from-home arrangements must ensure that their managers are adequately trained and equipped to lead remote teams effectively. To start, here are 5 helpful tips for managing teams of remote workers:
Take Advantage of Available Technology
Remote workers don’t have the benefit of regular face-to-face interaction with teammates and managers that on-site employees do. Digital communications technology can help close this gap and keep employees connected even when they don’t report to a physical office. Essential digital solutions that organisations can leverage include reliable video conferencing and instant messaging tools, a cloud-based business phone system, and a secure file-sharing platform for efficient data management.
Digital solutions facilitate communication between remote employees and give them functional ways to collaborate even if they aren’t physically together. Brainstorming sessions, daily check-ins, focus group discussions, and other essential team activities can all be performed remotely with the right software. Shared editable documents also make it possible for team members to work on the same files in real-time and produce quality output faster.
Emphasise Communication
Poor or insufficient communication is already a challenge for traditional workplace environments. In remote environments, it can lead to inefficiencies and even misunderstandings between employees. In contrast, effective communication helps managers maintain smooth workflows and keep team members’ engagement and productivity levels high. Workers who are well apprised of deadlines, available resources, work schedules, and other critical information will be in the best position to deliver quality output for all tasks.
When managing a remote team, it’s especially important for team leaders to set expectations early and review them often. Defining important boundaries and providing guidelines for remote work helps teams align on priorities, goals, and acceptable behaviour. For instance, team members should be informed that they’re expected to be available at particular times and through specific communication platforms. Managers who would like to implement daily check-ins should also be prepared to explain how and when these will take place, as well as what purpose they serve.
Be as Flexible and Empathetic as Possible
Managers leading remote teams should be aware that every team member will have a different home environment, each with its own innate challenges. Some will live on their own, while others will be living with spouses, children or relatives. Some will have private home office spaces, others will have to make do with shared or improvised workspaces, and still others will report to work from public locations like coffee shops or co-working spaces. Given these realities, flexibility is a must for remote teams.
Managers must be prepared to understand the unique circumstances of each employee under their care and accommodate them when necessary. For instance, employees can be given the option to determine their own work hours instead of adhering to set shift schedules, as long as they complete their work promptly and at an acceptable standard of quality. Demonstrating due consideration for employee needs and circumstances in this manner can, in turn, do wonders for a team’s overall job satisfaction, morale, and even performance.
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Develop Concrete Ways to Track Progress
Since managers of remote teams can’t see their employees at work or speak to them face-to-face, they need other tangible ways of confirming that the work is getting done. One effective way to track progress is to draw up a defined work schedule and task list for each employee. This gives team members the structure they need to fulfil their roles effectively and helps managers monitor workflows.
Remote employees are also likely to miss out on subtle cues that affirm the value of their work to them, such as when colleagues smile at them or thank them for handing in deliverables on time. Managers can fill this gap and boost employee motivation by communicating positive feedback proactively to their team members, both in group correspondences and on a one-on-one basis.
Resist the Temptation to Micromanage
Effective employees won’t need their manager to look over their shoulders for every task, and this is just as true for employees working remotely as it is for those that report to physical offices. Micromanaging remote employees is likely to cause unnecessary anxiety to both employees and their team leads. As long as team members are communicating clearly and delivering quality output in a timely manner, managers can afford to step back and trust the process.
Leading a team of remote workers can be challenging, even for seasoned managers. However, managers who put in the necessary time, effort, and attention can expect to work with happier, more motivated, and better-performing team members in the long run.
