The emergence of remote work is one of the most significant changes in the workforce in recent years. Employees can now work from anywhere in the world owing to technological advancements.
As per a Gallup poll, 43% of American employees worked remotely at least part of the time in 2016, up from 39% in 2012. But can a business manage remote work in a manner comparable to their prior ways of managing on-site work? Likely not.
As you adopt the remote work model, the necessity for new policies and procedures becomes apparent. You must be willing to adapt the way you envision work in order to traverse the shifting terrain of remote work successfully.
Having a framework in place to manage remote work is, therefore, vital. This article will explore ways to manage remote work for a business to be successful.
Best Practices To Manage A Remote Team
If you’re getting started, here are the things you should do to achieve successful remote work:
1. Hire The Right People
Remote teams are only as successful as their members’ skills and expertise. For this reason, it’s vital to find individuals who are skilled in their field and have the ability to work independently and be self-motivated.
When hiring remote team members, make sure to screen them properly. Some of the questions to ask when evaluating remote employees include:
- Has the candidate worked remotely before? What challenges do they anticipate while working remotely?
- What are their skills and expertise? Are they fit to fill vacant positions?
- Why do they want to work from home?
Beyond these questions, make sure the employees you’re hiring are culturally fit. This is important because employees who identify more with their organizations experience greater job satisfaction. In addition, the employees are more committed, perform better and are more likely to stick by.
Employees who are dissatisfied with their positions or do not desire to be part of the team will simply not be the proper fit. For this reason, while working remotely, employing the appropriate people can make a tremendous impact in team management and is something worth investing more effort in.
2. Comprehend The Challenges Of Remote Work
Understanding what difficulties you’re prone to as a remote or hybrid workforce manager will help you prepare to sidestep them effectively. As the saying goes, to get the solution to anything, you have to acknowledge and understand the root of the problem. Remote work is no exception.
A few of the more common Remote work challenges that tend to come up are:
- Isolation and loneliness among team members: Working remotely might be extremely disorienting for employees that are used to working in an office. This sense of isolation can rapidly turn into loneliness. According to the 2022 State of Remote Work report, loneliness is a challenge for 24 percent of remote employees.
- Lack of motivation or engagement: Motivation can be difficult for any employee, but it can be especially difficult for those who telecommute. When you’re not in an office among coworkers, it’s easy to get caught up in an unproductive routine and become less motivated.
Employees who work remotely are not continuously surrounded by colleagues who are pursuing similar goals, which is why they are prone to demotivation. According to Buffer’s 2019 State of Remote Work report, 21 percent of remote workers struggle with motivation.
- Technology issues: According to a global poll done in June 2020 by Riverbed, an IT business, 94 percent of CEOs reported that technology concerns have harmed their organization and workers while they worked remotely.
As per study respondents, the four biggest challenges that remote workers face are poor quality video during meetings, frequent disconnections from corporate networks, slow reaction time for applications, and file downloads that are slow.
- Attendance and productivity issues: One of the most difficult things about managing a remote team is not being able to see if they are working or not. It can be challenging to tell if an employee is slacking off or taking too many breaks when you’re not in the office with them.
Trust is, therefore, an important factor in managing a remote team. According to the Wrike 2018 State of Work Report, 36 percent of respondents said that trust is the biggest challenge when working remotely.
Success is a consequence of preparation, so comprehending these challenges will help you be better equipped to manage them when they occur.
3. Equip Your Team With The Right Tools
A remote team can’t function without the right tools. By ensuring your team has access to the best technology and communication platforms, you’re setting them up for success. Remote work software enables them to work productively and efficiently. A few examples of such tools are:
- A project management tool like Asana or Trello
- A messaging platform like Slack or Zoom
- An email client like Gmail or Outlook
- An online storage platform like Google Drive or Dropbox
- A time tracking tool like Toggl or RescueTime
As per Quantum Workplace remote work statistics, when provided the correct equipment and technology, remote and hybrid employees have the highest output and engagement, with 77 percent of remote employees reporting higher productivity.
Furthermore, remote employees who believe that they have the equipment and technology to work from home are twice as likely to be engaged. Eighty-one percent of hybrid employees are very engaged, while 78 percent of remote employees are.
4. Establish Precise Productivity Benchmarks
Productivity can only be accurately measured when there is a clear understanding of what the benchmarks for success are. These benchmarks need to be communicated to all team members to ensure everyone is on the same page.
A manager ought to also be aware of their team members’ day-to-day tasks and objectives to measure productivity. This can be done by setting up regular check-ins or using a project management tool like Asana that allows managers to progressively see what everyone is working on.
By having these benchmarks in place, you will be able to measure your remote team’s productivity more accurately and identify any issues that might be impeding their progress. In remote work, the output becomes the indicator for productivity.
5. Enforce Clear Communication Channels
With a remote team, communication is key. You need to ensure that you’re communicating effectively and efficiently in order to avoid any confusion. Collaboration is key to the success of any team, but it can be more difficult to achieve when team members are not physically present with one another.
Collaboration and communication are a challenge for 17 percent of remote workers, per the 2022 State of Remote Work survey. As a result, it is important to encourage and promote collaboration among team members, and one way to do this is to ensure that communication channels are clear. The more employees feel they can freely communicate with you, the more at ease they will be.
It’s easy to feel left out when working remotely, and many people find it difficult to strike up a discussion in such work settings. Having many communication channels available makes everyone attain a sense of belonging and makes them feel that employers are there to respond to queries when they arise.
6. Create A Positive And Engaging Work Environment
Establishing a positive work atmosphere is vital for any team, but it is more critical for remote teams. You can make your team feel more connected and driven by creating a conducive work atmosphere.
Employees are more likely to be productive and engaged when they feel valued. There are numerous methods to demonstrate your appreciation for your team’s efforts, such as providing them bonuses or simply taking the time to provide positive feedback.
You can also foster a more favorable work atmosphere by ensuring that business culture is upheld even when team members work remotely. This can be accomplished by holding regular social gatherings or video chats, commemorating birthdays and work anniversaries, or checking in on a personal level with staff.
Implementing these things will not only make your team feel appreciated, but it will also create a more positive and engaging work environment that will promote productivity.
7. Encourage A Healthy Work-Life Balance
Working remotely can often lead to a blurring of the lines between work and life. As a manager, it’s important to encourage your team to take breaks, step away from their work, and have a healthy work-life balance.
One way to do this is to set clear boundaries between work and personal time. Let your team know that you respect their personal time and that they should not feel obligated to work outside of business hours unless it is absolutely necessary.
You can also promote a healthy work-life balance by being considerate of your employees’ family and personal obligations. Be reasonable and accommodating if someone has to take a sick day or take time off for a family issue.
You will not only make your staff happier and more productive by supporting a healthy work-life balance, but you’ll also minimize turnover and enhance retention. According to a TINYpulse survey, employees who have a solid work-life balance have a 12 percent higher likelihood to remain with their employers compared to their peers who don’t have such a balance in their lives.
What Tools Will Help You Manage Your Team Remotely?
A remote team necessitates different tools to manage than an on-site team. You need to have clear communication channels and project management tools in place so that everyone is on the same page, working towards collective goals. Here are a few essential tools for managing a remote team:
1. Communication and collaboration
- Slack: Slack is a cloud-based set of proprietary team collaboration tools and services. It provides instant messaging, file sharing, and collaboration features with threaded conversations. It’s a great way to keep everyone in the loop and simplify complex projects by breaking them down into smaller tasks that can be assigned to specific team members.
- Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams is a communications platform that includes chat, video calling, and file sharing. It’s a great way to stay connected with team members and have all of your communication in one place.
- Zoom: Zoom is a video conferencing tool that allows you to have face-to-face meetings with team members, no matter where they are. It’s a great way to stay connected and build relationships with remote team members.
2. Document sharing
- Google Drive: Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution that allows you to store and share files. It’s a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure that everyone has access to the most up-to-date versions of documents.
- G-Suite: G-Suite is a set of productivity tools from Google that includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and more. It’s a great way to manage email, documents, and scheduling for a remote team.
3. Project management
- Basecamp: Basecamp is a project management tool that allows you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. It’s especially useful for remote teams as it provides an easy way to see what everyone is working on and how it fits into the bigger picture.
- Trello: Trello is a Kanban-style project management tool that allows you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. It’s a great way to visualize complex projects and see how everyone is working together.
- Asana: Asana is a project management tool that allows you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. It’s especially useful for remote teams as it provides an easy way to see what everyone is working on and how it fits into the bigger picture.
4. Productivity
- RescueTime: RescueTime is a productivity tool that allows you to track how you spend your time. It’s a great way to see where you can improve your productivity and make sure that you’re using your time wisely.
- Toggl: Toggl is a time tracking tool that allows you to track how you spend your time. It’s a great way to see where you can improve your productivity and make sure that you’re using your time wisely.
- Evernote: Evernote is a note-taking tool that allows you to capture and organize ideas. It’s a great way to keep track of your thoughts and ideas, and it’s especially useful for remote teams as it allows you to share notes and collaborate on projects.
Manage Your Remote Teams Successfully
Managing remote work can be a challenge, but it can also be a successful endeavor for both employees and employers. The right tools and protocols can be fundamental in helping you create an effective system to manage remote teams.
By following the tips in this guide, you can set up a system that enables your employees to be successful while working remotely. You may need to make some adjustments in the beginning, but with careful planning and execution, your remote team can be just as productive – if not more so – than an office-based team. So don’t hold out; go manage your team successfully!
