The COVID-19 crisis has definitely altered how businesses operate these days. Due to the effects of this pandemic, many companies are stuck with remote work for the foreseeable future. However, many of the business leaders are facing new and significant team management, communication, productivity, and production challenges. Firms are struggling to maintain operational efficiencies.
To survive this crisis, businesses must take a new approach to team management and workflow. They should incorporate best practices and technology solutions to make communication, collaboration, and productivity more efficient and effective.
If you’ve not managed remote teams then this new experience could overwhelm you. There are many quick and inexpensive steps that managers can do to facilitate the transition. Here are the top 5 best tips for successfully managing remote workers in your business.
1. Establish Robust Remote Team Work Policies:
Regardless of the size of your team or client base, establish strong policies so that employees are aware of what is expected from them. Your organization should have a remote working policy that clearly states its expectations, rights, and management processes.
Policies should specify the operation of the collaboration, when remote employees are supposed to be available, where they can reach out if they need support, how they provide feedback, how to take vacation days, flexible schedule requirements or business work hours, how they can access the company network and so on.
Use cloud-based apps to keep track of the data of your remote teams communications, reporting, and access logs. Your policy should act as a cultural document that conveys your company’s values, corporate responsibilities, and commitment to transparency.
2. Leverage Technology To Establish Clear Communication:
Strong leadership is critical whether team members are located at the end of the corridor or in multiple time zones. The reason behind the failure in the remote IT team is vague & lack of communication and leadership.
Proper communication is imperative when it comes to team tasks, duties, responsibilities, and desired outcomes as it makes workers aware of deadlines, available resources, work-related challenges, and expectations of managers, etc. Hence, you should use technology to enhance communication.
There is a wide range of options from video conferencing to online project management tools such as remote desktop software like Team viewer, Slack for a team chat app, Trello for collaborative project management tools, Zoom & MS for video conferencing, Google’s G Suite, Cloud storage for shared data, etc.
3. Provision Of Professional Development:
It can seem strange for management to be concerned with the career growth of their employees. If you hired an excellent developer, wouldn’t management want him to hold the same position? Not necessary.
Most people want to be challenged, encouraged, and mentored. It is important for the business to invest in employees to grow the business.
You better plan the following to provide professional development to your remote team:
- Conduct an Employee Assessment program
- Initiate a Mentorship Program
- Create a clear set of objectives and expectations.
- Make Regular Check-ins
- Invest in the Right Online Courses
- Create More On-the-Job Learning Opportunities
- Make Time for Occasional Performance Reviews
To keep and engage personnel, it’s critical to build remote-friendly professional development.
4. Establish Connection & Be Accessible To Your Teams:
When hiring new employees who work remotely, make them feel welcome as many workers feel isolated and disoriented in this new work reality. Remote workers can easily disconnect from the corporate culture.
As a manager, it is your responsibility to continuously offer the right points of connection to the employees. Collaboration requires you to embrace new strategies for successful remote team management.
You can open a fun chat channel, share positive feedback, real-time interaction rooms to have a direct connection, virtual happy hours, recognition sessions, etc. Whenever employees require to discuss the queries ensure that the management is accessible so that they can swiftly reach you. This will eventually increase productivity and instill trust between management and employees.
5. Focus On Results Rather Than Activity:
It is a widely recognized best practice to enhance employee engagement and empowerment. Not all aspects of remote teamwork can be managed. When the remote team is split across different locations then you should not try to handle all the aspects of the team’s work.
Rather than concentrating on work hours or activities, focus on the results and measure your team appropriately. Be organized and flexible. Whether the remote employees select to put their work hours in the morning or evening, it does not matter as long as the work is done and is of high quality
By clearly setting objectives and desired results, enabling employees to develop implementation plans enhances creativity and empowerment.
The above tips for managing remote employees will be the key factors to crack the true management success.
Wrapping Up:
This pandemic has forced many businesses to go remote work. While keeping your business growth in mind, employee engagement is very crucial. By initiating an employee career growth program your company is getting the best outcome from the task force.
The key is to help your remote teams communicate and trust one another.