Remote work was already gaining popularity around the world even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic only hastened the inevitable, forcing most to work from home. And now remote work is an integral part of doing business.
But you might be wondering, how beneficial is remote work? Below is how
- Remote work helps minimize the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus
- Encourages employees to be more productive.
- Give employees more freedom to work.
- It saves time for both employees and managers.
- Increase productivity and business profitability
- Helps improve employee retention for the business.
- Helps minimize the cost of running a business, especially as it relates to on-site business operations such as travel, equipment, and office space.
- Facilitates better disaster management.
- Helps increase employee satisfaction.
- Eliminate office politics.
- Helps reduce absenteeism
- Etc.
As you can see, both the employees and the company have a lot to gain from remote work. However, this is not without its challenges.
If you are a team leader or manager, you want your team to complete and turn in all their tasks and projects on time. You want them to maintain a high level of performance and be consistent. Unfortunately, this is not easy because each employee is different in his own way and has his own ideas. Additionally, employees may experience lower morale, boredom, or even a lack of focus when working remotely.
Some managers have tried to micromanage everything to try to overcome these challenges. Of course, that doesn’t work, and in the end it only makes things worse than they were before. Fortunately, there is a better way.
The purpose of writing this article is to highlight some tips for managing your remote team and keeping it in sync.
1. Maintain healthy communication with your remote team
Communication is an essential part of running any business. It allows you to keep track of all employee activities within your company. In essence, good communication ensures that you always know what your remote team members are doing. That will motivate them to take on their tasks and responsibilities and complete them in the required time.
Remember, while frequent communication is essential, overdoing it can be very costly to your business. By all means, avoid.
2. Embrace technology
Managing a remote team means dealing with several different people, working together from various locations to achieve a common goal. That’s what complicates remote team management. Imagine all the things that could go wrong;
- Some members may decide not to work or answer your call or text messages
- There may be communication problems between members. This will lead to late delivery of valuable information and late completion of tasks.
You can overcome these and many more challenges by embracing technology.
- Implement employee management tools to keep track of everything your remote employees do in real time
- Use Itrezzo solutions to ensure that all your remote teams can access relevant information through their phones, tablets, iPhones, laptops and any other devices they may have. This information includes business contacts, calendars, journal entries, notes, etc.
- Rely on video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Google Meet, etc., to communicate and manage your respective remote teams effectively.
- Use time management technologies to help your employees manage their time and improve accountability.
3. Take care of the well-being of your employees
Your remote team members are human beings, not machines; Think about your well-being. Host virtual events, meetings, and get-togethers to show them you care. If necessary, you can add a few more life coaches and trainers to facilitate the same.
4. Understand your employees and what they are going through
Each employee works in a different environment, totally different from the rest.
For example,
Some people live alone while others live with family members.
Some have home offices, while others do not and have to work from the balcony, dining room, bedroom or restaurant.
Some have poor internet connectivity while others have to face electrical issues almost every day.
Understanding everyone’s individual issues is crucial to successfully managing your remote team. Do not judge or compare any situation with another. Deal with each employee independently to make life easier for you and your remote team.
5. Digital distance matters
Anything good can quickly turn into something very unpleasant if you do it without limits; which includes online collaboration. Handle digital communication the same way you do real-life communication. If you send a message and the person doesn’t reply immediately, wait a little longer. Give them some time to respond.
Team members often have a lot of work to do and a lot of people to serve. They may also receive a lot of emails, messages, and other requests to respond, and these can be overwhelming. For that reason, be sure to contact your employees when appropriate. That doesn’t mean you can’t congratulate an employee on their promotion or completing a milestone. It just means that communication takes time and energy, so keep this in mind.
6. Work with people you can trust and trust the people you work with
Remote work is all about trust. Without it, you’re on a failed mission.
You can’t afford to keep worrying about what employees are doing, so when you hire, make sure you find people you can trust. That way, you can focus your time on something more productive instead of worrying.
Once you hire people you feel you can trust, you should actually trust them. As a manager, that’s something you have to learn. Trusting your remote team is a perfect way to motivate them to work and boost their confidence.
7. Be more of a leader than a manager.
All employees face challenges in their jobs, and that’s normal. Your role as a manager is to help them find solutions and guide them every step of the way. Try not to be too bossy; that will only demoralize them. Lead them instead.
Being a lead manager is the best way to encourage your employees to be more efficient and effectively manage your remote team.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, managing remote teams is not easy. It takes time, effort, and patience, and while you’re at it, it’s a step in the right direction.
Use these tips to lead your teams and get the best possible results.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn