Easy Ways To Effectively Manage A Remote Team
Remote working has been on the rise for the past one or two years. It is not a trend anymore but a necessity to many companies. Remote working is also a very cost-effective approach for organizations as they don’t need to bear any maintenance and transport costs. However, the biggest challenge lies in managing the employees and their productivity.. Another issue is to keep them engaged and involved.
Managing a team is not an easy task especially if it’s a remote one. It is just not about sending a task list or taking updates now and then. Managing a team is about assigning tasks, solving problems, motivating and guiding people, monitoring progress, and much more.
Here are a few suggestions that might help you manage your remote team better:
1) Communication is everything:
You should always stay in touch with your team and guide them whenever needed. However, It is one of the hardest things to do in a remote working environment, especially if you are used to being in an office. Use communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other software for active communication throughout. Conduct more team meetings, fun interactive sessions, and celebrate special occasions with your employees. All this can help you communicate with your team better.
2) Offer learning opportunities:
At the moment, there is an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear. So it is important to keep your employees motivated and focused. To achieve this, organizations should offer valuable training opportunities to their remote employees. It will allow them to see that their employer is still willing to invest in them.
However, in the current scenario, the traditional classroom method of training has become impossible. Thus, organizations can use LMS like paylocity for onboarding, employee training, and much more. This will allow them to deliver effective training to all the employees working from different locations.
3) Focus on outcomes not hours spent:
Focus on the results rather than the number of hours your employees work. Due to constant distractions and no fixed timings, it is natural for your employees to feel overwhelmed and take multiple breaks. Therefore, you should Calculate the productivity based on the final output at the end of the day rather than hourly updates. Allow your employees to work at their own pace.
4) Have specific goals:
Ensure you have a specific goal like to complete a project in a certain period or boost sales growth in a fixed time frame etc. Make sure everyone in the team is on the same page and believes that they can achieve the target. Do not set unrealistic goals because this can demotivate the team. Forcing them to get the job done before deadlines can also put a lot of pressure on them and thus, hamper their productivity. . Thus, you should set SMART(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based) goals.
5) Customized approach:
Everyone is different. Your team is filled with people of different personalities, ideologies, strengths, and weaknesses. Because of this, it is hard to manage and motivate people with a one-size-fits-all approach.
For instance, one can work only if he/she is guided always and the other may work without any guidance, it all depends on the individual. So, you should Have a customized approach to deal with each person according to their needs.
6) Have faith in your employees:
Do not micromanage your team always. When you assign a particular task, let them do it on their own and find a way to boost productivity. Suggest where they can improve or perform better but do not complain about every aspect of their work. Put some trust in them.
Conclusion:
The role of the manager is a lot more than what it looks like on paper. Creating a positive workplace, guiding the teams, and making them active contributors are just a few of the many tasks they are required to undertake. Managing a remote team gets even more challenging. But you must always put your best foot forward. You should attempt to build trust, let your employees take ownership, and prepare them to become future leaders and managers. Don’t let remote working keep you away from performing on the job.
