Many of us have been compelled to work remotely. Many office-based businesses can achieve key deliverables and maintain performance through remote working. Managers now have a responsibility to learn new team management techniques to manage a remote team as efficiently as possible.
Many people who are fortunate enough to keep their jobs will be working from home in the aftermath of the global pandemic when SMBs are in full crisis management mode. It takes a different skill set to manage remote teams than it does to manage direct reports in an office environment.
Here are nine suggestions you can use to get the most out of your team if you are new to managing a team remotely or simply need assistance.
Discover some strategies for managing remote workers in the paragraphs that follow. You will also discover how to use project management Software and other tools for managing remote teams to enhance productivity.
What are The Top 9 Remote Team Management Techniques?
To effectively manage remote workers, managers need a plan and a specific set of skills. Project management tools can be helpful, but managing virtual teams necessitates a fundamental change in your team's mission statement, work reports, and general methodology.
When managing people remotely, you will need to build a relationship of trust that strikes a balance between being understanding and holding employees accountable.
The following nine best practices for managing remote teams and implementing fresh communication methods are provided.
1. Establish Your Expectations
Setting shared expectations with all team members is the most crucial thing you can do when managing a team remotely. The range of these expectations includes everything from production timeline charts to project scheduling and adjustments.
Make sure your team is aware of your remote management strategy. For instance, unexpected video calls could be quite upsetting if staff members are not prepared for them.
The best way to set expectations is probably through a single mass call, which should then be followed up with one-on-one or small-group outreach. During that one-on-one time, you can go over specific expectations for different team members, which will be crucial if you are managing a cross-functional team.
2. Perform Personal Check-Ins
If you have a smaller team, this might seem like a no-brainer, but it is essential to spend one-on-one time with each team member. Even though you would like to think that your team does not require constant supervision, everyone must understand that they can turn to one another for support if necessary.
With each member of your team, think about scheduling a quick (10 or 15-minute) one-on-one meeting once or twice a week. Make sure your team is aware of your availability in case anything arises outside of those hours.
With an employee tracking app , you can also track an employee’s location in real-time and book the meeting accordingly.
It may take some trial and error to determine the frequency of communication that works for you and your team as you learn how to remotely manage them because you do not want to be intrusive or ineffective with unneeded daily meetings.
3. Arrange Regular Team Meetings
It is essential to virtually gather your entire remote team once a week in addition to weekly one-on-one meetings. Team meetings are probably already held once a week or every day, so they should not change while working remotely.
While maintaining a professional and productive atmosphere, these meetings should also allow for some humor and empathy to slither in. An occasional child running through the room or a dog barking are both acceptable noises.
Let your weekly meetings serve a professional function while also bringing humanity to the work and messaging avatars that have replaced face-to-face conversations.
4. Pick the Channels of Communication
The type of communication channels to be used is a crucial expectation you must establish for your remote team. Ideally, you have already set up some means of remote communication.
If not, you should adopt both a simple messaging system and a platform for video conferences. To make sure that everyone is on the same page, be sure to express clearly which platforms you anticipate your team will use.
Setting precedents for which channels are appropriate for which types of communications is equally important to choosing and mastering the platforms themselves.
Do you want to restrict video calls for the benefit of your team and yourself? If so, make messaging and email the go-to methods for the majority of daily communication requirements.
5. Give Emphasis to Results Rather Than Activity
Everyone, especially remote workers, loses out when people are overworked. Although it may be alluring to keep tabs on team members as they work, understanding that results should speak for themselves is a key component of learning to manage remotely.
You can have confidence that a skilled (and responsible) team of individuals has been assembled by you and your talent management teams.
Even though this is true for work that is not done remotely, managing a remote team requires special consideration. It may be more productive for some people to work in the hours before dawn or after midnight depending on their habits and environments.
There is no reason to set requirements for how work must be completed as long as the work is good and the objectives are being met.
And at the end with an employee tracking tool , you can generate the productivity of each member with one click without micromanaging them.
6. Keep Distractions in Check
It is at least necessary to acknowledge that distractions will be much more common when working from home than in an office environment before learning how to manage a team remotely. When we work remotely, Twitter, Netflix, dogs, kids, and the calm of the couch do not just disappear. There will inevitably be distractions throughout the day.
It is essential that you, as a manager, give your approval for the occasional diversion. Make it clear to your team that you do not mind taking a quick break to play with the dog or check Twitter once in a while. Fighting these interruptions is pointless because they are healthy and inevitable.
7. Encourage Self-Reliance
Working remotely involves exchanging things with the outside world as well as the work. Encourage your team to work from the park or to take a free afternoon to bake bread when there are not any meetings or required "office hours." Learning how to remotely manage employees requires you to instill a sense of independence in your team.
Your team needs to be aware that it is within their power to strike a balance between work and their personal lives and interests. By giving them a sense of independence, you can assist them in discovering, improving, and maintaining their work-life balance.
By scheduling time for yourself and your activities, you can set an example for others to follow. Create a collaborative activity in which all team members can take part. For a remote team to succeed, such independence is a valuable asset.
8. Develop Your Patience and Empathy
Growing pains are unavoidable when learning how to manage a team remotely. It may be necessary to change how projects are planned. There will be a change in the atmosphere of group meetings. Gains can make victory celebrations challenging.
However, the best thing you can do as a manager through all of the growing pains is to practice empathy and to act and communicate with some patience and compassion.
It is important to remember that some people will adapt to remote work more quickly than others. Some people require the social interactions that occur when they work in an office environment with a group of coworkers. Make sure to set aside some time to check in on everyone's remote work performance.
9. Implement Innovative Tools
Last but not least, implement the right employee monitoring software to manage your remote team seamlessly and drive productivity. It offers features such as random screenshots, keystroke logging, idle time alerts, and internet usage reports.
The objective of these solutions is to enhance efficiency within the workplace and promote a sense of responsibility among employees. Additionally, they play a crucial role in safeguarding intellectual property and minimizing legal risks.
With it, you can track your remote employees’ work hours, attendance, and task completion. This helps you to identify areas where employees may be struggling and provide additional support or training if necessary.
Additionally, these tools can also help you identify top performers and reward them accordingly.
Let's Build the Best Remote Workplace!
Knowing someone who spends their entire day sitting next to you is much easier. You get to know someone intimately through work and long periods spent together. You learn about their personality traits, their strengths, and weaknesses.
However, if you are working remotely, you will need to put some effort into getting to know your team, and deploying the best staff management software like TrackOlap.
With us, you can streamline your workflow and enhance your business efficiency and competitive edge.
If you’re looking to take your remote team to the next level, TrackOlap is the perfect solution for you. Book a demo today to see how we can help you grow beyond limits.
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