It’s true when they say that the only thing constant in life is change. If you zoom out a little bit, you’ll notice that the workplace is always evolving as it strives to adjust to every individual’s lifestyle and situation.
Today, more companies are exploring ways to create alternative working situations, such as providing more remote work opportunities for their team. With that, they don’t require their employees to show up to a specific workplace, giving their members flexibility with how they work and perform.
With the events that happened last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have resorted to a work-from-home lifestyle. With this big change, many companies will continue to implement remote work as it has shown significant improvement in productivity and performance with employees.
With work-from-home arrangements being more popular these days, more companies are working with remote staffing agencies to help build their team in an evolving workplace landscape. With that, it’s crucial, as business leaders, to invest in skills and tools to effectively manage your remote team.
Essential Tips To Help You Manage Your Remote Team
Tip #1: Trust Your Team
Remote or work-from-home setups will only work if you trust that your employees will do their job. Understandably, unlike in regular workplaces, you won’t be able to see exactly what your employees are working on, but the micromanaging behavior can be deemed highly toxic in the workplace as well.
This is why remote work works — micromanagement is reduced, which enhances the productivity rate of your employees and lowers turnovers. With that being said, trust is crucial in a remote work setup.
By giving your employees enough space to do their work and manage their tasks, you’re giving your team more room to grow and flourish in your company. Because of this, if you’re looking for remote workers, it’s best to hire people who are self-starters and motivated to get things done even with limited supervision.
Working with a remote staffing agency can help you source reliable candidates to join your team. This way, you won’t miss out on qualified individuals who have experience with a remote work setup, enabling you to save on training and time.
Tip #2: Establish Goals and Expectations
With whatever setup you have, establishing your goals and expectations is crucial for your team to work efficiently. Otherwise, your team won’t know which tasks to prioritize, which could ultimately affect how they perform and produce output.
Your remote team needs to understand their role in your company and what they’re supposed to contribute in the long term. By providing them with short-term goals, they’ll be able to produce high-quality deliverables and meet important deadlines.
Besides that, communicating your expectations with your team can help establish parameters at work. With that, let them know their work schedule and how many hours they’re required to render at work, provide effective channels for communication, develop effective group dynamics, and schedule meetings.
This is particularly important if you’re going to be hiring people from different time zones. You need to communicate to them when they should be reachable and the best ways to communicate with them.
Depending on your work culture, you can schedule a weekly or bi-monthly all-hands meeting so you can regroup and refocus with your team. This way, you’ll be on the same page and work towards a common goal, even in a remote work setup.
Tip #3: Create Better Communication Opportunities
Communication is key, especially in work-from-home setups. In that regard, you need to enforce effective communication strategies that could help you lead a remote workforce.
However, you should note that non-verbal communication cues could get lost in translation, such as tone and hand gestures. With that, you should be open to receiving feedback and criticism and communicating these to your team as well.
Seeing as face-to-face interaction is limited, it’s best to find ways to bridge the gap by using messaging platforms, such as Telegram or Slack. These platforms could help ease communication boundaries, conduct video calls and meetings to connect with your team, and even a phone call will do the trick!
Tip #4: Keep Track of Their Progress and How They Are
One can feel lonely and unmotivated in a remote work setup. Because of this, it’s best to be proactive about checking your team’s progress and how they’re doing.
Scheduling a one-on-one meeting with every employee is crucial, even if it’s not a regular thing. Tracking their progress and acknowledging their growth is vital to help them be more productive and motivated with their work.
During your one-on-one sessions with your employees, it’s best to cover the following factors:
- Updates on their tasks and projects
- Provide constructive and positive feedback
- Provide mentoring and coaching opportunities
- Check up on their well-being
Additionally, you shouldn’t forget to celebrate your employees, no matter how small the win. This will keep them happy and inspired to continue producing quality output and allow you to build a positive rapport with your team.
Tip #5: Respect Work-Life Balance
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is not establishing the line between work and life. Many employees think they need to ask more from their employees, given that they’re working in a more comfortable environment. But what many business leaders don’t know is that having a work-life balance with a remote work setup is much more difficult.
Help your employees avoid burnout by making an effort to respect their work hours. Avoid sending emails or messaging them when they’re off the clock; instead, consider scheduling emails for the next day. This way, you won’t disrupt their personal time, allowing them to rest and recharge.
The Bottom Line: Make Your Team’s Remote Work Life Manageable to Ensure They Stay Happy and Motivated
Just like any work setup, remote work comes with its own challenges, but don’t feel disheartened because, with the right methods, your team can flourish in a competitive landscape. All you need to do is to adapt and create opportunities for your team to grow, even when they’re working remotely.
If you’re building a remote work team, consider working with a remote staffing agency to help you pool a list of qualified candidates that could help make a strong company. Keep in mind that the work is on your shoulders, so remember these tips to ensure that you have a positive and safe work-from-home environment.
How Can We Help You?
Hiring a remote team can be challenging, but thankfully, companies like CrewBloom have made the hiring process much easier for you. We are a remote staffing agency that connects you with top-tier affordable professionals for your remote sales and support roles.
Need to outsource employees? Build your team with us today!
