How To Successfully Manage A Remote Team

The pandemic has led to more and more businesses requiring that their employees work remotely. And while life has somewhat returned to normal these past few months, many businesses have decided to keep their employees working from home, regardless of the pandemic.

Working remotely has many benefits for employers as well as employees, but there’s no denying that it also has various challenges. If you’re struggling to manage a remote team, or you’ve never done it before, you’ve come to the right place.

Keep reading as we discuss four tips that you can follow to help you successfully manage your remote team.

Use The Same Applications And Servers

One of the key challenges of remote work is that everyone tends to do their own thing and use apps and servers that they feel comfortable with. On the surface, this may seem like a good idea, but the truth is that it can lead to misunderstandings.

Having all of your employees use unified technologies will make it a lot easier for people to communicate and work as a team – two things that we will be discussing later in this post.

So, set up a prescribed list of apps, servers, and platforms that your employees should use when working remotely. The Windows Server 2022 could be a good option for you and your remote team.

Communicate Effectively

Communication is always important when it comes to any business, but it’s even more important when you are managing a remote team. Your employees won’t be able to simply pop into your office if they don’t understand an instruction, so it’s important to be clear and concise when communicating so that there aren’t any misunderstandings.

If you know that you will be unavailable for a while, make provision for this by delegating your tasks and scheduling your emails.

Focus On Team Building

We know what you’re thinking – it’s hard to work as a team when you never see each other. That’s why it’s so important to make an effort to still foster that feeling of being in a team, even if you and your employees are working remotely. Always offer team business validation and thank each member for their hard work.

Recently, various team-building companies have been offering remote team-building experiences. But you don’t need to do this all the time – simply schedule a weekly Zoom meeting that is meant for socializing, rather than work-related topics. It’s important that you and your employees work together as a team since you will be more likely to be successful this way.

Increase Productivity

Another problem with remote employees is that you aren’t there to look over their shoulders and make sure that they are productive. Luckily, there are apps that help you monitor your employees’ productivity.

You should also try to increase their productivity in the workplace by offering incentives. This way, they will be more productive because they want to be, not because they have to be.

Another way to increase your employees’ productivity is to lead by example – you can’t expect your employees to be productive if you are constantly sleeping in or missing meetings.

Show Flexibility

Each team member has their own home environment. Some have pets while others have spouses and children. Some may have private offices to do their work. Meanwhile, others may have to work from their closets, bedrooms or bathrooms to get privacy. Allow your team to figure out their home situations and give them time to manage any issues. For example, WiFi can be a big issue. If they cannot connect to the team online, call them on their mobile device and let them listen in on the meeting. Or, if they have children running around in the background, be patient and allow them to work with their children as needed. Their child could be sick, home from their preferred Child Care Franchise or home with a babysitter. Of course, you don’t know what is going on in every team member’s home, so be understanding and show flexibility while they work remotely.

Gather Feedback Regularly

Gather feedback from your team regularly to ensure working remotely is working well for everyone. Feedback will help you identify weak points, areas that need adjusting and habits that need to be changed. You can receive feedback in one on one meetings, polls or workshops. With one on ones, you can connect with individual members and get a feel of everyone’s opinions. Meanwhile, polls allow for your team to submit anonymous answers if they feel uncomfortable addressing things publicly. Or, you can host websites where your team can work together and allow your team to work together to address issues or weaknesses. Definitely gather feedback regularly to successfully manage your team remotely.

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