Top 5 tips to effectively manage Remote Teams

COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced almost every aspect of human civilization. Businesses aren't spared as well. They have to deal with volatile markets, survive this hurricane of an economy, a drastic shift in the demand-supply, and last but not the least -- remote working.

Through strong leadership, creative and adaptive operations, many businesses have managed to stay afloat. But one thing most all companies have grappled with is the indefinite requirement to work from home.

Even though about 62% of the employees globally say that they work remotely occasionally, most businesses still need designated plans made towards an effective remote working.

To adapt to this new to corporate normal, it is the leaders who hold the flambeau.

A task for the leaders

While it is interesting to know that about 45% of the employees globally have a full-time remote working team, this still doesn't make remote working an easy concept to adapt.

It is always preferable for companies to establish remote work policies in advance. Still, in times like these, this level of preparation may not be feasible. There are some steps that leaders can take to boost engagement and productivity while working remotely.

Here are some ways leaders can make the remote-work experience effective, productive (and engaging) for the employees.

1. Show Clarity with your expectations

"In teamwork, silence isn't golden, it's deadly." - Mark Sanborn, Leadership Speaker & Best Selling Author

When working remotely, we all need to brush up on our written communication skills. Since we now don't share the same space, our communication now will lack analyzing the body language and understanding the emotions from the tone of voice.

I don't think anyone is alien to the fact that online communications that are text-based cause a lot of misunderstanding.

Team leaders and project managers must brief about tasks, requirements, goals, and deadlines clearly to the team members over the email. And, ensure that the overall tone of the mail is of goodwill and request. These emails have to be more detailed than the ones you wrote pre-pandemic so as to leave no loophole in the brief.

With such clear communication, there will be no room for back and forth communication exchanges and any other misinterpretation. 

2. Promote Frequent and Effective Communication

"Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after." -  Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author and pilot

A two-way dialogue between employers and the employees builds engagement. The team members that are frequently approached and communicated with could show an increase in productivity by 25%!

EFFECTIVE communication has a high impact on the overall task completion of your employees as well. The provision of information and perspective from your side helps them stay anchored.

Try to host monthly or bi-monthly town hall calls or approach every department of your business every couple of weeks to stay in touch with them.

Also, promote frequent use of video calls. And prompt quick responses over email and other channels.

3. The use of the right remote-working technology

“Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device. This is dramatically changing the way people work, facilitating 24/7 collaboration with colleagues dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents.” - Michael Dell, Chairman, and CEO of Dell

We now have tools that allow us to communicate virtually. The collaborative tools have also made it feasible for remotely-working employees to stick to deadlines.

Business software like Slack and Microsoft Teams are great for brilliant remote team management. Project Management tools like Trello, Freshdesk, and collaborative tools like Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Office365 are fundamental requirements.

Managing a remote team may seem hard, but the use of the right technology makes it easier for the manager to harness the full power of a remote team.

4. Going above and beyond

“Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first.” - Angela Ahrendts (Senior Vice President, Apple)

 As a leader, it is your responsibility to make sure your team members have all the tools at their disposal that they would have access to at the office.

For example, your content writers may need keyword tools. Or your graphic designers may need Adobe Photoshop licenses. Or your developers may need Dreamweaver.

Compensate for the cost of buying a good internet connection while they work from home. If your remote employees can't access certain files/folders, face network issues with their calls, or receive invites for meetings that are totally off in their time zones, your remote team is bound to become ineffective.

Devising new methods around a lack of essential tools might be time-consuming for them, which may impact your business. 

5. Be a reliable source for your team

"To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace." - Doug Conant, CEO, Campbell Soup Company

It doesn't matter if an employee is working remotely or in-office, he is liable to reach out to his employers when needed.

While some of your remote workers might not exactly be vocal with their normal life, try to empathize with them by discussing things of their interest.

Check-in with them and their work to see how they are performing if they need assistance, and if everything is going well with the current work model, you have adopted.

Your presence and support with their daily life could help them achieve their goals much faster instead of you just checking on their numbers and progress.

In conclusion,

Even though this pandemic has forced businesses from startups to conglomerates to choose the remote working environment, it seems that even after the pandemic, many, if not all, businesses would continue to rely on remote working teams.

It is the leaders that will ensure that we sail with this new adaptation -- now, and in the future.

During such times, employees look forward to a leader who understands the agonies and strives to implement strategies that make the overall working experience easy for them. Good work from home experience will lessen the mounting despair that everyone is experiencing.

TransForm Solution a Business process management company has been providing expert talent to businesses for growth and excellence for 18 years now.

To have an expert team on-board to streamline your pandemic-affected business operations mail us on [email protected].