Remote work has become more common in recent years, and employees have grown accustomed to taking on a lot of personal responsibility, as well as conversing and discussing job assignments and projects via video. But having the entire team working remotely can be a real challenge for companies, especially in today’s world when everything is changing at a fast pace.
Digitization is advancing rapidly and even those companies that previously were hesitant about their employees working from home, now have grown to accept the various tools, structures, and routines in their daily operations. And that is amazing.
However, oftentimes it is easy to forget about the employees and how they still need support, coaching, and motivation to do their job without meeting with their colleagues and managers.
For this reason, in the article below we share the best expert tips on how to manage a remote team effectively and achieve outstanding results.
Use the Right Management Software
Freelancers are those that mostly work remotely and this could be people from all types of industries, anyone from designers, consultants, salespersons, and developers. Keeping track of all the different freelancers you work with can be challenging but with the help of a reliable tool like freelance management software, you can easily keep an eye on who you’re working with and how your projects are progressing.
The right management software will help you get the most out of remote contractors by making sure their skills are being used in the best way possible. This kind of solution will not only help you simplify your workflow, but it will also centralize your information, and handle payments, onboarding, and sourcing easily.
Make Them Feel Appreciated
Even though you don’t get to meet your remote employees daily, you must still make sure they feel appreciated for their work. The first thing to do is establish clear communication as one of the main aspects that affect team productivity.
Everyone wants to know that their efforts are recognized and sometimes they need a little bit more than just a pat on the back from their managers. Think of incentive schemes to keep your workers motivated and engaged.
Gifts never fail to deliver and they can be a surprising and thoughtful gesture that can make a huge difference. Determine your budget, ensure good gifting etiquette, and you can start by sending gifts for celebrations and anniversary milestones. If you feel a bit lost, do some research and you will find excellent work anniversary gifts that can boost a remote worker’s sense of meaning, and, as a result, their motivation and productivity.
Set Expectations and Get Everyone on Board
When starting to work with a more remote team, make sure to have an early meeting with everyone involved in the project to establish expectations, milestones, goals, and visions as early as possible. It is always easier and more fun for everyone involved if they know what is expected of them and have clear goals to work towards.
Breaking down the project into parts can be an extremely effective way to communicate with remote workers and instead of them feeling overwhelmed by the size of the project, the project will immediately become more manageable when it is divided in this way. In addition, it’s easy for everyone to keep track of what is to be achieved, why, how, and when things need to be completed.
Good Communication and Feedback
An important part of creating a safe and trusting environment with your remote workers is to work with feedback. Feedback is an important tool for bringing the group together, finding new solutions, and avoiding conflicts that risk taking the focus away from the work.
For a team to work well together, continuous and constructive communication is also needed where all participants feel listened to and have the opportunity to influence.
Encourage Informal Interaction
Talk about more than just projects and work when you communicate. A functioning team is based on a sense of community and social cohesion. You need to feel close to each other during the distance work to be able to thrive and feel engaged.
Feel free to bring virtual coffee breaks and lunches together. Set aside a few minutes at each team meeting when you are just hanging out and talking about hobbies or interests. Create special channels for informal socializing and virtual breaks. Make it easy for the team to socialize in new ways. Invent fun things together, for example, digital events, competitions, etc.
Train Your Remote Workers
One of the best ways to boost your team’s potential is to organize periodic training. The training could be anything from handling technical work tools to managing time effectively. Depending on what your team works with, you can offer online training or physical training.
The training, whether monthly, quarterly, or yearly, will benefit the success of the enterprises as it increases the efficiency of remote workers. Team leads can show onboarding members the work processes, how to use different tools, the company’s vision and goals, and how to utilize the different work tools and resources.
Final Thoughts
Working remotely is the future of work and if you’re wondering how to manage a remote team, consider the above expert tips and reach a high level of productivity, job satisfaction, and work efficiency.
