The key is adapting management practices to nurture engagement, wellness and productivity despite geographic separation. With the right approach, remote teams can actually outperform those in traditional office settings. The best practices for managing a remote workforce in today’s environment:
Over-Communicate
Hold standing team meetings via video chat to align on priorities and demonstrate that collaboration is still important. Give public recognition when goals are achieved. Create channels through services like Slack for employees to connect with each other. The goal is to replicate the conversations that would normally happen spontaneously in an office.
Focus on Results
Offer autonomy with accountability. Make sure deadlines don’t slip and that productivity remains consistent, but allow employees discretion in their daily schedules. A thorough situational analysis explores the evolving dynamics of remote work and offers strategic insights for effective management in this changing landscape.
Embrace Technology
With a remote team, technology becomes the lifeline of your operation. Invest in platforms that allow employees to collaborate, access company resources, track projects, hop on calls and submit requests no matter where they are. Top tools include the G Suite productivity apps, Asana for task lists, Slack for instant messaging, Zoom or GoToMeeting for video conferencing, and cloud storage from GoogleDrive or Dropbox. Don’t forget about cybersecurity when granting remote access. Set secure VPN policies and ensure everyone utilizes strong passwords. To effectively manage remote employees in the new norm, consider implementing employee monitoring software to ensure productivity and accountability.
Maintain Company Culture
Have regular video lunches where team members can catch up personally. Send care packages to employees’ homes. Host contests and give out awards. Set up a virtual watercooler channel where people can bond over shared interests. Maintain beloved office rituals like birthday celebrations or trivia nights using video chat.
Plan to Reconnect
Once public health guidance indicates it is reasonably safe to relax remote work policies, start having conversations about what reopening could look like. Survey employees to determine their comfort level and logistical constraints. Develop a phased approach that brings people back together gradually as community transmission rates decline. Embrace a flexible model that balances office and remote time since many employees will be reluctant to immediately resume a 5-day in office schedule. This blended approach harnesses the best of both worlds.
The global pandemic has certainly accelerated remote work adoption. But virtual teams are likely here to stay in some capacity given the many benefits around flexibility, cost savings and talent recruitment. Companies that leverage digital tools, focus on worker output, over-communicate and maintain an engaging culture will be well positioned to succeed with ongoing remote employee management.
Management Tactics to Support Work at Home Productivity
Here are some effective management tactics to support and enhance productivity for remote employees working from home:
Set clear goals and expectations – Without seeing work being done in-person, managers should set regular SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based) goals and check-in frequently to ensure accountability.
Over Communicate – With less opportunity for impromptu conversations, schedule regular meetings, encourage questions, provide plenty of feedback, praise more than usual. This keeps people motivated.
Promote collaboration – Provide digital tools for collaboration like Slack, Miro whiteboards, and Zoom rooms to enable team conversations and peer learning despite physical separation.
Focus on output – Judge remote employees based on work delivered rather than daily activities or time logged in. Offer more autonomy but maintain accountability.
Enable flexibility – Support flexible schedules that allow employees to manage personal obligations as long as work gets completed. This empowers work-life balance.
Spotlight achievements – Celebrate and reward success publicly. Things like peer recognition, awards, and gift cards take on greater importance when working remotely.
Check in on wellbeing – Without watercooler chats, make an effort for non-work conversations. This safeguards mental health by ensuring people don’t feel isolated.
Invest in home office needs – Set remote workers up for success by covering necessary costs like home office furnishings, internet and phone expenses, software tools and supplies.
Conclusion
Leading remote teams requires pivoting away from traditional face-to-face management habits. Set clear expectations, increase communication, judge employees based on work product rather than hours logged, fully utilize helpful workplace technologies, nurture company culture in creative virtual ways and thoughtfully plan for eventual partial office reopening. Companies that embrace this remote employee framework built on transparency, accountability and flexibility will thrive despite geographic dispersion. By putting robust systems in place, the “new norm” of decentralized teams can become a competitive advantage.
