The art of managing remote teams has probably never been more pertinent than it is right now.
When it became apparent that the COVID-19 virus is one of those tricky diseases that is easily transmitted from one person to another, governments around the globe quickly reacted by putting social distancing measurements in place.
This included lockdown guidelines which required that every employee who could feasibly do their job from home would be directed to do so. However, remote teams are not a new phenomenon. Flexible working arrangements were a thing even before the emergence of the novel coronavirus and the trail of admin-related ‘what the heck?’ that followed in its wake. In fact, up to 50% of workers report that they work outside the main office 2.5 days a week or more.
There were already 7 million people working remotely in the United States before COVID-19 hit – a number that has grown by 44% in the last five years. Suffice it to say, working from home is not uncommon at all, but it does present a fair amount of challenges for teams who have never worked in this way before.
However, there are ways and means to meet these challenges head on and even turn it to your advantage in certain cases. Here are a few tips on managing remote teams to smooth the way for easier adaptation:
Better teamwork starts with recognition, give bountiXP a try, it’s FREE for 14 days. Click here to get started.
Recognise the challenges of the set-up out loud
Helping your team to adapt to a remote collaboration set-up is not as simple as providing them with a video communication platform and sending them on their merry way to deal with a whole new way of working. Feelings of social isolation are very real for employees who are used to seeing their co-workers and dealing with customers on a face-to-face basis each day.
Managers need to realise that isolation can affect everything from focus and creativity, to team cohesion and employee wellbeing in general. Make a point of talking about it with your employees and be open to finding ways that can help them to feel more healthy, happy and productive in their new work environment.
Read more: 12 Remote employee engagement activities to boost morale today
Be clear about your expectations
Expectations need to be set early and often. Provide clear guidelines, set boundaries and review your basic KPIs on a regular basis so every remote employee knows where they stand. Managers need to be accessible to provide clarity on priorities, milestones, as well as performance goals at all times. If your team members are working according to flexible schedules to accommodate their home life, you need to outline each employee’s availability and ensure that they are reachable when required.
Read more: How can organisational culture be managed with remote working?
Lead by example when it comes to work-life balance
Recent pollings have shown that more than two-thirds, or 69% of employees are experiencing burnout symptoms while working from home. This is partly due to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic increases stress and financial anxiety, but also because remote workers are not taking enough time off to recharge, step away from their work and rest properly.
As such, an important part of managing remote teams is to lead by example when it comes to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Start by keeping employees up to date with regard to policy and staffing changes so they aren’t constantly on the edge of their seat, waiting to see who is made redundant next. Then move on to model behaviour in terms of sending and responding to emails and texts that are sent after hours (hint: you shouldn’t be responding – you need to rest in order to be productive).
Read more: How to motivate remote employees who are new to distance collaboration
No downloads and no software to install. An easy to use employee recognition platform to boost staff performance today. Sign up now, it’s FREE for 14 days. Click here to get started.
Stay organised yet flexible
When employees are working remotely due to policy changes, as opposed to their own free will, it is important to realise that they will be dealing with spatial and situational concerns that would not necessarily be a factor at the office. They may, for instance, be working around their family schedule that requires working early in the morning or late at night for them to get any focussed work done.
As such, it helps to be open to the notion of flexible hours but to be clear about the need for consistency in this regard. Adjust strategies when it becomes apparent that something doesn’t work and keep the lines of communication open at all times.
Celebrate the small wins
Just because you’re not all together at the office, it doesn’t mean any milestones or successes should go uncelebrated. In fact, now is the time to make a big fuss about the small wins if ever there was one. This is relatively simple when you have a user-friendly employee recognition and reward platform like bountiXP in place (check out our free trial here).
However, shining the spotlight on people who are performing well despite the challenges of remote working can also be as simple as opening your morning meeting with a virtual pat on the back. The most important thing is to be timeous and specific in your praise, and to follow it up with a suitable reward when possible to encourage repeat patterns of behaviour.
Track progress and set guidelines for collaboration
When employees are new to working from home, it helps to provide them with a semblance of the structure they’d have at the office. Start by choosing a project platform that makes it simple to create a schedule that breaks down their responsibilities into different tasks that can be ticked off once it’s completed. Our brains prioritise instant gratification, which is why ticklists and checklists work so well.
Also take the time to set guidelines for collaboration and teamwork. When there are certain dependencies in place for one employee to get their work done (i.e. their co-worker needs to complete a design or sign off on direction), it can cause friction when a bottleneck occurs. Emphasise communication, agree on acceptable behaviour for virtual collaboration and refine expectations and responsibilities as you go along. Stop to recalibrate whenever necessary.
Following these guidelines will make it a lot simpler to adapt your team management style to suit the needs of a remote workforce. Check back soon for more insider info on communication tools, project management, teamwork in general, and managing remote teams in particular.
Employee recognition has the power to completely transform your business . Let bountiXP help you do just that. Sign up for a FREE 14-day trial now, click the button below to get started.