Remote work has been the norm for many startups for years now. For most companies, in-house employment still helps them manage their workforce better. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to businesses around the world and forced them to change their operation and work strategies.
\r\nThis may sound familiar to you, with the set lockdowns forcing you to lay off some of your employees or put them to work from home. You may have also considered business process outsourcing to continue your operations.
\r\nWhether you use remote or outsourced teams, you should learn how to properly manage them through these times. Below are some of the best practices in managing your remote team.
\r\nManaging your remote team can go into extremes. When you don't manage them properly, you might end up micromanaging or having little to no control.
\r\nWhen you imply too little to no supervision, you lax too much on your team you end up letting them do what they want. This may bring confusion for them in doing their tasks, especially for the first time. As a result, their output may be different from expected or might be delayed.
\r\nThis is why you need to supervise them regularly. Find time to check up on them, their tasks, and if they experience difficulties in doing it. Use screen monitoring software to help them feel that you are there and available should they have any questions.
\r\nMicromanaging, meanwhile, gives you too much control in supervising your staff. While it is important to check up on them regularly, bugging them every time with reminders and monitoring their activities can wear down their work productivity.
\r\nTrust them with their tasks. Give them space to do their work properly and simply track their progress through different tools. Working from home can be challenging since they also need to take care of their family. Also, your workers are not robots. Give them time for their families especially in these times.
\r\nOnline tools are there to help you work with your remote team. Instead of keeping long threads of email for every project, you can have different tools for project management, documentation, and communication. Choose the right tools that are:
\r\nYou cannot just depend on your online tools to track their progress. You should check up on the welfare and performance of your employees to find out what’s going on while they're deployed.
\r\nOne of the challenges of working remotely is maintaining the productivity of your team. They may get distracted by household chores, kids, pets, and social media especially since communicating with friends and updating social media feed is one click away. Increase your team’s productivity through these ways:
\r\nWorking from home can be more difficult during these times. The isolation due to extensive lockdowns can affect their motivation at work. An article from Harvard Business Review states that working from home when an employee has no other choice on where to work lowers down motivation drastically. This creates a bigger challenge in managing your team.
\r\nYou can take these several measures to motivate your staff:
\r\nOne of the key motivators at work is having a strict process, rule, and procedure. It is important to review your in-house processes, adapt it to your new work setup, and train your employees on how to do their tasks online. Implement your tools to your procedures to keep your workflow smooth. Working remotely can be like working in an office when you get the hang of it.
\r\nLetting them solve problems while considering their capacity during these times is still possible. Find a balance between the two to set challenging yet realistic tasks for your team. Trim out the non-essential workload they do in the office and retain the essential ones. This helps them get motivated to do more and become more efficient at their work.
\r\nInspiring them to do a good job is more important during these times. Praise and acknowledge them for a job well done during online meetings. Give them a reward or a little token of appreciation at the end of the month. It may not be a grand one due to the limitations of working from home, but it helps them to do better and make them feel they are appreciated.
\r\nLastly, effective communication should be your top priority. Since you cannot talk to each other physically, a simple misinterpretation over chat is a possible hindrance to your team.
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