Being a leader when not all of your team is in the same room, let alone the same building or city. There are times when you have to start managing your team remotely. In times like these, it is easy to come up short on productivity, communication, and time-management. However, it is not impossible to successfully manage your team remotely. Here are a few tips for you to follow:
Effective Communication
The best way to keep your team working effectively is to have effective communication. If someone has a question, comment, or concern, it’s important that they have ways of reaching out to you in a timely manner. Whether this is through email, video calls, or over the phone, it’s important to be able to speak to your team in real-time. Not only to answer questions but to check in on progress and ensure the work is being done.
Outline Expectations
When someone is in the comfort of their own home, it’s easy for them to feel a little more relaxed than they would if they were in the office. While working in your pajamas does have it’s perks, it’s important to always maintain professionalism and ensure they are working up to your expectations as a leader. Lay down the rules of when they need to work, how much work needs to be done, and whatever other rules need to be stated. These ways, your employees know what to expect.
Be Trustworthy
It’s important to always keep up with your employees and set some guidelines for remote work, but it’s also important to trust that they will do the job they are paid to do. Constantly hounding them over projects or checking in too much can often have the opposite effect and make remote work a hassle. Trust your employees and allow them the independence to do their work productively and successfully.
Have Reliable Tools
Be sure to set your remote team up with the right tools. If their conference calls are constantly dropping and their video calls won’t stop buffering, it’s hard to get their work done. It’s important for remote workers to have reliable tools in order to successfully complete their job. Take their complaints seriously when they raise concerns over the quality of the tools they are given and try to make it as seamless as possible.