Description: With the world of business embracing remote working, finding ways to connect with your team can be tricky. Here are some tips for managing a remote team.
How To Manage A Remote Team
While the way in which we work each day may have changed, the process guiding our behaviour has remained the same. This has left many employees, managers and other important members of various teams puzzled as to how to make the adjustment.
Think about it. We have gone from being in close contact with our teams, working in the same space, and following the same commute each day. This has all changed. Now, our commute is from the bedroom to the kitchen.
We have been separated from what could easily have been referred to as our hive. In many instances, this change has done the world of good for many businesses. Overhead costs have been reduced and employees seem a lot happier and more productive, get more done in a shorter space of time. With all this said, the question remains, how can you effectively manage your remote team?
5 tips for mastering the art of managing a remote team
- Rules are important
To ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected of them, you need to have a clear set of rules in place to assist in guiding this process. You need to know when a message will do the trick and when an impromptu meeting is required. In the same breath, your team needs to know how to balance their work with their home life, which may be tricky.
- Voice your expectations
While rules are good and well, you still need to enforce them. Make sure that your expectations are set out from the start. You also need to do your part in ensuring that you know what is going on and check-in as you deem it to be necessary.
- Keep it simple
Digital comms is impersonal, and people often read into it more than they should. Try to keep everything you say simple and straight to the point, and do not take offense when responses seem blunt. Consider the context before getting worked up about it. Another thing to remember is that you need to properly communicate what needs to be done in a way that is easy to understand, you’re not in a VR game where everything is in front of you all the time. When in doubt, schedule a virtual meeting.
- Create a structure and routine
Humans are creatures of habit and work best when following a routine. This includes having set working hours as well as regular lunch breaks. This will help keep everyone on track and help plan daily schedules accordingly.
- Video is nice to have
While video calls are the go-to form of communication and you can sign up now with ease, you need to determine whether they are necessary or not. If you want to see your team, schedule a weekly catchup, and keep the rest of your communication limited to text form.
Remote working needs the same backing as office work – a structure to follow, rules to respect and tasks to get done. The only difference is the location.