The Pandemic and the resulting lockdown brought a massive change to our lives. The new normal, as it is called, was anything but normal. How companies work also changed due to the restrictions, and remote work became the primary work mode. A whopping 15% of job opportunities in the US today are remote.
But the remote work mode comes with many challenges of its own. After all, managers need help managing remote teams. So, those working remotely pose an even more significant challenge.
So, are there ways you can get the most out of an employee who is working remotely? Fortunately, there are ways you can do it. And in this article, we will talk about seven ways to work well with remote employees.
Did You Know?
A Study involving 61,000 Microsoft employees found remote work to be bad for communication between teams.
3 Challenges Faced by Remote Teams
Miscommunication
Say whatever you may about working from the office, lack of communication is never a problem. And it is a massive challenge when working remotely. Many remote workers feel alienated within a team and it can seriously hamper their productivity.
After all, 71% of employees say they feel more productive when they are able to communicate well with their colleagues. Similarly, research suggests that 97% of employees believe that lack of communication affects their efficacy on a daily basis.
Managers also find it hard to establish a smooth communication flow with each remote employee. As a result, the entire team suffers in terms of productivity.
So, if a significant chunk of your workforce is working remotely, it becomes even more important to be in constant touch with every member of the team.
Distractions
Say whatever you may about working from the office, lack of communication is never a problem. And it is a massive challenge when working remotely. Many remote workers feel alienated within a team and it can seriously hamper their productivity.
According to a survey, 53.1% of employees report they find it hard to separate their work life and non-work life with the remote work mode. The urge to switch on the TV, check the score, or even take a casual stroll during working hours is all part of it.
In addition to that, Social Media is always there to distract you even when you have a lengthy to-do list to take care of. So, among the challenges faced by remote teams, social media has to be up there with the most problematic.
Lack of Social Interactions
When teams work from the office, there is always a lot of interaction. From pulling office pranks on one another to brainstorming sessions, there is always some sort of social situation to attend to.
In fact, during the pandemic, 33% of employees mentioned the lack of social interaction as the primary challenge of working from home. Naturally, this lack of interaction can derail the productivity of some teams.
In addition to that, a Gallup survey found that disengaged employees at work lead to the loss of $7 trillion in productivity every year!
Did You Know?
A Whopping 82% of employees today prefer working from home!
So, are you also wondering how to manage remote team and help them reach their potential? Read on to find out.
Strategies to Work Well with Remote Employees
Side with Inclusiveness
When working remotely, your team will have members from a diverse set of cultures. That’s where inclusiveness comes in. In fact, companies identified as being diverse and inclusive are more likely to outperform their competitors.
And when a huge chunk of your workforce is working remotely, this becomes even more important. After all, if a segment of your remote workforce feels isolated, they will never be able to contribute to the best of their potential.
So, remote employees must feel like they are a part of the company’s plans. There are several ways a company can do that. Some ways include:
- Involve all members of the team in meetings, irrespective of how much they are willing to contribute to the discussion.
- Whenever you are giving out rewards for good performance, make sure they are fair to one and all.
- Offer equal support to each team player and make them feel like their problems are being heard.
Set Expectations Early
This is something that you should start right from the hiring process. Make it clear to every candidate you are hiring for remote work about what you expect from them. With clear and direct communication, to begin with, it will become much easier for you to manage remote teams.
As mentioned above, lack of communication is among the prominent challenges remote teams face. In fact, both executives and workers tout lack of direct communication as the main reason behind workplace failures.
Tell the new hires about the company culture and how everyone at the organization is expected to contribute. This way, your remote employees will also have a clear idea of what they have to deliver.
By setting expectations early, you also set a roadmap for your remote teams to follow. This becomes especially important when you have multiple remote teams working for you!
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Communicate More Often
In the point above, we talked about how direct your communication should be. But that was about the quality. This point is about quantity! It emphasizes how often you should communicate with your remote teams.
Be it taking performance reviews on a weekly basis or conducting a one-to-one session with team members, there are a lot of ways you can ensure frequent communication.
Another important thing managers need to remember while managing remote workers is to show empathy. Ensuring meaningful two-way communication requires you to listen to what the other person says.
So, even when you sit on weekly check-ins with your remote employees, make sure the conversation is healthy on both ends.
Similarly, things as little as wishing good morning in a warm and friendly manner can help you strengthen the bond with your remote employees. In a nutshell, communication more often is all about reaching out to your team.
Resist Micromanaging
According to a survey, more than half of employees have been micromanaged and they feel it massively huts their productivity. And let’s be honest, nobody likes to be micromanaged at work. Especially when it comes to remote work, micromanagement builds a wall of mistrust between the manager and employees.
Also, it happens when managers try too hard to get the most out of their workforce. And when you do that with your remote employees, they will most likely lose motivation and start thinking of switching jobs.
Managers should rather try to set out goals and let their employees be. If they will have clearly defined goals, they will most likely work hard to reach them!
Did You Know?
Nearly 70% of employees who are micromanaged, consider changing jobs because of that!
Conduct Daily Check-ins
Remote workers are more likely to feel detached from the team. And that’s why daily check-ins are a good idea to keep them on their toes. Firstly, it is a wonderful way to keep your remote employees motivated.
Remember, these check-ins should not feel like a review of their task list. If you are not careful, it can simply feel like micromanaging to many employees. So, you must get the wording right when conducting daily check-ins on your remote employees!
The 85% of employees who do not always feel engaged at work will definitely feel included if you decide to conduct these daily check-ins.
Acknowledge a Job Well Done
When an employee does well, what do they want? Obviously, they would want the senior leadership and their managers to appreciate their efforts. Especially when we’re talking about managing remote teams, it is a must for managers to show them the appreciation they deserve!
Research suggests that simply by appreciating the good work done by your remote employees, your company can leap ahead of the competition by a whopping 66%. After all, if your employees will feel valued, they will try even harder to do well and share your company’s goal.
Conduct Remote Social Interactions
As mentioned above, the lack of social interactions is a major challenge when dealing with remote teams. For the employees at the individual level too, not having anything except a screen to work with can be quite monotonous.
You can find out ways to have weekly social interactions among members of your remote teams. Remember, these interactions don’t always have to be about work.
The focus, instead, should be on strengthening the bond among your employees and the same with you and other managers!
Many reports suggest that 90% of employees feel they are more productive while working from home!
The Final Verdict
Remote work is here to stay. This is a fact that every company will do too well to accept as it is. So, you will have to find ways to extract the best out of your employees who are working from home.
Naturally, there will be challenges like the occasional miscommunication. But the key is to maintain a smooth communication flow with each and every one of your remote employees. If you manage to do that, you are sure to get the most out of your remote teams.
Lastly, setting clear and time-bound goals is incredibly important whenever you are managing remote workers. So, may you set those goals, and may your remote teams pounce at them and achieve them in no time!
Hope the article was helpful to you!
