How To Effectively Manage A Remote Team

How To Effectively Manage A Remote Team

Today, working remotely or working from home has become commonplace for us.

The Statista website reports that 35 percent of respondents work remotely from time to time, and 16 percent of them are remote employees working full-time.

Thus, managing dispersed employees has become an essential skill. Many managers and department heads are looking for training on organizing a team for long-term remote work.

In the near future, remote work will likely remain widespread, and many will have to deal with how to manage their remote team effectively.

How To Organize A Team For Long-Term Remote Work?

For your team to tune in and deliver results effectively, you need a strategy and some rules. 

Regardless of whether you will organize a sales team in your store or a software development company, you will need advice.

Below, we have described a few examples of ensuring smooth remote work and effective remote team management.

1. Create a permanent communication channel

The main problem of remote work is to have high-quality and constant communication with your employees. You often may not find your employee online, or he does not know how to get through to you to solve the problem.

Therefore, you need to have advanced communication techniques on your team. Make sure in advance which channels you will use to make calls, hold meetings, where you will track the results of your work, and what frequency of meetings will be during the day.

2. Establish a clear work schedule for the team

Now you do not see at any given time whether your employee is at work. However, you do not have to enforce this setting strictly. Quite the opposite: be flexible. Flexibility is the key to telecommuting. It would be best to inform employees at what time they should be at the workplace and perform the required amount of work.

3. Establish clear roles and responsibilities of employees

The roles and responsibilities of your team should be prominent. Forbes writes that employee’s duties allow them to fully execute their work alone while receiving input from others electronically. When everyone knows their roles and responsibilities clearly, this process is easy for remote work.

It is essential at group meetings to summarize the job done, discuss errors and preconception stones that could arise in solving problems and receive feedback from employees.

4. Implement access to valuable tools at work

Do not let the process of work take its course. The telecommuter also needs tools and valuable tools to get the job done. Providing staff with such things will only play into your hands – after all, you want to get a good result in the end. Make sure your team is equipped with all the software and digital solutions they need to do their job effectively.

Summary

Managing remote teams can be tricky. However, if you can agree on a process, communicate with your team, and have tools to track your performance, it’s easier than you think.