Due to COVID-19, almost all companies have to shift to work from home. It is challenging for everyone to manage their work remotely. But it was even more difficult for a manager. So, are you a manager? And looking for ways to manage your team remotely online? If yes, then you are not alone.
Around 290 million managers and others are collectively looking for ways to manage their employees successfully. In this article, we will try to find a solution for managing remote teams effectively.
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What Is a Remote Team?
A remote team is a group of professionals working in an organization remotely. Each member of the organization is living in a different region and working from home.
Major Challenges and Solutions of a Remote Team
- Communication Breakdown
Communication breakdown is a failure of communication. It is a common problem for employees working remotely. It often happens because of various reasons, such as:
- No Communication Plan: A manager has to maintain good communication between employees, clients, and service providers. But without a proper plan, it can be difficult for them.
- Leaders Do Not Communicate Well: In an organization, most of the information is limited to the top executives. They are responsible for sharing useful insights with the other members. But if they don’t, it could jeopardize the workflow.
- Language Barrier: Language barriers can become a major setback in a company especially if your organization has employees belonging from different states, ethnicity, or country.
- Lack of Communication: Lack of communication between employees can also be a roadblock to the productivity of your fleet.
Solution for solving it in an organization:
- Arrange Team Meetings: Arrange regular team meetings to streamline communication in your fleet and penetrate the information to the lower levels of the organization. In such meetings, the manager should share important insights.
Additionally, take the opinions of the other employees too in different decisions.
- Keep A Check on List of The Jobs: Before you start working, make a list of jobs you have to complete on the day. From maintenance dates to dispatch, keep a list of everything and schedule the plans accordingly.
- Schedule Interactive Session: You should schedule periodic sessions for your employees. Use these sessions to improve communication between your team. In such sessions, your team members can share their problems, grieves, and ideas.
Company Culture
By company culture, we mean the values, beliefs, and attitudes of an organization. It differs from company to company. It is an important company because it decides the finance, employee retention, productivity, etc.
But managing company culture remotely is a difficult job. Why? Because your employees are not aware of the culture when they are not experiencing it. So, you should ensure that your remote employees are aware of the company policies and communication etiquette. You can make this process easy by organizing video conferences, team meetings, assignments, etc.
Provide Resource
You cannot work efficiently without proper tools and equipment, especially while working remotely. You should ensure that your employees have a working laptop or desktop, a stable internet connection, and a proper desk to work. You can provide them one if your company has a policy. Otherwise, ask them to buy one.
Information Accessibility
Another important struggle of working remotely is information accessibility. Why? Data is precious for a company so it takes various measures to protect it. In the meanwhile, it restricts the access of data. But employees need to access certain information to carry out their work smoothly.
You can solve these problems by:
- Setting up a necessary cybersecurity policy.
- Rely on a remote access software
- Use data authentication
- Two-way data encryption
- Privilege system
- Cybersecurity training programs
Take Help of Tools
Technology is a boon for humans and hence you should take advantage of it. Tools such as Google hangouts, Microsoft teams, zoom, GMeet, can help you to manage your team efficiently. These tools can help you to communicate, manage, and work efficiently.
Employees Isolation
Another common challenge of working remotely is employee isolation. It is common for employees to work remotely but as a manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are doing the work. Also, that the employees have sufficient information and tools to carry out those work.
Breakdown Responsibilities
As a manager of a company, it is your responsibility to delegate work and responsibilities to the employees.
- Have a good understanding of what needs to be done by the respective employee
- Simplify the work to-do list
- Select the correct employee for a suitable task
- Take advantage of a good task management software
- Arrange regular meetings to discuss
- Provide good incentives
Accountability
You can also use the sense of responsibility of your employees and hold them accountable for the work. Allocate work to your employees and set deadlines. Give a token of appreciation to those who complete them in time and give advice to those who cannot. Moreover, use performance indicators like KPI, OKR, and SMART to assess the work progress of your employees.
Unseen Distractions
There are several distractions for an employee while working remotely. How? Doorbells, mom’s calls, children crying, etc.
But how can you help your employees with it? Here are the following tips to do so:
- Talk to your employees to block their calendars for work, leisure time, and other important tasks.
- Set goals to complete in a week.
- Ask them to make a separate room or desk to arrange for work.
- Allocate a remote computer for work.
Set Limits to Avoid Overtime
As a manager, you are responsible to delegate work but not extra that it interferes with the personal life of a person. You should be open for discussion to identify and resolve problems then employee’s issues.
Final Words
At first, it may seem difficult to manage your team virtually. But with some effort and technology, you can make this possible.
On top of that, as soon as the situation comes into control make sure to open the office on site. But till then, stay safe and secure at your home. And manage your team with the help of tools and the following tips.
Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.
