Manage remote teams better with 3 easy tips

With the global pandemic that is coronavirus sweeping the country, more and more businesses have adapted telecommuting. Even before all this, working from home has steadily become an option for more companies around the world.

This is even more true for small businesses that are more agile and adaptable to change, or maybe not have their own physical office yet. Some benefits of working from home that employees find is that the increased flexibility also allows for increased productivity, simply because employees have an easier time adjusting.

Telecommuting, however, also presents some challenges. Two core issues from business owners are difficulty in tracking what remote employees are working on and creating a cohesive team of remote workers.

Check out these tips on how you can effectively manage your remote teams:

Promote communication and accountability

Let your team know that you are tracking results and have defined expectations for each role. Some methods of making sure your remote team knows what is expected of them is:

• Setting up a daily work log that your remote team can use and share to report their progress on ongoing tasks and projects.
• Use a project management system to exchange messages, assign tasks and monitor projects rather than relying solely on email.
• Determine key indicators for success for each remote worker and share these indicators with your employees (these might be daily, weekly or monthly goals).
• Conduct regular reviews with remote workers to assess their performance.

Build your company culture and include remote workers

Positive work culture and employee engagement are quickly becoming top priorities for business managers who want to retain top talent. These tips will help your remote workers feel just as valued and validated as your in-house team.

Every great company also has a great company culture. At Carbon, our company culture is something that we’re very proud of, and this is how we manage to retain and attract top talents in the industry. Some ways on how you can make your remote staff feel connected to their team and retain the company culture are:

• If your in-house workers enjoy a monthly pizza party, don’t forget to include your remote workers. Invite them to attend, have a meal delivered to them or offer a gift certificate to a favourite restaurant.
• Get to know and spend time with your remote workers, just as you would with in-house staff. Set aside a few moments each day to inquire about their families, personal interests, recent challenges and successes.
• Consider pairing up remote workers to complete complex tasks. You’ll improve efficiency while helping remote workers feel like part of the team.

Thinking of getting started on telecommuting?

Weigh the risks and benefits of working from home for you and your team. If you aren’t sure about how it will turn out in terms of productivity, try giving your staff one or two days in a week where they work remotely and see the difference in their output. Some business owners have also started hiring remote workers from other regions in order to save on costs and other benefits.

Teamwork and trust are vital in maintaining a healthy and productive remote working environment. Foster stronger relationships and allow the opportunity for your staff to feel connected and part of the company by having monthly catchups on-site. Carbon Business Systems can help you get set up with software for you and your team to assist reporting, timesheets, and payroll.

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