How To Manage Remote Teams

Create communication guidelines

One of the biggest problems with remote work is that communication can be non existent if you crate the wrong environment and your team operates too independently. You must create a team presence through virtual tools to have open and good communication channels so everyone can feel comfortable, otherwise the remote workers will feel remote and forgotten. This is hard for large and hybrid companies because they lack the infrastructure to connect their remote and physical teams. A company has be transparent and keep the flow of information through a dedicated channel so everyone knows what is happening within that team.

Communication guidelines should be shared with new staff and you should communicate the following things with your team:

• How the team prefers to communicate (texts, emails, chats, phone, video meetings, etc.)?

• When the team prefers to communicate (daily, weekly, monthly)?

• What is the process for temporary work remote so employees can notify their team members when they are working remotely?

Delegate responsibilities

One of your primary duties is to delegate work and tasks. This is even more important if you are managing remote workers. Read the tips below:

• Identify the work process and procedures.

• Break down any projects into smaller tasks.

• Set clear expectations and goals.

• Identify the team members and assign responsibilities.

• Use a task management application or a project management system.

• Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more.

• Put a system in place where you can generate reports and view analytics.

• Create deadlines and incentivize the work.

Create standards for productivity

People are different and they can have different schedules, so it's important to have quality measurements in place.

Set certain timeframes like daily, weekly or monthly.

Set milestones for tasks or for overall projects.

Collect data to help with future planning and budgeting.

Make sure to offer the right tools to your workers

If your team members work from home, they can find themselves not having the right tool kits they would normally have in the office environment.
The tools they need will vary according to the industry and responsibilities. We at Alic Consulting care about providing the proper tools and systems to our work remote staff. This allows our team do complete their tasks more efficiently.

Be sensitive to overworking and overloading

As a manager, you should be careful not to assign too much work or to impose tight deadlines. Be available for discussions with your team. Ask them how they feel, and if they are experiencing too much pressure. Make sure to adjust their work to make things easier for them. Here are some tips.

• Set time limits on how long people can work without taking a break.

• Talk about creating an ideal work-life balance.

• Create an atmosphere for exercise and physical activity so they have time time to walk and clear their minds.

• Gather feedback from your teams.

These tips apply both to the office and remote environment. We cannot stress enough how important feedback is. If you want to create a safe and happy environment for your employees and keep the ones that are worth keeping, then listen to their feedback.
Create polls or simply ask them one on one what they think about your approach and what they would change. At Alic Consulting, our team has a strong voice that impacts our judgment and helps us create the perfect environment for all of our staff.

Emphasize one on one meetings

One on one conversations are very important when having a remote team. This offers your staff a chance to address issues they might be afraid to bring up during team meetings. It is also a great way to check in with team members about their roles in the company and how they are they feeling.

Bring the team together physically

It is important to have these in-person meetings once in a while, because it allows us to interact and create long lasting relationships. Some examples include, lunches, dinners, or picnics with all of your employees. This could also be brining everyone together for trainings, workshops, meetings, or team games. Bringing everyone together can help create connections and foster a better work atmosphere.

Provide emotional support

Being alone at home and working full time in the same spot can be a problem for some people. You can show support to your team members by simply asking them to tell you things. Ask them how they feel and practice empathy. You need to hear and also understand their problems.

Be flexible

It's hard to manage large remote teams, and it could be difficult to exercise flexibility. However, it's important to provide a certain amount of flexibility so people can achieve their idea of work-life balance. You can do this with flexible working hours, where your staff can make up missed hours. In addition, you can provide a platform where they can choose tasks sorted by complexity, time required or some other criteria so your team can feel empowered by organizing their days on their own.

One last tip

Our last tip is to research and use all the great tools and apps out there on the internet to your advantage. Technology will make communication and management easier for you and replicate that connection we lose when we transition away from the office. Whether you are managing a remote team of 10 or 100 people, there is always a way to make the home office productive and more engaging.