How to manage remote teams effectively

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, workforces from all industries have been forced to take their business online due to national lockdowns. There have been many advantages to working from home in this way. 

People have found they have to spend less time and money on commuting to and from work, companies have had their overheads significantly decreased as they have not had to rent premises and pay overheads such as gas and electric bills, and flexible working hours have been embraced by the vast majority, especially those with children to look after.

One area that some employers have struggled with, however, is the capacity to monitor just how much (or little) work their employees are completing whilst at home, away from their managers’ watchful eyes. In this article, we’ll look at how best to manage your remote teams for maximum productivity.

Communicate clearly

The best way to be let down by any employee is by not clearly communicating your expectations to them in advance and agreeing to a set time and date by which you expect this goal to have been achieved. 

Be clear and open about what you expect of the people who work for you. This way, they can have no excuses for failing to meet your expectations, and you will have grounds to lead with disciplinary procedures if necessary.

The best way to communicate clearly with your staff is to not only email them instructions but make sure you speak to them. A good method is to place a video call first where you propose the task to them and ask for their feedback on it, along with how long they think this task could take them. This way, you haven’t ordered them around but worked with them to come to a joint solution. Take minutes during your call with them, make them aware you are doing this, and follow the video call up with an email including these minutes and any action plans made. 

As well as communicating clearly, communicating often is essential. Try and book in for at least a 5-minute catch up with each of your team members every 1 to 3 days, depending on the nature of your company.

Build a good rapport with your workers

When leading remote teams, nothing is more important than building a healthy, working relationship with everyone you manage. This comes with its challenges when you can’t physically meet in person. However, there are a few things you could try.

When working in an office, it is commonplace for the institution to hold small rituals such as a ‘treat day’ where cake is provided, or perhaps one day a week you might go for after-work drinks together. These occasions may be harder to replicate with a remote team, but there are ways you can try to replicate them. If you are taking on a new team and looking to get to know them, you could find out what their favourite beverage and snack is, have this delivered to them, and book a time where you all meet for a more informal chat whilst enjoying these items.

Try to always come across as knowledgeable and firm yet approachable. Fill your emails to your team with positive, active verbs, and try to avoid words such as “no”, “don’t”, and “stop”. Nobody likes to be ordered around, and you will get far more out of a team who respects you for what you do, for treating them well, and who they see as enthusiastic about the work that you all do.

Productivity monitoring

There are numerous productivity monitoring apps out there that you could consider using to keep track of your team’s work. However, these apps are not always as effective as intended. According to Forbes, “employees are nearly two times more likely to pretend to be working when their employers use tracking systems to monitor their output.”

Owl Labs also found that “when working from home, 61% of employees would be concerned if their company brought in remote activity and productivity monitoring, with over a third (36%) saying they’d be likely to resign if so”.

If you feel they might work for you and your particular company, productivity monitoring apps could be right for you. They could be best used on a trial period, however, and only continued with if they seem to be working.

RELATED: Top 10 Productivity Trackers for Monitoring Employees

Now that you are better equipped for managing remote teams, depending on Covid-19 restrictions in your region, you could even consider arranging for your staff to meet up in person. 

Although the majority of business can be readily conducted online and via video calls, getting your team together periodically, perhaps once every quarter, is a great way to keep on top of their progress and help you form stronger bonds with your team, to further help you get the best out of them.

If you’re running an online business or working for an organisation that doesn’t have its own premises, hiring a meeting room can be a viable option that is effective, hassle-free, affordable and available in the most convenient location for your team. If not all of your staff can attend in person, finding a meeting room for hire with video conferencing equipment can be a viable option for leading hybrid style meetings where some attendees tune in via video link.