So you’ve decided to start a small business and have decided to go with a remote team. But what does that mean? How can you make sure that your employees are on track and working as efficiently as possible? In this article we’ll cover the most common problems that remote teams face, tips for managing your remote workers, and best practices for keeping them engaged when they’re not in the office.
The Most Common Problems that Remote Teams Face
The most common problems that remote teams face are:
- Lack of communication. It is important to ensure that your team members communicate with you and each other. Miscommunication or a total lack of communcation can lead to mistakes and worsened productivity.
- Bad time management. Since it’s difficult to manage everyone’s schedules, some employees might miss deadlines or appointments due to being too busy working on other projects at the moment. This also can increase anxiety and stress levels in your team, as your employees would be constantly dealing with unmet expectations.
- Loss of motivation: After working remotely for a while, many people start feeling isolated from their coworkers because there isn’t any physical interaction between them anymore. This, coupled with possible burnout from work getting into personal space, can lead to decrease in motivation and productivity.
Overall, remote teams face many challenges when working together. However, there are several methods that can help alleviate some of these problems.
Tips for Remote Team Communication
Communication is the backbone of your remote team. It’s how you convey your goals and instructions to your employees, and how they share their progress with you.
With that in mind, here are a few tips for communicating effectively with your remote team:
- Communicate regularly. The importance of regular communication cannot be overstated—it helps ensure that everyone on the team stays up-to-date on each other’s work and is able to report any problems as soon as possible. To make sure there’s no gap in communication, we recommend scheduling a daily check-in, preferably in the morning. This gives everyone an opportunity to discuss present problems and share what every member is working on.
- Be empathetic. Remember to be kind when responding to emails or messages from employees who need help with something off-the-cuff or urgent; remember that you might not always have all the answers when communicating with someone working remotely!
The most effective way to keep communication flowing is through one-on-one meetings. These should be scheduled at least once per week, but they will vary based on how often each individual employee needs guidance from their manager or supervisor. Be sure to set clear goals for these meetings so that all parties know why they’re happening and what needs to happen by the end of it. Last (but certainly not least), make sure everyone has access to all relevant information about your company’s policies and procedures regarding these meetings.
How to Manage a Remote Team – 4 Best Practices
Now that you have a remote team, how do you manage them? Like with any other team, the key is to set clear goals and communicate often. But since your employees are working remotely, there are additional factors to consider when setting up your communication channels. Here are four best practices for managing a remote team:
- Use project management tools like Asana or Trello to keep everyone on the same page and make sure everyone is aware of what’s happening in each project.
- Use time tracking software like Traqq so that everyone knows how much time they’re spending on each task so they can prioritize more effectively.
- Have a remote work policy in place so that everyone knows what is expected from them while working remotely (e.g., “Emails have to be answered within 1 business day”).
- Have regular meetings with your managers/mentors/supervisors via video chat! The benefits of face-to-face interaction include improved decision making skills and increased employee engagement levels overall; plus it makes it easier for the employees to feel a human connection to each other!
How to Make the Most of Your Remote Workers Time
With the right tools and a bit of training, you can make sure your remote workers are as productive as they can be.
- Set goals with each assignment. When you’re assigning tasks to your remote workers, make sure everyone on your team knows what their single goal is for that task. If it’s not clear what the end result should look like or how long it should take, then you’ll have wasted valuable time and energy checking in on progress every step of the way instead of moving forward with other projects.
- Make deadlines for each task and communicate them clearly to your team members. If a deadline needs to be met by someone else (like a client or an editor), then let them know so they know when they need to hand something back in order for it to get done in time!
Work together as a team. Set up regular meetings where everyone on the remote team can come together and discuss how things are going. These don’t have to be long or formal, but it’s important for everyone involved to check in now and then so that everyone is accountable for their work and progress.
Tips on Keeping Remote Teams Engaged
- Make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Make sure everyone is working on the right thing.
Communication is vital when it comes to keeping a remote team engaged. As remote work implies, not everyone has the same schedule and some people might be more inclined to work at home than others.
It is also important for managers to be flexible about how their employees work. Remote working offers a degree of flexibility that many employees are not used to. Make sure your employees know that they have options and can work whenever they want.
The best managers are also able to adapt their leadership style to fit each individual team member. As you mentioned, not everyone is going to work at the same pace or in the same way. It is important for managers to be able to adapt their leadership style and make sure that each team member feels heard and valued.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different ways that you can manage your remote team. The most important thing is to find a system that works for you and stick with it. Don’t be afraid to try new things—you never know what will work best! Good luck!
