How to Manage Your Remote Employees

It can be very difficult to manage your remote team. The coronavirus outbreak is forcing companies to take strict measures. These measures will help companies in protecting their workforce from this outbreak. Companies are asking their on-site employees to work from their homes. It is the manager’s responsibility to take care of their team members. They need to ensure that their team is working at an optimum level. These circumstances are forcing companies to embrace remote working. In this article, we are going to share some tips that will help you in managing your remote workers.

1. Set Clear expectations

Most employees don’t know anything about remote work. It is important to have clear expectations from your employees. You should set goals for every employee. Also, you should help them in solving their issues.

Your employees should know about the work that they have to do every day. This will help them in focusing on the tasks. You should use work project management platforms like Asana or Trello. These tools will help you in keeping track of all your projects. Also, you can track your assignments by using these tools. If you are setting your tasks clearly, then your team members can easily focus on them. Thus, they will be accountable for those tasks.

2. Communication is important

Communication is very important if you want to manage your remote workers. It is even important when you are managing on-site workers. However, communication is more important when you are managing remote workers. If you are not communicating with your employees, then they will feel disconnected.

Most remote workers think that communication is the biggest challenge with remote work. There are various tools that you can use for communicating with your team members. Slack is currently the best tool for communicating with your employees. You can use team communication tools for managing your employees.

You should also hold virtual meetings with your employees. Many companies are using Zoom for communicating with their employees. This will help you in maintaining the team spirit. Also, you should ask your team members about their preferred communication mode. Some team members prefer using a group chat for communicating. However, some team members prefer short calls for discussing their ideas. If you are communicating efficiently with your team, then their efficiency will automatically increase.

3. Use collaboration tools

Good communication is very important for effective collaboration. You should give cloud-based tools to your remote workers. This will help them in working together. You can use tools like Facebook Workplace and MS Teams for increasing the efficiency of your remote teams.

Your employees should have access to your company documents and information. This will help them in working remotely. Your remote workers can use tools like Box, Dropbox and G Drive for storing their documents. These platforms will automatically sync all the files of your employees.

Your employees can also tool like Miro or Limnu for developing ideas together. These tools are online whiteboarding platform. Thus, your team members can work on the same idea.

If you want your remote employees to work optimally, then you should give them effective collaboration tools. You should find the best tools for your remote workers. We have already talked about the best tools for remote workers. You can use these tools for effectively collaborating with your team members.

4. Accommodate Flexible schedules

Most people like remote work due to its flexible schedule. It is the most important benefit of working remotely. The situation is very different now for remote workers. Most kids are staying at home. Thus, you should understand the situation of your employees. You should allow them to create their own working schedule.

5. Provide feedback

You should provide the right tools to your remote workers. After that, you should provide regular feed to your remote workers. This will ensure that your employees are working optimally. According to a report by Gallup, only 17% of workers receive regular feedback.

It is important to provide regular feedback to your remote workers. This will help them in improving their productivity. You can use feedback apps for providing feedback. Your team members should also give feedback to each other.

6. Team-building

Many people think that the office is only a workplace. However, it is a place where your employees come together. They talk about their failures and victories. Most employees spend a lot of time with their colleagues. If your employees are working remotely, then they will miss out on team building. You can’t share your pizza with your team members. Thus, it can be difficult to bond with your other team members.

If you want your teams to work efficiently, then you should focus on building your team. You can achieve this by using chat platforms like Slack. Managers can set up a Casual channel for their team members. They can share random stuff on this channel. Sometimes your employees can even share their personal moments in this channel. This will help you in building your team. Most people are worried about the recent pandemic. Thus, it is important to talk with your team members. This will help you in diverting your mind from the recent events. Your employees should also stay calm during this pandemic. You can share funny videos with your employees. Also, you should communicate with everyone on your team. This will ensure that they are not feeling alone during this period.

Conclusion

The work environment is changing rapidly with time. Thanks to technology, your employees can work from their homes. The coronavirus outbreak is forcing every business to embrace remote work. Every business is now dependent on their remote team. Your employees can use cloud technologies for completing their work from home. There are various challenges that come with remote work. However, you can easily overcome this challenge. Managers should help their team members in overcoming these challenges. It is also important to regularly communicate with your remote team members. You can use the tips mentioned in this article for managing your employees. These tips will help you in easily managing your remote employees. If you need more tips regarding remote work, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.