Last Updated on Apr 8, 2020 by James W
Remote work can be a godsend for your startup–whether you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades or someone with a niche skill. About 91% of remote workers feel they are more productive at home than they would be in an office environment.
Millennials indeed love the flexibility of working from home. But, managing remote employees can come with some challenges. Here are four ways you can build a more productive and efficient remote team.
Be a Great Communicator
Great and seamless communication is key to building the efficiency of your remote team. Communicating remotely can be a challenge. But, you can use a combination of tools and processes to make it more efficient. You must keep the communication lines clear, specific, and easy to follow.
Make the most out of video conferencing platforms like Google and video chat apps like Skype. They allow you to pick up on body language and read facial expressions. Slack is also a popular and efficient medium for remote teams.
Encourage employees to keep you posted on the work they’ve done. To make this effective, they can use tools like Google Docs. You need to set clear expectations and regular communication protocols.
Foster Meaningful Connections
Many think that the average remote worker sleeps in until noon, logs off when they feel like it, and wears pajamas all day long. People who have wrong perceptions about work-at-home employees may forget that they are social creatures just like anyone.
Create a team ritual that will help you bond with one another. As a seasoned entrepreneur, you can offer your team members advice on how to make the most of tax returns or how to manage their pension funds. Younger employees may not have much experience in dealing with such stuff. When they see that you’re looking out for them, they will certainly appreciate the gesture. You could also organize team building activities that would help different teams to get to know each other.
Use Workforce Management Software
Project management tools are an absolute must for building the efficiency of your remote team. Keeping track of what everyone is doing is not easy, not even in an office environment. To make the most of management software, you’ll probably need more than one solution.
If you have a sizeable remote team, you can use employee attendance tracking software to manage employee vacation requests and time off. There are even software hiring solutions that can help you hire pre-vetted niche talent. To set objectives and dive deeper into team meetings, you can use a platform like 15Five. Such software can help you identify blind spots and take some burden off. Software solutions can bring more transparency to your business.
Invest in Team Development
As a leader, you need to do much more than simply delegate work and then wait until it’s done. If you want to be a great leader, you need to invest time and effort into training and developing your team–continually.
This may be a challenge with a distributed workforce, but established businesses have found a way to overcome this obstacle. GitHub, for instance, offers an annual development and learning stipend to their workers. They can use it to learn what, how, and when they want. That can encompass mentoring, workshops, conferences, or books. More than half of GitHub’s global employees work from home.
Provide your remote team with a chance to pursue and learn about their interests–within their work. You must make an effort to familiarise yourself with the learning styles and unique needs of each employee. It may seem like it’s too demanding, but it’s definitely worth it if you want your remote team to stick around long-term.
By Michael Deane
Michael has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit. You can read more of Michael’s work at https://www.qeedle.com/.
