12 Essential Tips for Managing a Remote Team
12 Essential Tips for Managing a Remote Team
With the rise of remote work, managing a team virtually has become the new normal. However, as much as hybrid and remote work is becoming the new normal, managing a remote team comes with its own set of challenges. In this blog post, we will provide you with 11 tips to successfully manage your remote team and improve collaboration. Additionally, we will discuss the importance of regular touchpoints, and how using the right software and having a nice approach can help make remote collaboration easier.
Remote work has risen for several reasons, including advancements in technology, changing attitudes towards work-life balance, and the need for companies to attract and retain talent. The rise of cloud-based applications, video conferencing tools, and other collaboration software has made it easier for teams to work remotely, while changing attitudes towards work have led to a desire for more flexibility and autonomy - people love to be able to work from anywhere in the world and embrace the digital nomad culture. Additionally, with the globalisation of the workforce, it has become increasingly easy for companies to attract and retain top talent, regardless of their location.
If you are here reading this you probably have an online business, and are looking for ways to adapt by developing strategies that support remote collaboration and make your life easier. Here are some tips to help you manage your online business in a remote work environment, you can thank us later:
Set Clear Expectations
Setting clear expectations is critical for remote teams, as it ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. You may assume that everyone is on the same page as you, but quite often everyone develops their own understanding of both the job and what is required of them to do. By setting clear guidelines you are ensuring everyone is clear on what they shouldk do and you can rest knowing that the team is not confused or underdelivering.
When setting expectations, be specific about the outcomes you expect, the deadlines for completing tasks, and any performance metrics you will use to evaluate success. The easiest way to do this is simpler than it sounds - have systems in place and especially an on-boarding process. Remote onboarding can get tricky and you want to make your new team member feel welcome to the team.
The more detailed your systems are and the more detailed guidelines you have in place for your employees - the more of a chance they will stick to the rules.
How to set clear expectations?
As simple as this:
When you get new joinees, get to meet their team on calls, set up 1:1s with those they’ll be working with (might have to coordinate with people from multiple time zones) and allow them to get to know each other. Make the process of on-boarding fun - inform your existing team and make them think of an interesting story to share or an introductory to break the ice.
Ensure the new joiner has regular calls with their mentor/colleague they will be spending most time with, so they collaborate well.
Have FAQs, tutorials or processes in place so it’s crystal clear what they need to be doing and where everything is. For example, you may want to start a Notion document explaining where they can find everything by department. New joinees might also take longer to ease themselves into the system, get comfortable with the new culture, and bring their A-game to work - allow them time to get used to their new role.
Make Regular Communication Top Priority
Did you know that 2 in every 5 employees struggles with communication when working remotely?
Regular check-ins are a great way to ensure that your remote team members are staying on track and getting the support they need and the occasional check-in is also important - especially for those team members that seem to be quieter on your Zoom calls.
Set regular check-ins to discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. These conversations can also help build relationships and increase engagement among team members - you can for instance create weekly meetings with a set agenda but also have a fortnightly ‘digital drink’ or meet up in person if you live in the same country. You can also add to your own reminders to regularly check on a different person from the team on a private 1:1 call that has nothing to do with their work. This creates a safe environment for them, which we will look at the importance of in the next point.
Using the right communication app with your team can make this easier but setting boundaries is also important and we will discuss this later.
Encourage Transparency
Encouraging transparency among your remote team members helps to promote trust and open communication. But this can be easier said than done when working remotely.
Find ways that work to encourage team members to share their progress, challenges, and ideas with each other - you can try and gamify the process by creating a quiz or an online ‘circle’ where everyone get to talk about work and non-work related issues.
When issues arise, encourage team members to speak up and address them in a timely manner. Easy way to do this? Set clear targets and gamify them - when working, try to use a leaderboard in place for say, the most new leads generated or clients reports files. Update the board regularly on Slack and mention a reward that the weekly winner will get. Could be something silly like a personalised mug, or you could go further and offer tickets to a concert for instance.
Foster a Collaborative Environment
Collaboration is essential for remote teams, as it helps to build trust, promote innovation, and create a sense of community. In person events are happening less since Covid, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t create a collaborative environment online.
How to achieve this? Have weekly stand-ups where you encourage team members to share their ideas and provide feedback to one another or do polls to gather their opinion. Arrange digital lunches together. Consider using the right software to create virtual brainstorming sessions, set up the correct project management tools in place and make the most of the software available that will help with this process. Few examples of good software for virtual mind-mapping:
FigJam by Figma: Figma is primarily a design tool, but it also has a collaborative whiteboard feature called FigJam, which allows teams to create and collaborate on sticky notes, diagrams, and other visual artefacts in real-time - you can upvote ideas in seconds or draw together. It also integrates well with other Figma design files.
Miro: Miro is a popular online whiteboard tool that allows teams to collaborate in real-time, create mind maps, flowcharts, and diagrams. It offers a variety of templates and integrations, making it a versatile tool for remote teams.
MindMeister: MindMeister is a popular online mind mapping tool that allows you to create and collaborate on mind maps in real-time. It offers a variety of templates, themes, and export options.
Use the Right Tools
Remote collaboration requires the use of tools that enable communication, file sharing, and project management. Timworks is an excellent example of an app that can help with remote collaboration by providing a platform for internal and external communication, so there is less friction and multi-tasking when team members are dealing with clients and colleagues simultaneously. Other popular tools include Zoom, Slack, Trello, Asana, and Google Drive, all with their pros and cons.
Don’t be afraid to try new apps and let your team decide whether they are making your work easier or the opposite.
Promote Flexibility
Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of remote work. As a manager, it's important to promote this flexibility by allowing team members to work from home or other locations, as long as they are meeting their deadlines and expectations, and as long as it fits with your business model and the hours in which you need to provide support. You may feel a bit worried about how many hours every team member actually works if flexibility is how you operate, but as long as everyone is doing their part, allowing flexibility and showing your team you trust them will actually make them feel more appreciated and in turn - become more productive and inspired.
Set Boundaries
Not just boundaries. Healthy boundaries.
Setting healthy boundaries is essential for remote teams, as it helps to prevent burnout and ensure that team members have time for self-care and personal responsibilities. Encourage team members to take breaks, avoid working outside of their designated work hours, and disconnect from work when they are off the clock. This also means you should encourage them to mute their notifications and not send any messages outside of the hours you are online (if you have agreed to set hours). Micro-managing* team members can also be a big issue in remote work set-ups and you could be doing it without even realising.
*What is an example of micro-managing and how to avoid it:
Say one of your team members sends work and asks for feedback. Leaving negative comments and telling them how things should be done is micro-managing. Healthy leadership on the other hand would mean you provide them with resources that help them improve that work and tips on how to do it.
Reduce stress and promote self-care
Self-care is essential for remote workers, as it can be easy to become isolated and overwhelmed. Encourage team members to prioritise self-care by taking breaks, exercising, practising mindfulness, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It is proven that remote team workers are as likely as their traditional peers to suffer from job burnout. In fact, certain stresses experienced by remote teams may make them more susceptible to burnout such as the inability to switch off and the disconnection from peers.
Easy ways to promote self-care for your remote team is to cover a mindfulness app subscription for each one of them, set healthy boundaries, check in on them and encourage time away without feelings of guilt.
Celebrate Achievements
Pleasantly surprising or rewarding your team is underrated.
According to a Canadian study, 58% of employees believe that recognition and appreciation could improve their engagement and hard work.
Especially important for remote customer service teams since it makes team members feel part of something bigger, which can be hard when not physically together with the rest of the team. It also promotes motivation and positive feelings about themselves despite sometimes having to deal with higher levels of stress and isolation.
While there are many tips available online on how to reward employees, the key to making these initiatives memorable and enjoyable is the way they are executed. It is best to focus on creative initiatives that come with an element of surprise.
Some examples include creating an internal newsletter to acknowledge the team's hard work, planning a surprise video call celebration for an employee's birthday, or gamifying the rewards system by implementing a leaderboard and unique rewards for the winner as previously discussed.
Celebrating achievements and recognising your team’s hard work is essential for boosting team morale and promoting a positive team dynamic, but it also works in the company’s favour, too - once team members feel seen and heard, they would be even more engaged in the company’s success and culture.
Address Conflict Promptly
Conflict is inevitable in any workplace, and remote teams are no exception. When conflict arises, address it promptly and professionally. Encourage team members to speak up if they are experiencing issues and work together to find solutions. An easy way to do this especially if you have more introverted or shy members of the team is to offer a survey that they all fill out and add questions to encourage them to open up and share exactly what they have felt, without fear of judgement. This survey should stay very confidential between the employee and the head of the company or team, to not create any further conflict.
Help them to avoid distractions
Staying connected with your remote team members is critical for building relationships and promoting collaboration, but since we all work online it is normal to have moments of distraction.
Best ways to help them avoid distractions is to encourage them to focus on a single task at a time, and make the fact that they are working on something obvious and visible, so other team members don’t overload them or bother them unnecessarily. Limiting distractions, such as social media websites during working hours can also be very beneficial - an easy Chrome extension that blocks social media websites can be installed in matter of seconds to make this easier.
Encouraging flexible working hours, so team members work in the hours when they feel most productive or when they have less distractions in their work-from-home environment can also create a positive change.
Provide Opportunities for Professional Development
Providing opportunities for professional development is critical for remote teams, as it helps team members to stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and develop new skills. You may have training in the office if you are in a physical environment, but when working remotely it could be more challenging to remember to still participate in events that encourage growth.
Consider offering training, attending virtual conferences or webinars together as a team, and providing opportunities for team members to collaborate on challenging projects. Regularly check-in if they need support or better software to improve their performance.
In conclusion, successfully managing a remote team requires a combination of effective communication, collaboration, and support. By setting clear expectations, having healthy boundaries and creating a healthy, positive, growth-orientated environment, you can build a high-performing remote team.
Additionally, using tools like Timworks can help make remote collaboration easier, since you can add or remove people from conversation or a client easily, allowing healthy boundaries and guilt-free time off.
You are now 12 steps closer to creating a more positive work culture, boosting team morale, and achieving your business objectives. Woop!
