Strategies for managing remote employees

Managers may find that they need to give their employees a little more freedom while still holding them accountable in order to lead a team that works from home.

Staff working from home cannot be under constant supervision, therefore, they may perform better if they pay more attention to what they do and whether it meets clear quality standards. It also helps to be open to trying new things with technology and the way meetings are run.

As hard as it can be to do work from home, there are also strategies and practices that leaders can inculcate quickly and cheaply to make the best of the remote team’s strengths and build a very productive team. Check out this list to start new practices today:

1) Use the best tech tools

Technology is your backbone when it comes to staying connected with your remote team. Do not just think of video conferencing and training tools that can help you stay in touch with your team and take regular updates.

There are more ways to use technology to keep your employees motivated. If they are working hard, they deserve to be compensated timely, which works as a reinforces and ensures that they are important to the company. 

There are multiple tools in the industry. You can check out Paycom, a payroll and HCM platform that will take care of most HR duties from hiring to paying salaries and tracking each employee’s career growth.

2) Encourage dialogue

Managers and employees should make sure that communication efforts help, not hurt, engagement. Communication that goes both ways gives employees the information and point of view they need. It also gives them a way to talk about and work through their negative feelings and feel more regulated.

Managers can create a culture of check-in calls and offer different platforms for communicating information. 

3) Remind employees of held values

Organizations build values over years of working that show how much they care about their employees and how important it is to give them great lives and experiences. Make sure to keep these values in mind. Remind employees of the ways they can report unacceptable behavior and what will happen if they don’t. This will improve how happy people are at work, which has a big effect on how safe they feel.

4) Acknowledge and appreciate

Recognition and appreciation motivate the person who gets it and sends a clear message to other employees about the kinds of actions they should try to copy. It doesn’t have to be money; it could be public recognition, a token of appreciation, a chance to grow, or low-cost perks. Use this chance to give employees who don’t usually have the chance to grow development opportunities.

Adjusting to remote employees, you should improve your ways of monitoring and making direct reports. Use simple “pulse surveys” to ask questions or keep track of work output to get information and find places to give credit.

5) Focus on output

When working with a remote team, where many people work and take care of their families at the same time from their homes, give employees the freedom to do their jobs in the way that works best for them. You might have to cancel your morning team meeting or skip a long approval process. Plan to work together at a time that works for everyone, but be flexible and use virtual tools as much as possible. Flexibility gives teams the freedom to do their work in their own way.

Your remote team has great potential

Your remote team has great potential, only if you let it uncover. Work on collaborating with your team, setting a healthy culture, and see how managing them becomes easier than you ever thought. The key is to build trust and faith among the members who will take responsibility for their work and stay motivated.