Nowadays, working from home is no longer a necessary measure, rather it has become a popular trend across numerous corporations worldwide.
Consequently, many supervisors and team leaders have suddenly found themselves in a strange situation where they must manage their teams over long distances.
While this can fill one with apprehension and worry, particularly if it is unfamiliar territory for the manager, the good news is that help is here.
Within this article, there will be some practical tips presented to those looking for assistance. Let’s get going and discuss them together.
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Table of Contents
- Establish definite expectations right away.
- Have a daily check-in
- Regularly monitor team members for signs of distress.
- Be transparent
- Outcome over Activity
Creating exact limits, giving clear guidelines, and going through the basics are undoubtedly among the initial steps you should take when functioning together as a team on any project. Since the endeavor is brand new, there will naturally be concerns and queries.
As a manager or a team leader, you need to be accessible to the team for these questions. Thus, it ought to take precedence to offer them sufficient clarity before they begin working on something.
Plus, there must be an in-depth discussion on the goals and milestones both you and the company expect them to accomplish with each project. Further, jot down the accessibility of every single member of the team. This is paramount in guaranteeing it is easier to get in touch with them as necessary.
Regardless of if the team members are working remotely or in-office, it is the manager’s job to keep them apprised about staffing changes, policy, distant working advice, and company goals for achievement.
Additionally, they should show acceptable behavior around the employees by immediately responding to work messages and emails. This is precisely how the employees will learn.
When an employee knows what is expected from them without rigorous expectations or unnecessary stress, then it becomes easier for them to maintain a harmonious balance between work and life.
At the current moment, most employees are experiencing a shared problem. Without a physical division between their home and office life, there is no way for them to switch off.
This can be hazardous and might lead to burnout. To keep this from becoming an issue, make sure that your requirements are not too difficult; allow employees the time they need to pursue their personal goals and aspirations while keeping up with their professional duties.
During the period of quarantine, our staff was working remotely. As of today, many members of our crew are still teleworking with their safety in mind in these times of a global health crisis.
However, just because we were at home didn’t mean that we weren’t embracing each other’s presence. I guarantee that the entire team had a customary face-to-face video call regularly where not only professional communication occurred on the chat, but also the concern for one another’s mental robustness and family wellbeing was frequently monitored to assure everyone remains healthy,” stated Subrat, head of FineGrades.
Obviously, there will be emails, Slack interactions, and phone discussions; however, seeing each other is also necessary. Luckily, various communication tools exist to enable this while many new ones have recently been added to the list.
Google Meet and Hangouts are two of the most reliable and accessible options you can use. Video conversations should take place daily for the purpose of setting targets, providing required assets, and giving feedback.
Your employees should have different communication tools. In this digital age, emails alone won’t cut it. To bridge the physical distance, remote employees need richer technology like video conferencing.
Don’t worry if your firm does not have any communication technology. There are lots of economical methods to acquire straightforward versions of the necessary tools.
This can be a perfect temporary solution. Request advise from your IT department in order to pick the right tools. Before installing any tools, confirm that proper security levels are in place.
Always check for signs of distress in the team members.
During the work-from-home period, Donna, an associate with FineGrades which provides online IELTS lessons, reveals that her managers used indirect and direct observation approaches to understand the issues and struggles they encountered. Efforts were taken to ensure each employee felt supported and looked after, even though we weren’t in the office.
To make sure that interaction between employees and managers is uninterrupted, it is your responsibility to offer management their needed assistance. Management should be aware that there may be a few setbacks and dilemmas that the workers could possibly go through due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These issues can include worries about job security, difficulty in managing the new work system, issues or tension at home, and more. All of these need to be delicately managed without putting any uninvited strain on them.
Since your employees look up to you, if you want them to behave in a certain way, modeling the same behavior is essential.
For example, if you desire a substantial amount of openness from them, you must also be honest and transparent while interacting with them. When transparency becomes an intrinsic part of your office atmosphere, it is easier for the employees to have faith in you. This will make it simpler for them to approach you with their worries or queries.
However, you must be sure that the transparency is complete. It must make all team members feel equal. For example, if there is a significant update concerning any project or office accomplishment, it should reach every person on the team at the same time. You can email them or include them in a video chat to let them know about it. This way, even though they may be working remotely, they would still feel appreciated.
As a manager, it can be difficult to track every detail of your workers’ remote labor. However, know that this isn’t essential either. You shouldn’t strive to scrutinize every aspect of their efforts, particularly when your crew resides in apart widespread regions.
Rather, you should concentrate on the result over the quantity of time devoted toward completion. You should emphasize work done correctly rather than how and when it is finished.
A major element of managing remote employees is micromanagement, which must not be assumed due to their absence in the same office as you. Unfortunately, this can often lead to too much oversight on the part of managers, inducing stress in both the employees and themselves.
Thus, refrain from demanding progress reports and constant contact with your team. This will only show an insufficiency of faith in them and make them feel uncomfortable.
Instead, keep focused on the objective and have everybody collaborate towards it. As long as you reach your goals, the mode in which you get there should not matter.
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