1. Establish clear expectations
Setting clear expectations can be an essential part of leading remote teams. When onboarding a new remote employee or transitioning a workforce to remote work, business leaders can establish their expectations in terms of communication and production. Let each team member know when and how to report their progress. For example, some employers request team members to email daily or send a weekly report.
Also, set your expectations in terms of employee schedules. For example, let them know if you expect them to track their hours and if those hours are flexible. Establishing this information clearly upfront can prepare your team members for success.
2. Create a communication plan
Create a communication strategy document to help improve your team’s collaboration. A communication plan details your expectations around company communications. For example, include your preferred channels, such as email, instant messenger, phone, and video call. Also, detail a communication process or system, such as stating the expectations for different communication situations. For example, all employees can ask minor questions over email but have important conversations over video calls.
Also, provide details regarding timing, such as when you expect employees to respond and how frequently. This is especially important if you manage employees who live in different time zones and work different hours. Finally, make this document easily accessible to help improve communication.
3. Increase engagement opportunities
Take time to engage with remote employees frequently throughout the week, preferably at least once a day. This can help improve communication and employee satisfaction rates. This can be brief, such as an email blast or a five-minute daily virtual morning meeting. Tools like instant messenger or group chats can also increase team engagement. This can help your remote employees feel connected to one another and their work, improving their happiness and productivity.
4. Plan and build a remote team culture
It can be challenging to build a strong team culture with remote employees, but creating a positive work environment can boost your team’s morale, improving your company’s retention rates and productivity. Host virtual team-building activities, offer training, and request feedback from your employees to help improve your team culture. Setting clear goals and expectations can also help improve your team’s culture. Take time to review individual goals regularly to help improve your team’s performance. Also, be transparent about your expectations and your communication.
5. Schedule team meetings regularly
Whether your company is fully or partially remote, it’s important to have team meetings regularly. This can vary depending on the size of your company and departments, but schedule both small and large group meetings regularly, whether that be daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. These meetings can allow teams to discuss new projects, group goals, and financial objectives. They can also help increase the sense of community and reinforce a positive team culture.
6. Learn about individual team members
Get to know your team members on an individual basis. This is especially important if you’re hiring new remote team members who you haven’t met in person. At the beginning of virtual meetings or calls, start with a few minutes of friendly conversation. Ask questions to learn about your employee’s hobbies, interests, and personal lives. Like an office conversation, ask employees how their weekends were or if they have any special plans. By fostering conversations and building positive relationships, you can improve employee happiness and build a sense of community.
7. Schedule time for individual check-ins
With remote work, employees often work at different hours of the day, and it can be challenging to find time to meet, but you need to build time for one-on-one meetings. These can occur monthly or weekly, depending on your needs. For example, you might meet with your department leads each week and other employees monthly. Have these check-ins over audio calls or as a video chat. During the check-in, review your employee’s performance, provide feedback, establish individual goals, discuss goal progress, and leave time for them to ask you questions.
8. Use technology and tools to your advantage
Technology is an important part of managing a remote workforce effectively. Consider the tools your team needs to succeed, including videoconferencing software, an instant messaging tool, and time tracking tools. Other popular tools include file-sharing software, screen-sharing methods, and online project tracking tools. During your onboarding process, share a document with links to all necessary software or programs. This can help team members feel confident using these tools. Also, include training videos or a virtual training session to help instruct employees on new or highly technical tools.
Technology can help business leaders improve both production and communication. For example, file-sharing software can help your team members complete their daily tasks, which increases productivity. In addition, instant messaging software can encourage conversations and team-building activities to boost communication and engagement.
9. Encourage independence
One benefit of remote work is the opportunity to encourage independence. It’s important to build a sense of community to show remote employees you support them, and they can have more autonomy over their work when working from home. It’s essential to keep your team members accountable for their production levels without micromanaging them or asking them to communicate too frequently. Create clear goals and objectives for your team and review these often to help ensure your employees are staying productive, but allow them some independence in their daily work.
10. Consider and include remote employees intentionally
It’s important to include remote employees in essential conversations to ensure they feel included in your workplace. When making changes, introducing new clients, or starting new projects, try to keep your remote team members informed to help them feel connected. If you have some employees in the office and an important conversation arises naturally, make sure you send an email or instant message letting employees know the details.
11. Set virtual “office” hours
In a traditional workplace setting, employees might stop by your office with comments, questions, concerns, or general conversations. Sometimes an employee doesn’t want to interrupt you or schedule a formal meeting for a quick conversation, so leaving your office door open can show them you’re available. Establish a time for your remote employees when your virtual door is open daily or weekly. During this time, encourage team members to join your video conference room to have a conversation.
Remote employees may have a different schedule than you, depending on your expectations and their geographic location. If team members can’t attend your virtual office hours, tell them how else they can communicate with you. Remind them they can contact you with questions or concerns at any time. Let them know when you typically respond to these messages so they know what to expect.
FAQs about managing remote employees
Is remote work effective for my workplace?
Remote work can be a very effective option for many companies and industries, but whether it’s effective can depend upon your individual team members. Some professionals excel when working from home. Their productivity, job satisfaction, and happiness might increase. Individuals can have different working styles and communication preferences, and some employees work better in an office setting with more direct supervision.
To help ensure remote work is effective for your company, be transparent about your expectations, goals, and objectives. If an employee isn’t meeting their objectives when working remotely, meet with them virtually to provide helpful feedback and next steps.
What can I do to train employees for remote roles?
When building a remote workforce, you can train them virtually to succeed in their specific roles and as remote employees by offering training on both the technical aspects of the job and remote work in general. For the technical aspects, record and use training videos, offer live training sessions on a video call, or use educational software tools. These can help prepare your new team members for their duties.
Training your employees for remote work specifically can be beneficial. Make this part of your onboarding process by adding training videos related to remote expectations. Also, provide virtual professional development and resources to help improve remote work. For example, offer a session on setting up a productive work environment at home.
How can I improve employee satisfaction remotely?
Employee satisfaction helps build a happy, productive workplace. When employees feel satisfied with their roles, they may work better, feel happier, and stay at your company longer. Use tools like employee surveys regularly to evaluate your team’s satisfaction. Ask questions about their goals, your team culture, and communication. To help you collect more relevant data, make these surveys anonymous so employees can feel open to sharing concerns or suggestions.
After gathering data from employee surveys, review it carefully and implement changes if possible. Be transparent about the data and the changes you’re making. If you can’t feasibly make a valid change, let your employees know why. This can show them you hear and value their feedback.
What are ways I can motivate remote employees?
It’s important to inspire and motivate your remote employees. In an office setting, you might offer rewards such as a free meal or party, which can be challenging to do virtually, but there are other ways to reward and celebrate team members. Share successes regularly via email or instant messaging programs and celebrate your team’s progress. Use software to share virtual greeting cards to celebrate birthdays and major life events. Also, offer virtual rewards, such as electronic gift cards, to your team members.
