More and more individuals are working remotely, forcing many companies to adopt new practices and systems to manage virtual teams. Traditionally, people worked side-by-side, resided in the same towns and cities and participated in team-building activities.
Organizations have also turned to remote work to maintain productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These best practices will help you manage remote workers:
1. Equip Your Team
When introducing remote workers to your team, do not assume that everyone knows how to navigate a remote-work environment. Keep in mind that virtual communications can be ineffective for some employees, who will need coaching to be comfortable.
Therefore, you should provide all the tools that your virtual team needs to stay productive, including:
Chat Apps
Communication is vital for project managers who want to know how to work with remote employees. Instead of email, which can get messy, you can use chat apps designed for asynchronous communication. Some popular solutions include slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat.
Project Management Tools
It can be challenging to coordinate and monitor the efforts of your virtual team. Thankfully, you can use tools like Teamwork, Jira, Product board, Basecamp, and Monday.com to manage collaboration between teammates.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing tools like zoom and skype have helped companies meet the limited social interaction guidelines necessitated by covid-19. Your team can enjoy real-time chats, screen sharing, and video recording.
File-Sharing and Cloud Storage Tools
If you are working from a home office, you will need to share your documents remotely with your colleagues. Cloud-storage tools like Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and IDrive also function as collaboration software with real-time document co-editing.
2. Prioritize Video
Video is an excellent tool to build bonds, making it perfect for remote work. Unlike audio calls, employees can see each other’s video cues and breed familiarity during video calls.
Reserve Video Calls for Discussions
Video calls can be distractions, and they are ideal for strategy meetings, project-kick-offs, brainstorming, and employee one-on-ones.
Define the Agenda Beforehand
It is advisable to schedule video calls two or three days before. Also, you should share the agenda and line of discussion and include links to resources like documents for your employees to prepare.
Have a Facilitator
A facilitator will ensure that all members get enough time to speak and prevent people from talking over each other on the call.
3. Focus on Goals, Not Processes
Most virtual employees will be juggling home and work commitments, which is why there should be a focus to create a flexible workplace. To determine the success of your remote work program, ask yourself if your team is:
- Meeting deadlines
- Ticking off goals
- Using the project management software
- Producing top-tier work
Project managers who want insight on how to work with remote employees can explore the structure below:
Weekly Meetings
You can schedule time every week for every member to give a status update. The meeting should be well-structured for everyone to provide the required information.
Milestones
Milestones can help your team complete large projects successfully and on time. Most project management solutions will let you break down projects into a series of steps and keep track of the progress.
Scheduled Tasks
If you are managing a virtual team, it is easy to worry about what each member is doing in a day.
Checklists
Checklists will also help you monitor your virtual team’s productivity. For example, you can publish an employee’s checklist on a project management system and enable them to collaborate on it.
4. Promote Company Culture
It can be challenging to create a company culture among a team connected via laptop screens and email threads. However, company culture is a key ingredient to company success, given that 46% of job seekers use it to screen potential employers.
The tips below will shape your virtual company culture:
Encourage Socializing
Employees who have been at your organization the longest are the best people to promote your company culture.
Give Branded Gifts
Sharing branded merchandise is an excellent step in the onboarding process. Branded coffee cups, sweatshirts, notebooks, backpacks, and chargers are some great gift ideas.
Communicate Your Culture
It is essential to define your company culture clearly and include expectations. Additionally, make the document accessible for everyone, and make additions where necessary.
Last Words
Remote work is the new frontier, and companies need to adjust their workplace systems to deal with full-time and part-time remote workers. Virtual employees need to have the right tools, including social channels for socializing with their colleagues.
