4 Ways to Remotely Manage Your Employees and Get the Results You Want
The modern workforce is more connected and collaborative than ever. As a result, businesses can more efficiently than ever before outsource work or hire remote contractors instead of hiring new employees. Indeed, the number of telecommuters, contract workers, and outsourced roles is increasing, which has some intriguing implications for how we manage employees.
Hiring remote workers and outsourcing tasks has many advantages, but there are also challenges to managing people outside of your office walls. Here are four strategies for managing remote employees that will get you the results you need:
#1 – Have Clear Communication From the Start
This is the first step in managing remote employees. When you hire remote workers, you need to become familiar with communicating in writing, either via email or messaging apps. That may feel like a huge blow to your communication style and level of comfort, but there are some things you can do to adapt and ensure that communication is as clear as possible:
Make sure you have a policy in place for remote communication.
Outline how frequently you expect employees to communicate, how they should communicate, and how frequently you will meet by phone, video call, or in person.
Set clear expectations for how employees should communicate. For example, what messaging mode to use, whether employees should respond during specific hours, the length of emails, and so on.
#2 – Regular Remote Staff Meetings
One of the most difficult aspects of managing a remote team is that you don’t get to see or hear them as often. This can cause communication issues, especially if your manager isn’t used to managing remotely.
You can hold regular virtual meetings if you have employees in different locations. It is also ideal to find the best time to meet if your employees work in different time zones. You can connect using apps like Zoom, Google Meet, or Facebook Live. Some collaboration tools, such as Trello or Asana, also allow you to host meetings remotely.
#3 – Utilize a Collaboration Platform
If you manage a larger team or want to ensure that your unit seamlessly joins forces on projects, you should consider using a collaboration platform. These tools enable employees to actively participate, share documents, calendars, and share information and other resources remotely. Some even allow you to create workflows, automate tasks, and integrate with other business tools.
Collaboration platforms are excellent for managing remote teams; however, you must ensure that your employees understand the software and how to use it. You can accomplish this by holding a tool training session as well as a company-wide meeting where everyone can see how the platform works and become familiar with it. You should also establish guidelines for how employees should use the tool and who has access to what.
#4 – Establish Clear Expectations and Rewards
When managing remote employees, you must set clear expectations for their roles and responsibilities. It is likewise important to ensure that your employees are rewarded for their achievements.
It is critical to define clear rewards for your employees. Managers frequently use praise and company-wide recognition as rewards, but you may also want to consider other incentives.
Takeaway
Managing remote employees can be challenging, but it can also save your company time and money. To ensure that you get the results you want, start with clear communication, hold regular meetings, use a collaboration platform to streamline work, and set a clear system for expectations and rewards.