Statistics indicate that the number of people working remotely has increased exponentially in the last ten years. Employees are embracing more flexible schedules and freelancers are having a swell time working from home. It’s not just employees who are benefiting from this setup. Companies are finding that remote employees often enjoy a greater sense of satisfaction with their job.
But how do you manage remote teams effectively?
Choosing to work remotely
Working remotely promotes a healthy work-life balance. It allows parents time to take their sons to soccer practice or their daughters to ballet recitals. No commute means employees have more time to socialize with friends or get to they gym.
Another advantage of working remotely for employees is that it significantly reduces the stress involved in commuting to work every day. What this also means is that employees no longer come into the workplace feeling frazzled and exhausted. They are now able to tackle work when they are at their freshest. This can also be directly linked to overall productivity and increased output in the workplace.
In addition to that, employees are able to save on fuel costs, employers record lower turnover, absenteeism in the workplace becomes a non-issue and organizations are now able to target a wider pool of top talent.
While the benefits of remote working cannot be over-emphasized, it is also important that employers have good systems and processes in place to track employee productivity. Engaging employees who are physically present at the workplace is hard enough as it is, how then does a manager effectively manage a team of people working remotely, often times on different continents?
The major task of every manager is to ensure that employees stay committed to achieving organizational goals and deliver on tasks when due. Here are some tips to help manage remote teams:
As the technology improves and commute times get worse, more and more companies are allowing their employees to work remotely. But Managers often find it challenging to manage remote teams and sometime a mistrust is developed between coworkers specially if one of the co-worker isn’t pulling their weight. Our consultants at KunbaHR (https://www.kunbaHR.com) – an online HR Management firm often get questions from HR managers and direct managers about what can they do to maintain the team collaboration and productivity of a remote team.
The ability to know what new technology & tools to use when and how to use them is one skill a remote manager must have. Like mentioned, using a project management tool could really help a manager manage much more efficiently. We use proofhub.com at work and it’s an amazing tool. From tasks & team to time, it manages it all. Best for bringing scattered teams together. Plus, constant communication is mandatory!