The US workforce has been trending towards an increased reliance on remote labor for some years now. The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing protocols that it has necessitated, however, have made the ability to effectively manage remote employees infinitely more important than ever before.
While working with remote employees does offer some advantages, it comes with substantial challenges as well. In this article, we will discuss these challenges as well as twelve best practices that successful managers can use to lead their remote teams.
The Challenges of Remote Management
Managing employees remotely presents a variety of obstacles. Perhaps the most obvious and significant of these obstacles is the communication issues that a lack of face-to-face contact tends to create. Without the ability to communicate with your employees in person, breakdowns and bottlenecks in information are bound to occur. Beyond difficulties in communication, though, remote work also creates challenges for the employees themselves. Working remotely entails a certain degree of distraction and loneliness that most employees would not encounter in a typical work setting, and these factors can lead to a troubling loss in productivity. For these reasons, it is essential for managers to adopt a strategic and careful approach in order to manage remote employees in a way that keeps them motivated, productive, and informed.Best Practices to Manage Remote Employees
- Equip Your Employees with Reliable Tools Digital tools geared toward remote work such as videoconferencing software and online project management platforms can go a long way toward solving the various challenges that working remotely creates. If you want your employees to thrive in the era of remote work, it is vital to ensure they are equipped with the right tools. At the very least, this means making sure that every employee has a reliable laptop or desktop that comes installed with all the software they need to facilitate effective communication and project management.
- Define Expectations Keep in mind that working remotely is likely just as new and confusing for your employees as it is for you as their manager. With this being the case, it is essential to define expectations and provide your remote teams with a thorough understanding of their responsibilities and how they are expected to fulfill them. It is also essential to define the expectations you have for yourself and let your employees know what you will be doing to help them succeed.
- Promote Dialogue and Collaboration You will want to communicate with your remote employees as much as possible to facilitate an environment of open and ongoing dialogue and collaboration. This includes going above and beyond to communicate the information your employees need to succeed, but it also includes things such as small talk and making an effort to ensure your employees feel they are a vital part of a larger team - even if that team is spread apart by miles of distance.
- Be Prepared for Technical Problems Even the best digital tools and technology are prone to technical issues occasionally. In order to avoid having your entire operation brought to a halt due to user error or a problem with the technology itself, it is crucial to effectively train your employees on how to use the tools they are given and to develop contingency plans for how to move forward when those tools inevitably malfunction.
- Do Not Micromanage Micromanaging your employees is rarely a good approach to take. When managing remote teams, though, micromanagement is not even a feasible goal - much less one that is beneficial. Instead, trust in the talent that you have gathered, provide them with the tools and information they need to excel, and always be ready to help when you are needed.
- Do Not Prioritize Your In-Person Team at the Expense of Your Remote Team If you are employing a hybrid office setting where some employees work in the office while others work remotely, it is vital to avoid prioritizing the needs of your in-person team at the expense of the employees working remotely. The temptation is understandable. After all, it is easy to all but forget about the employees you never see face-to-face when you are also tasked with managing an in-person team that you interact with daily. Keep in mind, though, that your remote team likely needs you even more than your in-person team, so be sure that you are making yourself available to them in whatever way possible.
- Be on the Lookout for Signs of Distress in Your Remote Employees Working remotely can often be a lonely and stressful exercise. As a manager, the responsibility of ensuring that your remote employees are encouraged and satisfied with their work environment falls directly on your shoulders. Of course, this can be a real challenge under normal circumstances and even more challenging when you factor in a lack of face-to-face communication. This makes it especially important to always be on the lookout for signs of distress in your remote employees and to establish an open line of communication so employees feel comfortable coming to you with their concerns.
- Increase Recognition One of the biggest challenges of managing remote teams is the fact that employees who work remotely often feel that their efforts are underappreciated. Making a special effort to ensure that your employees feel appreciated when they succeed at the goals you have given them is therefore a vital part of creating an environment where your remote employees continue to feel valued and respected regardless of their isolation.
- Accept a Certain Loss of Control If you are accustomed to employing a more hands-on management style, accepting the loss of control that is inevitable when you manage remote employees can be a struggle. Trying to push back against this loss of control, though, means that you risk falling into the pitfall of micromanagement. Instead, it is better to accept a certain loss of control right from the start, trust in the capability of your team, and strive to develop innovative ways to help that team whenever possible.
- Individualize Your Approach One key quality of successful managers is the ability to recognize the unique talents and attributes of their employees and tailor their approach based on the individual employee that they are working with. When you are unable to see your employees face-to-face, however, it can become all too easy to begin treating your remote team as a homogeneous structure. Approaching management in this manner rarely leads to good results, making it important to continue individualizing your approach even when you are not able to meet with the people you are managing on a regular basis.
- Set Clear Goals It is not enough to just promote productivity when managing remote employees. Instead, you need to define specific goals that are tailored to each member of your team and ensure that each member fully understands what is expected of them. Setting clear goals accomplishes two important purposes. For one, clearly defined goals provide your remote employees with better guidance at a time when they might otherwise feel confused about what it is they are supposed to be doing. Setting clear goals also helps your employees feel valued and appreciated since few things are more rewarding in a workplace than achieving a goal that you have been given.
- Build Trust When you are managing a remote team, you are going to be reliant, to a certain degree, on your employees reaching out to you with their problems rather than relying on your ability to identify those problems yourself. With this being the case, it is essential to develop a strong bond of trust between you and your remote employees so that they feel comfortable coming to you with whatever issues may arise.