Many employees are shifting towards hybrid working settings, but there are still those who work mostly, if not always, from home. As a business owner, you must ensure that your remote employees stay productive and engaged. Otherwise, you’ll start to see a decline in the quality of their work. Here are some tips on how you can manage your remote employees:
Set Clear Expectations
When working with remote employees, it’s important to set clear expectations for them from the start. This means ensuring they understand your goals and what’s expected of them. For example, if you want them to be available during certain hours, communicate that to them. Or, if you need them to submit work by a specific deadline, be clear about that as well. This way, there is no confusion about what is expected from each party. Setting clear expectations will help your remote employees stay on track and achieve results.
Utilize A Central Platform
With remote employees, one of your team hurdles would be collaboration. Remote work can make it challenging to track what everyone else is working on, when they’re working on it, and how well they’re progressing with the task. This is why you need to use a central platform where they can log in and do their work without worries. You and your employees can work together as if you were in the same room by getting high-quality collaboration software. This platform will let the whole team streamline their work, share files, and communicate with each other easily, making everyone’s work process more efficient.
Encourage Open and Frequent Communication
As their employer, you must encourage open and frequent communication with your remote employees. This will ensure that you understand your employees’ perspectives on current projects, tasks, and any issues or concerns they may have. Communication can also help build trust and rapport, providing you with a solid foundation to work together more effectively.
Assign Tasks and Deadlines
One of the most important aspects of managing a remote workforce is assigning tasks and deadlines in an organized manner. This ensures that everyone knows what they are responsible for and that all tasks are completed on time. It can be helpful to create a Gantt chart or task list, which outlines every stage of the project, and who is responsible for each step. This allows you to track progress and ensure that no steps are missed. Additionally, it is important to set realistic deadlines and to be prepared to adjust them as necessary. By setting clear expectations and providing adequate support, you can help your remote employees succeed.
Track Employee Productivity
It is important to track the productivity of your remote employees, especially since you can’t monitor how and when they work at home. Without this tracking, it can be difficult to identify problems or inefficiencies in their work. Additionally, suppose you need to provide feedback or coaching. In that case, you will be better able to do so if you have a sense of what areas need improvement.
One common approach to monitoring productivity requires employees to submit weekly reports on their work. This can include a summary of what they accomplished each day and any challenges they faced. You can also ask employees to provide screenshots or recordings of their work as evidence of their progress.
Another approach is to use software that tracks employee activity. This can help you see which websites they visit and how much time they spend on each task. While this software can be helpful, it is essential to remember that it may not capture all the employee’s productivity. For example, if they are working on a task that does not involve the internet, the software will not track that activity.
Have a Remote Working Policy in Place
If you are hiring remote employees, it is important to have a remote working policy in place that they should be aware of. This policy should outline the expectations and guidelines for working remotely. It can include information on how to stay productive while working from home, how to communicate with the team, and what tools and software to use. Having a clear policy in place can help your remote employees feel more comfortable and confident in their work. Additionally, it can help you avoid any misunderstandings or problems that may arise as you can refer back to the policy if needed.
One of the challenges of managing a remote team is that you can’t always see what’s going on in person. This can make it challenging to know when adjustments need to be made, leading to problems if not addressed. Managing a remote team requires a bit more effort. Still, with the right tools, you can ensure your team remains productive and cohesive, no matter where they are located.
