Remote work is all the rage these days, with more and more people joining the bandwagon. The reasons for the popularity of remote work aren’t difficult to fathom:
- Convenience to work from wherever
- No time wasted on commuting
- Better time management
- More free time
Even with all these benefits, people new to remote work sometimes struggle to get the ropes of the routine. It is essential for team managers to build a specific work culture and define all necessary aspects of the daily routine. Proper communications should be established, and all team members should be trained using targeted apps and tools.
Let’s take a look at some winning tips for building a successful and happy remote team.
1. Make the Daily Routine Engaging
The trick to building a successful team (online or any other) lies in making the employees enjoy their jobs. Long past are the days when only end-results mattered. Businesses have moved towards a whole new approach — building the startup mindset for increased employee bonding.
As mentioned above, clear communication is absolutely essential in this regard. Each and every employee should have the means to contact the manager whenever necessary. Usually, instant messengers and emails are used for everyday communication, while sophisticated apps serve to host team meetings.
2. Ensure the Same Benefits for Online Employees and Office Employees
One thing managers often tend to forget is that remote workers have the same needs as office workers. The usual argument, more or less, revolves around cost cuts, given that remote workers don’t need to commute to the office and stay there.
Here’s one simple example: if your office workers have a paid lunch every day, consider adding the amount to remote workers’ salaries.
The next thing that should be observed is — communicating clear benefits. Remote employees should be in the loop and feel well-informed.
3. Make Sure to Embrace Diversity
Needless to say, remote work is an outsourcing heaven. Many businesses make large savings simply by hiring skilled employees from developing countries. These people work for lower salaries but are still paid well, considering the exchange rates in their respective countries, so everyone should be happy, right? Not really.
One thing that’s easily overlooked is cultural differences. Even within teams from the same cultural background, individual differences can flare if proper culture isn’t being maintained. Within teams consisting of people from different cultures, things may escalate even further due to simple lack of knowledge.
It is extremely important to provide cross-cultural training to get each team member well-acquainted with everyone else.
4. Motivate Your Employees
While it is not rocket science that employees tend to look for better job prospects, the situation is somewhat direr in case of remote work. First of all, it should be said that the gig economy is expanding at a rapid pace and is not likely to stop doing it… ever. There are myriads of more job opportunities now than just a couple of years back, and freelancing and digital nomadism are on the rise.
It is important to remember that even if you manage to hire the finest of experts in their respective fields, that isn’t to say that you’ll be able to “keep” them forever. Experts rarely lack opportunities; multiply that with the abovementioned myriad, and you’ll realize the danger.
In order for your employees to not look for better job proposals elsewhere, make sure to make your business the best place to be. Build a culture of trust where all team members can freely share in company successes and can overcome any difficulties together.
Which methods you will choose to do that is completely up to you. However, do remember that anonymous feedback can provide invaluable insight into employees’ wishes, complaints and suggestions. Listen to your team and grow alongside them.
5. Look for Those With the Right Goals
You will never go wrong hiring people with the same goals as your company’s. Of course, every employee should be made privy to the company’s vision and long-term goals, but people who already share the same mission are an additional asset.
Well, in order to be able to deliver on your promise, you’ll also need to set realistic and sustainable goals. One good way to go about that is the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) methodology, where you set targeted goals by defining key results.
Here are some OKR examples for illustrative purposes.
6. They’ll Need the Right Tools
Remote work (and any other type of work, for that matter) can hardly be feasible if not for online tools and apps.
While there are all kinds of these, you should take your time choosing the ones that best suit your business purpose. Then you’ll need to train your remote team to use them. Commonly, the tools that businesses use include task management tools, email management tools, Google tasks and communication tools.
You can go one step ahead and learn how to set up kanban boards for better results, too.
7. Establish a Flexible Workplace
If there’s one thing remote work can offer to everyone, it is flexibility. In fact, many people turn to freelancing due to this very reason.
Make sure to not forget that. There are various positions and various tasks. You should always make an effort to provide your team with the choice of when to work and when to rest. Wherever possible, opt for multiple shifts, so that team members can arrange their schedule among themselves as it suits them best.
Finally, if you are managing an international team, don’t forget about different time zones. Nobody will stay long if their working hours are in the middle of the night and they enjoy working during the day.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are factors and factors to consider when planning your remote team management strategy. These are but the tip of the iceberg but are certainly a good foundation.
One thing worth mentioning, and especially if you’re managing a team of freelancers, is: have you considered taxes for digital nomads and remote workers?
Many people opt for remote work because it allows them to travel as they see fit. Many more still choose to relocate to another country. However, no matter where they are, taxes won’t be disappearing into thin air. Calculate these factors when devising employee benefits.
Lastly, keep communication alive. Online communication can easily go wrong especially when people aren’t using their cameras. Work hard on building a culture of trust and encourage your team to be proactive.
