The times have changed, and so have the methods of working (and consequently, managing the work of a remote team).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while it is Covid-19 that has forced us to work from home, the truth is that many companies were already on their way to shifting to an entirely remote work model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
69% of companies were already allowing remote work<\/a>, with 16% going fully remote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite that, 44% of companies still do not allow remote work at all<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What recipe for success is that 16% of companies following that the 44% are afraid even to try?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is what we\u2019ll be talking about in this guide – remote team management. <\/p>\n\n\n Simply put, a remote team can be understood as a team of employees working from outside a traditional office setup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s (obviously) no restriction on where the remote employees can work from. They can be in the comfort of their home, or in a coworking space, or even in a coffee shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most companies, especially with the Covid situation, are working with such remote teams – except the employees are all, hopefully, at their homes. Managing and monitoring remote employees\u2019 productivity is truly challenging at first. Some unprecedented problems might arise in the way of managing a remote team, but it\u2019s important to have your guards up – so that your team can be as productive from home as it is from the office. While the benefits of working remotely are clear as a day – both for employees and employers – there are still some inconveniences that should be dealt with beforehand. Here\u2019s a list of some:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This list of challenges, very honestly, goes on and is dependent on the culture of your organization. But whoever you are, chances are, you will face friction in some or another way when switching your team to a remote environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To curb these challenges, here are some key pointers for you to consider (before we get into the \u2018hows\u2019 of efficient remote work management).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remote team employees do not physically clock in and out of the office. As a result of that, they need some boundaries between their work and personal hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should not expect them to be at your disposal at your whim. Especially if you\u2019re dealing with someone from another time zone, always be considerate and respect their time as much as you\u2019d want them to respect yours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To make sure things are smooth on this front, you can:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All in all, for a fruitful and efficient long-distance work relationship, you should – at all costs – trust your team members and their time management.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You shouldn\u2019t be too strict about when they\u2019re starting and ending their day as long as they\u2019re getting the work done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should trust your team members to manage their time effectively. Whether they start the work a little late or take frequent breaks, it shouldn\u2019t be a problem as long as they are able to get the work done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clarity in communication is one of the first prerequisites to effective remote project management.\u00a0 You should be upfront with your team about the goals, expectations, and plan of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Document all that is necessary <\/strong>– this cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Create roadmaps and plans that everyone agrees with – for that, make sure to discuss your plans with the rest of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use tools like Trello, Asana, Monday, or any other that you fancy, to keep your work organized and tasks segregated by project and by teams. Doing that will help you and your team in the long run. To know more about each of these tools, refer to this section of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remote management requires even more clarity in communication because you\u2019re mostly communicating via text (whether on email or on any platform). If you don\u2019t word your texts correctly, you might incite confusion – or worse, you might offend someone. Working with a remote team is, by default, likely to cause some or the other issues. Make sure you don\u2019t add to that by offering destructive<\/em> criticism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be as specific about your feedback – whether positive or negative – and always provide action points for improvements. In doing that, you\u2019re conveying a sense of trust and mentorship – which is essential for keeping your team close to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a teammate is underperforming, be kind enough to talk to them about it, and help them find a way out. Technology fuels the world today – and that includes project management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re managing a remote team, be smart and proactive in looking for the best tools you can use. There are a lot of useful tools out there, but you need to know your requirements to make the correct choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having the right tools can save you hours of energy and effort. Using them, you can automate most of the mundane tasks (like following up, assigning regular tasks, updating trackers, and so on). Project management tools can help you achieve clarity in terms of the ongoing and pending work, which will allow you to allocate resources accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there is no one-size-fits-all tool, you should definitely ensure the following features in the software you finally pick:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example of a Tracker<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Takeaways from this sample tracker:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every company has a different approach (owing to different requirements) towards building a remote team, but there are some common attributes in every successful remote team:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the above points in mind, you should be good to go with the basics of setting up remote teams, managing a team when they turn from in-house to remote. How different is hiring a freelancer\/remote resource from hiring a \u2018physically\u2019 in-house resource?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you ensure that the new person on board, despite being miles away from your office, is still an equal part of your organization and its processes? You can create different SOPs for different tasks, projects, or clients – but there should be something for the person to refer to. It brings an immense amount of clarity and helps pace up the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the template that outlines how to create an SOP.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Takeaways from this SOP:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Place all the important information on this doc. This could include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The VIsual medium is always the best for solidifying a point. So, if you want your resources to quickly understand the SOP, you should use as many videos or images as possible. These could be screenshots of various items or screen-recorded walkthrough videos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many tools that you can use to capture screenshots and videos. Full page screen capture<\/a> is one such tool that allows you to take full-page screenshots and save them as PNGs or PDFs for better clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is a remote team?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Goes without saying – working with an in-house team and working with a remote team are two completely different ball games. So, despite how efficient any team is working from the office, there are certain guidelines that should be followed when the said team goes remote.
And those guidelines are as much for the team, as they are for the organization and management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because as we mentioned earlier – companies are already switching to a remote work model. This indicates that people are increasingly willing to work from home, without having to be a part of a physical office set up. So, the discussions in this guide are not limited to JUST Corona and the current situation – they will be equally, if not more, helpful for years to come.
All in all, if organizations are able to master the art of effective remote project management, they\u2019ll flourish, and so will their employees
But there are certain challenges that might come your way while managing remote work, let\u2019s look at what they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\nChallenges faced while remote team management<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Have trust<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Be clear<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
That is why make sure to be as specific as you can. So, instead of saying \u201cthis task needs to be done ASAP\u201d, say \u201cthis task needs to be submitted by 7 pm tomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Add value<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Most of the time, especially in a work-from-home setup, teammates are going through a lot more than you can comprehend. Always have an open ear and an open mind.
You can also add bonuses\/reward systems for employees who are performing outstandingly. It\u2019ll keep them motivated and others on their toes.
By doing the above-mentioned things, you\u2019ll bring a level of flexibility to your office culture and add value to the lives of your teammates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n4. Act smart<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Building your ideal remote team<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But what about adding more resources to the remote team?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Successfully onboarding a remote resource<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer is simple: create a structured Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) document <\/strong>with the expectations, targets, rewards, and all that is required, clearly listed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUse images and videos<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n