Let’s face it. The remote work culture is not exactly a bed of roses, and it can get very difficult to manage a team of remote employees. At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that remote work is the future.
So whether we like it or not, we must learn to ace it or at least make peace with it. For remote team managers, it is crucial to learn how to effectively monitor a team of scattered employees while at the same time avoid micromanagement.
As a remote team leader, a manager must ensure the team members are on the same page about important information and have the necessary tools to execute their work well. They are also responsible for ensuring team members stay productive.
Since the pandemic has enforced work from home, remote team managers must find a way to successfully monitor their teams to ensure there is no dip in work efficiency. To help you out, we have put together ideas from the most successful remote leaders on how to set your team for success:
- Communicate often to check-in on employees:
Without you ever finding out, employees may be facing certain remote work struggles that they don’t know how to deal with. They may feel uncomfortable sharing because of the fear of being judged.
Lack of communication can lead to such situations building up without your knowledge. This makes it crucial to check-in on your team often and stay in constant touch. Having said that, this should not be done with the objective to micro-manage them.
- Provide soft skills training:
This is very important even in the office setup, but it is of paramount importance in the remote work culture. Soft skills training allows employees to learn better ways to interact and convey information. It allows them to work in harmony with their team members and form better connections.
It also helps in evolving their emotional intelligence and inculcates a problem-solving attitude. You can make use of an LMS to provide employees training digitally so they can learn at the time of their convenience. With a variety of LMS pricing models, it is now easier than ever to find one in your budget. The best part is that LMS WordPress integrations will also allow you to deliver training on a website that any employee can access from anywhere, at any time. The even better part is that LMS pricing of such products is incredibly affordable, especially from a small business point of view.
- Focus on what’s important:
Remote team leaders need to be very clear with their teams about what they expect from them. When remote employees are aware of their responsibilities and know what is expected of them, they can streamline their work accordingly.
At the same time, remote team managers must provide employees with the flexibility to decide how they want to fulfil their responsibilities. In a remote environment, it is important to focus on the results and now how they are being achieved.
- Learn to identify strengths:
One of the most important traits all remote team leaders must have is identifying the correct person for the job. Knowing the ideal candidate to execute a task increases the chances of work getting done successfully on time.
This means understanding their challenges and identifying their strengths before planning work for them. For instance, an employee with kids should not be allocated a task that demands them to be available in the wee hours of the night to collaborate with coworkers in different time zones.
- Have and exhibit empathy:
Successful leaders believe in being a guide rather than a controller. This allows them to be open to different perspectives and understand what others are dealing with, without judging them
This helps them to have empathy and show it through their actions. Remote team managers must be willing to understand what an employee is going through, acknowledge their struggles and speak words that are empathetic. Especially in these uncertain times, this is a much-needed virtue.
Conclusion:
With all the changes in the work culture, remote team leaders must provide flexibility to their teams. It will help your team achieve more without feeling burnt out.
Please be advised that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the author or his/her sources and do not necessarily reflect those of English Forward. This includes, but is not limited to, third-party content contained on or accessible through the English Forward websites and web pages or sites displayed as search results or contained within a directory of links on the English Forward network.
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