Two out of every three full-time employees now work remotely at some point. While tech initially led this trend, now other fields such as human resources and hospital administration are experiencing the trend as well.
Relocating can make it harder to establish close working relationships among teammates, though friendships and water cooler conversations should still be encouraged.
1. Invest in Technology
As a business leader, investing in technology necessary for running a remote team effectively is of utmost importance. This may include team communication software, videoconferencing tools and collaboration platforms; also essential are giving employees freedom and autonomy in terms of setting their own schedules and offering flexible working arrangements.
Owl Labs conducted a study that demonstrated how flexible work arrangements could help boost employee morale and productivity, with remote workers reporting being happier in their jobs longer than on-site staffers. Furthermore, it allows companies to more easily recruit top talent while cutting overhead costs; according to a Slack poll this March job postings for remote positions were 160% higher than before the COVID epidemic began – evidence that this trend toward remote work will only continue. As such, now is an opportune time to start thinking strategically about how best prepare your company for what lies ahead in terms of planning its future strategies!
2. Communicate Effectively
As part of any team effort, it’s crucial that all members are kept informed on key milestones, meetings, and weekly reviews. This is especially essential when working remotely as remote workers may not always have an opportunity to observe what their teammates are up to.
Lambert suggests that companies set up 15-minute weekly individual meetings with each member of their team, asking how they are progressing and whether additional support may be required. She states this practice helps build trust within teams while making sure everyone remains on track towards meeting their goals.
Overall, our survey shows that working remotely is a success: 56% of hiring managers reported it went better than expected while 35% predicted similar outcomes. Given how COVID-19 affected employee work practices significantly, this is good news; but building and managing virtual teams still present numerous obstacles and hurdles.
3. Establish a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Team must quickly adapt to unfamiliar technology and processes in order to quickly go remote, creating discomfort at first. However, over time the pain points should decrease as individuals become familiar with their new tools.
Short-term, it is crucial that you communicate regularly and share updates with your team in order to build trust and ensure everyone is working towards similar goals.
Maintain a culture of continuous improvement for your remote team is of utmost importance. Without regular feedback processes that recognize success and share best practices, self-conscious employees may begin questioning their performance and lose momentum. Establish a feedback process which recognizes these successes through email newsletters or noticeboards so as to maintain engagement and morale among team members while giving them opportunities for self-improvement – this will encourage employee retention as unhappy employees may seek another opportunity elsewhere.
4. Support Your Team
Management of a remote team can be challenging, so it’s crucial that regular communication takes place and employees know they are appreciated.
Setting aside a time each day when your team will be available for questions and discussions is one way of doing this, while making sure everyone in your company knows about this schedule in advance. Redefining what “working from home” means may also help, so your employees understand exactly what is expected from them and how their efforts fit into your company’s overall goals.
Submitting constructive feedback can be an invaluable way of improving performance among your virtual team members, too. Without it, self-conscious employees could second guess their work or overconfident workers might miss opportunities for growth. Furthermore, it’s vitally important that achievements of remote team members are recognized, since remote workers may feel disengaged from office environments compared with their office counterparts; even just sending an email with a simple “great job!” can make their day and show that someone cares!