You may have noticed that the percentage of employees who work remotely from their homes has rapidly increased in recent years. In fact, by 2020 studies show that roughly half the UK’s workforce will work remotely, rather than in a traditional office environment.
How to run a remote team:
1. Make sure that you communicate with each member of your team on a regular basis
The key to supporting your team members in working remotely is to make sure to communicate with each team member on a regular basis. As an example, you may want to consider using a professional messaging application on your business’ intranet, to check in with each team member twice a week.
If your business currently doesn’t have the resources to offer such a solution, you can also use regular messaging apps such as Google Chat, to talk with your team.
Alternatively, if the majority of your team lives in the same city, you may also want to use your Google calendar to schedule weekly in-person meetings for individual members of your team or your entire team. Which will ensure that your team members stay on track and are clear about your team’s current priorities and objectives.
2. When it comes to selecting new team members, make sure to choose individuals who boast a proven track record
When it’s time to add new team members to your remote team, it’s well worth selecting individuals who boast glowing references on their resume as you need to be able to trust remote team members to work just as hard as they would at home, as they would in a traditional job environment.
Also keep an eye out for resumes from individuals who describe themselves as being independent workers as they will adjust to being a remote worker far better than an individual who depends on others, to stay focused and productive!
3. Utilize Google Documents
One way to allow multiple members of your team to edit a single document is to encourage your team members to use Google Documents. Which they can then send to other members of their team, for their input.
On the sidebar of Google Documents, you’ll even be able to have a discussion about the document in question and to refer to different highlighted points, which individuals have created.
4. Don’t be afraid to pick up your phone and call your team members
It should be a standard rule that during office hours, all of your team members should be available to be contacted by phone. So instead of spending countless minutes writing up an email to send to one of your team members, pick up your phone and give them a call.
5. Make sure that each team member is equipped with the right equipment to productively work remotely
Make sure that you provide your team members with the laptops, headphones, microphones, and equipment to work from home efficiently. As their performance reflects directly on your business!
6. Make sure your team is properly trained
You’ll also want to make sure your team has the proper health and safety training such as the courses EssentialSkillz offers and that they are on board with the expectations of the job. It is important to communicate and that your employees have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, not just on the job, but keeping safe as well.
So if you’re looking to manage a remote team, it’s well worth using the helpful advice listed above to effectively manage your team!
For more business advice from the One and Co blog, click here.