Leadership is challenging in any situation. However, it becomes even more challenging when you include aspects of a remote workforce, such as poor communication, disengagement, and time zone differences. Managing remote teams often requires more structure and effort than leading in-office teams, which is why practical tips for managing remote teams are essential for today’s leaders.
Technology has altered how individuals do business in the modern world, and as a result, the nature of employment has changed. These days, many professionals choose to work from home or any other location with an internet connection. Businesses gain from this as well since it allows them to employ the best talent without being constrained by geography and save money.
This trend is expected to accelerate due to the growing globalization and industry diversity. For managers, what does this mean? The widespread use of remote work has altered both how companies run and how managers must lead.
While most leaders are accustomed to frequent face-to-face interactions, those who manage a remote team must learn how to guide, involve, and unite their employees without being in close proximity. You might wonder how one achieves it. Read on to explore what works.
Ways to Manage Remote Teams
1. Plan Frequent Video Check-Ins
Video calls are one of the most effective ways to engage remote teams since they allow you to communicate using words, tone, and body language (covering verbal, vocal, and body-language cues). However, simply turning your planned meetings into video conferences is insufficient.
Do you recall those spontaneous discussions? Plan frequent, recurring video one-on-one meetings with each of your direct reports using a video conferencing platform such as Zoom or Google Meet.
They can discuss personal matters or ideas that just don’t fit into your typical meeting schedule, thanks to this. This is especially important for team members who may be struggling (either professionally or emotionally). Visual and verbal clues typically translate better when it comes to empathy and difficult talks.
In addition to your one-on-one meetings, think about doing a weekly video conference with the entire staff. This helps you retain strong team ties while providing your team with an opportunity to see and interact with one another. To facilitate informal talks, you may even decide to hold a virtual happy hour on Fridays or daily 10-minute coffee breaks.
2. Set Rules for Instant Messaging
Even if video check-ins play a significant role in remote management, most communication will probably happen via chat apps like Microsoft Teams or Slack. These platforms enable quick, casual communication between coworkers, taking the place of workplace conversations at the desk or over the coffee maker.
Idea exchange, informal discussion, and the numerous brief queries that come up throughout the day all depend on messaging technologies. It should come as no surprise that a McKinsey study found that improved digital collaboration and communication might increase workers’ productivity by 20 to 25 percent.
The way these technologies are utilized will alter significantly with the shift to remote work, even if you were already using a chat app. Developing, modifying, or reiterating rules is still a worthwhile endeavor.
3. Chat in Real-Time
Despite the many benefits of working remotely, feeling alone and disengaged are two of the biggest drawbacks. A decline in involvement is correlated with these emotions. How can managers recognize disengagement in remote teams? Among them are a lack of drive, engagement, initiative, creativity, and involvement.
To facilitate real-time team communication, use platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat. This will enable employees to engage and relate to one another through casual conversation and encourage them to exchange ideas, opinions, and updates throughout the day.
Additionally, try introducing small conversations into group sessions. Asking how everyone’s week went and talking about personal updates should take up a few minutes at the beginning of each meeting. Remote workers frequently spend the majority of their days at home since they have no need to leave the house.
Spending all of your time alone may get boring and demoralizing, even if it might be a fantastic change of pace from regular office work. If budgets allow, consider small gestures such as coffee vouchers good for a cup of coffee at their preferred neighborhood café to give them an excuse to enjoy a change of scenery. You decide how frequently you do that!
4. Encourage a Sense of Teamwork
The efficacy of a team is greatly influenced by its cohesiveness. It makes sense that businesses spend significant resources on team-building exercises, vacations, and other benefits meant to enhance corporate culture.
While distant team members might not be able to participate in actual events, they can participate in virtual ones. Fortunately, there are virtual team-building platforms and activities that encourage online cooperation and communication through games and activities meant to strengthen team relationships.
These exercises force virtual teams to collaborate while being geographically separated in order to accomplish objectives. Online and virtual games also foster connection, camaraderie, and cohesiveness among distant coworkers. Even small moments of fun can noticeably improve engagement.
5. Maximize Face-to-Face Contact
Since humans are visual creatures, constant face-to-face interaction is one of the crucial tips for managing remote teams. Tone and body language are crucial in conveying important and powerful ideas.
However, most platforms used by remote teams, including chat, email, and texting, lack visual clues, which can make collaboration more challenging. Throughout the year, make an effort to connect face-to-face, either in person or via video, at least a couple of times.
Moreover, instead of depending just on writing or calling, use tools like Google Meet or other video conferencing platforms. Ideally, keep online meetings to around ten participants. If the meeting is longer than that, it’s preferable to have a clear agenda before it begins and aim to keep meetings concise, ideally limited to 30 minutes.
By doing this, you’ll be able to keep everyone’s interest and show that you have a practical and productive approach. When conducting lengthy video conferences, don’t forget to arrange breaks and set time limits for each speaker.
6. Set Clear Goals
This is the most effective method for creating responsibility and guaranteeing that each team member is contributing. In remote teams with restricted communication channels, individuals may have diverse perceptions of goals and the role each person plays in attaining them.
Because of this, team leaders need to have a conversation with each team member to explain these objectives as well as expectations and quantifiable personal goals. Make it clear when you want your staff to be “online” as well. For instance, to be accessible during agreed core working hours via phone, text, email, chat, or any other method.
Establishing a system where employees submit their daily or weekly goals and have them cross them off would further encourage accountability. To provide remote workers with greater structure, motivate them to plan ahead, and assist them in identifying the goals they need assistance with, consider utilizing scheduling applications like Asana, Wrike, Jira, and Basecamp.
Read More: 9 Video Interview Tools to Enhance Remote Hiring
7. Manage Expectations
Knowing how to manage remote teams has become considerably more efficient, organized, and rewarding for all participants when managers clearly define expectations for the frequency, means, and optimum timing of communication.
Establishing rules helps lower ambiguity and eliminates ambiguity about when and how team members should connect. For instance, whereas some workers might rely on instant messaging for rapid or urgent inquiries, others might reserve video conferencing for daily check-ins or more complicated conversations needing face-to-face interaction.
Additionally, it is beneficial to outline the best times of day for each team member to reach their supervisor—who might be you—so that communication flows easily without interrupting concentrated work. Furthermore, managers should see to it that colleagues routinely share the knowledge they require so that the whole team remains aligned, supported, and productive.
8. Prioritize Results Above Activities
Strengthening employee empowerment and involvement is a commonly known and highly advised approach. Employees obtain the clarity they require to go forward with assurance when leaders clearly specify goals, anticipated outcomes, and the general rationale behind a job or project.
From there, giving employees the right tools, resources, and training helps them create their own execution plan, which fosters innovation, personal drive, and a greater feeling of ownership. Micromanaging in isolated surroundings is considerably more challenging; tracking every choice or deed just isn’t realistic. This can actually be an advantage.
Less micromanagement forces leaders to trust their staff and motivates workers to depend on their own capacity for problem-solving. In the end, this boosts performance, raises morale, and fosters a more creative environment in the workplace.
9. Offer Resources
Without the right resources and training, no responsible leader would set their team up to fail—at least not if they want to win. While the comparison may not be perfect, the principle still applies to modern remote work environments. Today’s distributed teams depend heavily on reliable tools and technology to perform at their best.
Many employees need updated computers, stronger WiFi connections, or essential equipment like webcams, microphones, and noise-canceling headphones to communicate effectively. In some cases, this means reallocating already tight budgets to prioritize the tools that truly matter.
Investing in these essentials may require difficult decisions, but it ultimately sets the entire team up for success. When employees are equipped with what they need, they can stay focused, productive, and fully engaged in their work.
Summing Up
Overseeing virtual teams is difficult and calls for a careful, purposeful approach, as you can see. Managing from a distance entails that you should monitor not only if projects’ goals are being fulfilled and tasks are finished, but also the emotional health, inspiration, and group dynamics of your team members.
Remote work can occasionally lead to isolation or misunderstanding; therefore, leaders need to be proactive in building a welcoming environment where everyone feels appreciated and connected. As you help your team through these dynamics, you will almost certainly find yourself stepping into more important leadership responsibilities.
You might already be familiar with some of the remote management techniques covered here; others could challenge you outside your comfort zone. This discomfort is often a sign of growth; that pain can be eliminated by adopting new approaches that improve team cohesion and your own confidence.
The good news is that if you’re dedicated enough to read and consider these ideas, you already possess the commitment needed to properly supervise remote teams. Good remote leadership is about consistency, empathy, and continual improvement rather than flawless perfection.
Start applying these best tips for managing remote teams today. Every stage—improving communication standards, providing better tools, or giving emotional well-being top priority—clearly counts. You will eventually observe the good influence on your remote workers’ general morale and productivity, which will finally enable your team to excel in any virtual workplace.
FAQ
Q: What difficulties arise while overseeing a remote team?
A: Common challenges include maintaining clear communication, supporting work-life balance, managing relationships across time zones, preserving company culture, ensuring data security, and providing team members with access to the tools and information they need.
Q: What is the policy for 60/40 remote work?
A: Employees can choose the workplace that best suits their requirements and those of the company under this working paradigm. The proportion between working at home (40%) and in the office (60%) is known as the 60/40 hybrid model.
Q: Which ability is essential for working remotely?
A: You may establish a more encouraging and cooperative remote work environment by honing your communication skills, giving frequent feedback, and discovering new ways to gauge productivity. You can develop the necessary skill set as a leader by pursuing executive training and ongoing education.
