The Internet increases our communication and connectivity on such a level that working remotely is no more a big deal. After the pandemic, many businesses are switching to remote work. Though this switch is not entirely perfect, for many businesses, it becomes a new norm.
As e-commerce businesses mostly depend on the internet, it’s easier to put a remote business team. The only challenge here is how you are going to manage your team.
Remote work is supposed to make things easier for the employee but sometimes it can become complicated because of poor management.
Whether you’re building a remote team for the first time or have experience in this area, these five tips will help you create a happier, more productive team.
Communicate Often and Openly
Working from home seems like a great idea. It saves time and energy. Employees even can remain available more than the usual working hour.
However, things don’t go as they always expected. Employees often suffer from a lack of motivation when they work from home. They don’t get the same interaction and dynamics that they use to get in a normal office environment. It affects their productivity.
To lessen this effect, you need to create a healthy remote work culture. Even though you trust your team, they need regular communication from you as a manager. In this way, they will feel that you value their work and also reduce their working boredom.
Treat remote Employees as Locals
Remember, your remote team can’t interact with you directly. When you work with someone, direct contact is crucial. It helps to build bonds and trust between you and your team.
Naturally, the remote team doesn’t get the opportunity to get connected on that level. So, there is no chance to get to know them on a personal level.
But, a personal level connection is necessary to bring the best out of your employees. That’s why you need to give extra effort to build a connection with your remote employees. Respond to their needs as quickly as you can. Wish them on special occasions like birthdays or Christmas.
Establish Expectations and Boundaries from the Beginning
Remote work may offer flexibility to the employee but it makes your job harder as a manager. You need to work double to set the workflows, daily availability and boundaries for each project.
A sound project management system is crucial to make remote work effective. Here are some things to consider:
- Which collaboration tool will you choose, and will you prefer instant messaging, video calling, or email?
- How can you keep your remote team motivated and engaged when they are overwhelmed with work?
- What is the appropriate hour to call for a team meeting? Do you want to keep a tab on a daily basis or wait at the end of the week to catch up?
Track Team Progress
Keep track of your employees to sustain productivity and creativity. Monitor your employees to know what makes them comfortable and which project attracts them the most.
In this way, you will know where to assign them for the next projects. Time tracking is also crucial to know that your team is maintaining the workflow properly.
Time tracking is valuable for avoiding roadblocks, bottlenecks in workflow, and syncing with others on the team. It also helps you to find who is performing well and who needs extra guidance.
Plan a Get-Together
Online communication works very fine but it can’t entirely replace direct communication. That’s why you can arrange a get-together once in a while to get to know your team better. It also helps build a good rapport among the team members.
A get-together also helps to set the company’s cultural tone. The team members also get to know the company’s project and purpose and feel motivated to give their best.
A remote business is cost-effective. You don’t have to pay extra for running an office building and employees would take charge a little less than usual.
If you wish to keep growing your small business at a low cost, you simply have to adapt to the new way of working and focus on building a successful remote team.
