HOW DO YOU MANAGE REMOTE TEAMS EFFECTIVELY? 10 TIPS FOR BEING AWESOME AT IT!

Remote work is here to stay. In a post on Remote Work this week on our parent company - IQ PARTNERS - blog, they shared the latest stats including:

20% of the Canadian workforce worked remotely during the pandemic
98% of employees say they want to work remotely at least part of the time and,
16% of companies are already fully remote

In this blog post, I’ll share the results from our review of the growing body of remote work management research, our compilation of the best practices of dozens of companies and I’ll combine it my own 20 years of experience as an HR consultant helping diverse companies build great teams.

These are some of the topline findings of our upcoming webinar ‘How To Be An Awesome Remote Manager’. Want an invite to the webinar? Click here.

In all, I’ll cover the 10 challenges that organizations need to address to manage remote teams in the post-COVID era - and your own toolkit to overcome them effectively. We’ll answer questions like;

How do you manage remote teams effectively?
How do you keep remote teams engaged?
How do you manage culture while working remotely?
How do you monitor and manage the performance of remote teams?

How to Manage Remote Teams Effectively: 2 Top Challenges

1. Communication Barriers

Remote work can lead to more communication challenges than in the pre-Zoom era. As a manager, you simply don’t have the face-to-face interactions you once did. Misunderstandings, lack of clarity and just decreased informal hallway conversation can hinder team collaboration. A few of the strategies we detail in the webinar include:

Use of collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams,
Regular video meetings including team meets, one-on-ones and virtual town halls,
Clear communication guidelines including response times,
Virtual team-building activities,
Remote communication training and,
Virtual watercool moments to recreate the spontaneous interactions of an office.

2. Work-Life Balance

Remote work can blur the boundaries between work and personal life making it challenging for employees to disconnect. A recent survey of remote workers found that 40% felt work responsibilities impeded other areas of their lives. Remote team managers need to help workers maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout, increase retention and maintain productivity. Strategies companies are using include:

Flexible work hours,
Clearly defined work hours that set boundaries between work and personal time,
Encouraging breaks: short ones, lunch to help workers recharge,
“No Meeting” Time Blocks,
Encouraging Time Off including vacation days and mental health days.

How Do You Keep Remote Teams Engaged?

Whether you’re across the country or just the city, remote work can lead to feelings of isolation and reduced engagement. Keeping employees motivated and connected to the company’s mission becomes more essential in remote work. How do you do that? Here’s a sample of some of the strategies:

Virtual Team-building Activities,
Investing in the necessary tools & technology workers need to be efficient (outdated tech can seriously hamper employee retention),
Flexible work policies that foster trust prioritize work-life balance, and perhaps most importantly,
Employee survey & feedback mechanisms:

Regularly soliciting feedback is key when your workers are no longer down the hall. Asking for feedback and acting on it demonstrates that the organization values employee input. One of the outsourced HR Services we provide is both Employee Engagement Surveys as well as more frequent, quicker ‘Pulse Check’ Surveys.

Click here to download more about our Employee Engagement Surveys. They’re based on 14 proven drivers of engagement & retention.

How Do You Manage Team Culture While Working Remotely?

One of the things that’s become more challenging in a remote setting is maintaining a strong team culture & cohesion. Building relationships and trust amongst employees is tougher when physical interactions are limited. Here’s a sample of the strategies that are proving effective at maintaining culture:

Effective Remote Team Management via Virtual Town Halls

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Virtual Town Halls & All-Hands Meetings provide opportunities for remote team leaders to foster transparency, align employees with the company’s mission & create a shared sense of purpose
Online recognition uses online platforms to publicly acknowledge achievements and milestones,
Remote onboarding programs like virtual welcome or mentoring sessions and,
Employee Resource Groups including book clubs, sports pools, happy hours…,

How Do You Monitor and Maintain the Performance of Remote Teams?

One of the biggest fears managers have about remote work is how to monitor and maintain performance. While 90% of workers report higher productivity when remote vs in-office, managers have concerns about accountability and how to track it. Here are 4 retention-friendly strategies companies are using:

Set expectations upfront and more clearly than in the past in areas such as hours and communication. Capture it in a work-from-home policy (we can help you there).
Establish tighter Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Work harder at communicating the company’s values & vision. Use the culture tactics above to clearly define what success looks like in your organization. Connect their remote work to a higher purpose.

Schedule more frequent 1-on-1s. When the hallway conversations are gone, the annual performance review won’t cut it. Give feedback constantly, frequently and clearly.

Photo by Los Muertos Crew

5 More Best Practices for Managing Remote Teams Effectively

The above are just some of the strategies and tactics top-performing companies are using to maintain employee performance and retention in the Remote Work era. In our upcoming seminar, we cover 5 more including:

The importance of adapting policies, procedures & organizational structure in the rapidly changing remote work environment,
The greater importance of training and development in remote environments,
Inclusivity & Diversity: Being mindful of the disparities in access among remote team members,
Managing the increased technical challenges remote work puts on an organization and,
The greater cybersecurity risk that comes along with it.

Grab your spot now:

Invite to Remote Team Management Webinar

Missed it or can’t make it? We’d be happy to share the findings with you. Prospective clients can reach out and talk to our Experts about HR outsourcing here.

Maybe you have managers who need help managing people? Or would you like to up your skills? Learn more about our Manager Foundation HR Service here. This 2-day training program takes managers through in-depth skills practice using various leadership models including:

Understanding Yourself (Day 1)
Understanding Others (Day 2)
Understanding Performance (Day 2)

Kimberly Blake is a senior HR Consultant with over 20 years of experience in diversified HR coaching and consulting. The seminar leverages her proven ability to help SMEs and Global 500 organizations reach their growth goals by maximizing employee performance.