Are you interested in learning how to #ManageRemote? Remote work is quickly becoming incredibly popular around the world, and in 2015 alone, more than 4.2 million people were working from home in the UK. It’s expected that this will be 50% of the workforce by 2020.
Studies have shown that staff who work from home are actually more productive compared to those who are coming into an office every day. After all, they don’t have to deal with a morning and evening commute, they’re not constantly being interrupted at their desks when they’re working throughout the day, and as long as they’re managed well, they can collaborate just as well as they would in an office.
If companies like EssentialSkillz.com have convinced you it’s time to create a remote team, there’s no better time than right now. Here are some tips to help you run your remote team:
Hire the right people
Some people are simply more suited for remote work than others. When you’re hiring for positions on your team, ask each applicant about any previous experience they’ve had working remotely. Ask them about their biggest challenges, how they stayed productive, and what they do and don’t like about working remotely. This will give you a good indication of whether they’re suited for the job.
Meet regularly
Just because you can’t meet in person, doesn’t mean you can’t have regular meetings. This can be a little challenging when you’re working with multiple time zones, but it’s still perfectly possible. There are plenty of benefits of meeting virtually. Not only can you easily go over work expectations and deadlines, but it allows team members to get to know each other, so they feel like more of a team.
Don’t micromanage
Here’s the thing: You can’t micromanage a remote team. There’s simply no way to know what everyone is doing at every moment of the day, and if you choose to use time-tracking software to keep an eye on their screens, your employees are likely to just feel resentful.
Consider your actual deliverables. All that matters is whether the work is done to the best possible standard. How it happens is in the hands of your employees. It’s up to you to show your remote team that you trust them to do the job well- and they’re likely to prove you right when you give them that trust and autonomy.
