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7 Expert tips to effectively manage a remote team

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startupgeek
7 Expert tips to effectively manage a remote team

2020 has given this world another way of working; it made work from home a new normal. Earlier, only a few companies used to work on that, but now businesses embrace remote trends and hire top talent from different countries. It is the responsibility of a manager to manage remote teams. As the manager of remote team members, your job is to nurture, guide, and support team members, which is a challenge in itself. Therefore we are here with this guide for managers to manage their remote lives and make employees happier.


No matter how much remote work can be full of challenges, they are additionally fast and cheap that supervisors can do to facilitate progress. Here are 7 practical and tested tips that a manager can apply in order to fetch great results from remote employees. 


1) Set clear expectations


Company value is one of the most critical aspects of any company. Dealing with any team, remote or traditional, begins with setting explicit assumptions. While every individual may have personal obligations depending on their job, the whole group needs many rules that assist them with remaining in total agreement.


The company immediately has a baseline for overseeing disseminated items by writing our qualities and expecting everybody to consent when recruited. Everybody knows the proper how to act, and all the more significantly, they comprehend why we do the things we do.


2) Take complete advantage of technology 


Technology plays an essential role in managing a remote business. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, most of us have been forced down a path of digital transformation by now. This transformation can take most organizations months, if not years, to adopt. Various tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams that most of you are already using daily provide simple platforms for tackling clients. One has to admit, it was a bit uncomfortable at first, but once it is fully adopted, it has been a fabulous way to sustain engagement strategies. And best for getting stuff done!


3) Over-communicate and maintain a daily check-in


Keep a daily track of work, this might seem needless, yet it is vital for managers and teams new to remote working. Furthermore, where email, telephone, and messages might have done the job, managers successful in their remote leadership are moving toward more frequent use of video conferencing to build up the eye-to-eye collaboration that is currently inadequate. Other than daily check-ins, over-communicating is imperative for the team's tasks, duties, responsibilities, and desired outcomes. 


4) Build rules of engagement


On the other hand, ROE's as we call them in the military. Remote work turns out to be more effective and fulfilling when managers set expectations for frequency, means, and optimal planning of communication for their groups. For example, use video conferencing for daily check-ins. Also, set up assumptions on the best occasions of day for colleagues to arrive at their manager (possibly that is you) and the manager to reach to its colleagues. What's more, ensure peers are sharing data depending on the situation.


5) Set Boundaries with Remote Workers


Remote teams often need some boundaries to outline their work and personal life. Working from home can be chaotic, and there is no end line on time to work and enjoy a private life. As the teammates are working from different time zones, any kind of notifications, messages, or emails can ruin someone's sleep or disturb their family time. It is essential that you discuss work schedules with each team member by respecting their time. Also, show them that you care for their time and actually do it. This will help build positive relationships with employees, making sure nothing is too hard for anyone. Afterall their mental and physical well-being is essential as well. 


6) Create processes to manage projects


All team members who are working remotely have to manage their projects individually, this doesn't mean you shouldn't create a structure and process that must be followed by everyone. It will be beneficial if you build a project management system that is simple and at the same time allows team members to feel empowered to take responsibility for themselves. This system will help in keeping a track of everyone's work at a team level.


The most suitable way to get the most from each individual is to give them a goal, allow them to work in their style freely, show gratitude, and make everyone feel cared for. Your colleagues should not be subject to productivity trackers or timers, and it is much more crucial to focus on the end goal. Either you see results, or we don't.


7) Train and connect remote employees


Most of us are self-starters, so we naturally love to learn new skills and absorb knowledge. In many companies, team members are learning how to code, do handstands, speak Japanese, become master chefs, and many more things. It is your job to train remote employees in various ways as a company. We document all company-related information on Notion to learn about the Company.


New employees receive a link with all the company-related information in their welcome email during the onboarding process. It is the responsibility of the respective team leads to introduce new newbies to their colleagues. If anything is unclear to the new employees, they can hop over to the company’s support members, they can give help to the remote workers who just started working full-time at the company.


Managing employees remotely is not that hard when you employ the right individuals for your team: people you can trust 100%, people who value freedom and are eager to take responsibility. The key to success is communication. Advance communication is what you expect from your team. No doubt, it becomes much easier to know and communicate with a person sitting beside you the whole day. When you are not doing remote work you work together and spend hours together, and you start learning more about your colleagues, their strengths and weaknesses, and what personality they possess. But when working remotely, you will have to try a little hard to know about your team. Follow the tips mentioned above and be a successful remote manager.

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