Organizations ranging from a handful of employees to thousands abruptly shifted to a remote-work model across the nation due to the pandemic. But just because teams have worked remotely doesn’t mean it’s being done in the most effective way.
Managers, you’re on the hook to expand your skills and show that you are you can now run a productive, efficient, well-oiled remote team. We’re here to help. Read on to discover small adjustments that will make a big difference starting today.
If you need more information, we wrote a similar article about best practices for employees. It has slight overlap, but numerous suggestions you can pass on to your team members.
Why should you listen to us?
If you’re like most managers, you probably have little to no work-from-home experience. But even if you’re a pro at working remotely, managing an entire team of people new to remote work and collaboration technology creates a whole new set of challenges. We have the know-how to help.
Fusion Alliance has decades of experience managing our own remote workers. Additionally, we help organizations set up and support their remote workforces from a technology and collaboration standpoint. And our work in this area has only ramped up since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pandemic or not, the most effective managers have their finger on the pulse of what each team member is feeling and doing. In a remote world, you need to continue to gauge how your team members are adapting and offer help. This connection will fast-track you to helping everyone meet your shared goals.
If you haven’t had time to check on your employees one by one, begin now. Instead of talking about their projects, start by asking how they are, and let them lead the conversation.
We bring this up because it’s amazing how many people say their managers have done little more than ask a quick “how’s it going?” and move on to the “important” stuff – work.
Other managers are so overwhelmed by their own new workload that they fail to reach out all. Yet others don’t even address this adjustment and see things as “business as usual.”
On the flip side, we’ve heard instances of senior executives of organizations taking the time to email individual employees to check on them. Imagine the difference that makes in making employees feel valued and creating loyalty.
Despite being remote for several months, one area that employees still complain about is feeling unsettled about their workspace at home. This is a good conversation starter. If your company provides guidance on how to best create work-from-home workspaces, share them or the tips you find here. All of this will alleviate stress.
When you work on-site, you learn a lot about what’s going on from coffee-area and hallway discussions. With that channel gone, here are ways to help your employees feel less siloed:
In our article, 7 remote work best practices for employees, the first best practice is about creating a routine. Look at these suggestions to take charge of creating a workday structure. They’ll help you move from reactive to proactive.
Try to be consistent in your routine before and during work. Stick to a time when you’ll stop working so that you don’t burn out. Add exercise into the mix, including during work. Do some cardio every 90 minutes, whenever you switch projects, or stop to get a drink.
If you’re a leader who has figured out a work-from-home routine and you’re coping reasonably well, be patient and give grace to others who aren’t in the same place as you.
Some are alone and struggling. Others deal with: young children; students and spouses competing for bandwidth; no real office space that is free of distraction; friends and family who may have taken ill; financial difficulties that are overwhelming; and on and on. As time goes on, many people’s personal challenges compound.
Do what you can to listen, prioritize work, or offer flexibility like shifting hours. Your genuine concern will help alleviate stress.
A UC Irvine study found that it takes 23 minutes to refocus after being interrupted just once. Just as you tell a child to focus when they get off task, train yourself to manage and reduce work interruptions. You’ll instantly see a change in your own productivity.
The distractions caused by those in your household are a different story. Each family member or pet adds another variable.
We acknowledge that visual clues often mean nothing to young children, but using the bullets above will at least help with work distractions.
If your meetings have always been in person in the past, you may need a different formula for virtual meetings. If you haven’t already done so, set up processes and expectations.
Ask your team not to multitask so that you can keep meetings shorter, and make sure you’re doing the same. If you’re heard typing in the background during a meeting or if you’re not responding when someone asks you a question because your focus is elsewhere, don’t be surprised if everyone else begins doing the same.
It’s a no-brainer that communication improves when you see a person’s gestures, expressions, and body language. Many companies suggest video calls, even under normal conditions. Video calls can reduce the need for travel, as well.
That said, not everyone’s remote-work setup is conducive to video. If you want to have a meeting with video, tell the attendees in advance. Some people don’t want others to see their makeshift office or the kids running around in the background.
Many collaboration tools allow you to blur the background or change it to something else, so recommend that option. But if someone is stressed about using video, take notice and don’t force it as the norm.
Do your part to create a fun, energetic, engaged remote culture. Here are some ideas:
If you act as an example of making time for lighthearted interactions and human connection, your employees will feel much more relaxed.
As of Oct. 2019, just months before the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 16% of the U.S. workforce (that’s more than 26 million people) was working remotely part of the time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For years, the data has shown that engagement, happiness, and health all improve for those who work from home:
Regardless, many traditional managers don’t it that way. There’s a camp that firmly believes that employees will slack off without direct supervision. Or that “work should be done at work.”
However, months into our national remote-work experiment, so many of the myths about working from home have been dispelled. Many non-believers have been converted overnight.
That’s good news because it looks like having a partially full-time remote staff will emerge as a new norm to reduce costs in a post-pandemic world. The takeaway is that remote work is going to continue to be a larger part of the fabric of work life. Embrace it. Understand it. Make it work for your organization.
Let go of preconceived notions and be the champion of your remote work team. Model the behavior and attitudes that you want to see from your employees, and they will respond in kind.
These tips only work if you apply them. Share them with your colleagues. And don’t forget to share our tips for employees with your team.
Need help?
Meanwhile, if your company needs help with the technology side, support, or a VPN set up in a day, our experts at infrastructure, cloud, and collaboration are activated and ready to help. Have questions? Contact us. We’re ready to help.