Managing remote workers brings unique challenges compared to teams being together in an office setting. Some of the challenges of remote working include not having the proper communication tools, not having clearly defined roles, managing workday stress, the inability to track employee performance and more. For managers who aren’t used to having their employees work from home, the secret to effective management is in the tools you use. These tools allow for collaboration, task management, accountability, team training and so much more.

What Does It Mean To Manage A Remote Team?

When you manage remote workers, you may be working with people from different time zones, which can create some problems with project management. Managers have to evaluate what tools can help their team succeed, whether it’s dedicating certain common hours where the employees are working at the same time to hold meetings, setting clear expectations and more. Keeping everyone on the same page with one another is easier when you have collaboration tools in place to hold everyone accountable.

Creating Accountability Is Critical

Speaking of accountability, managers have to hold their remote workers accountable in some ways. This doesn’t mean you have to set hard deadlines and be overly strict, but maybe it means having a daily face-to-face meeting via video chat to discuss goals for the day. Many people who work from home don’t have a problem holding themselves accountable, but others need some help. Be specific with your expectations as far as the hours you expect them to work, when they should be available, how responsive they should be and anything else you deem to be necessary.

Promote Social Interaction

If your organization is new to remote working, there may be an element of social interaction that employees miss. You can’t strike up a conversation with a co-worker in the break room anymore, so there has to be another way to keep those interactions going. Finding the right collaboration tools for your employees can promote social interaction and help keep everyone engaged in their work and connected.

Incorporate Virtual Video Team Training Sessions

Just because you aren’t in the same office with your employees doesn’t mean you can’t hold team training sessions with all of them. Video training has become more popular globally with the resources available today. These training sessions could be in the form of a person presenting information to you in real-time or recorded sessions to watch together. If you don’t want to give your employees the ability to talk during training sessions to potentially interrupt, you could have a chat feature going on at the same time to have a platform for questions to be asked while the presentation is going.

Expert Training Solutions With Intellezy

Intellezy works with organizations to create solutions for their unique company arrangement. Whether your team needs a video training solution, collaboration tools or anything else, our experts can work with you to solve your needs. Email us at info@intellezy.com to learn more!