Managing A Newly Remote Team?
Tips to keep everyone productive and positive
Posted on 03-23-2020, Read Time: Min
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As COVID-19 spreads globally, managers across the world who supervise office teams are implementing policies that require their direct reports to work from home. Company leaders around the world have implemented work-from-home policies amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus, causing many others to follow suit and work remotely to avoid spreading any illness to colleagues, friends and family.
For those who rely on close team collaboration, working from home could present a few challenges if not prepared for in advance. Many of us are accustomed to working in an open office environment, where ideas and assignments flow quickly with direct verbal communications, so in this time of isolation, managers must keep an open dialogue on deliverables, and make the necessary adjustments to communication protocols and virtual workspace tools to get the job done.
I’m part of a 50-person communications agency that practices both onsite and remote teamwork where employees are eligible to work remotely for an unlimited amount of days, based on hitting specific performance metrics every two months. Due to COVID-19, we have all been instructed to work remotely, but due to our longstanding company culture, this is something that we are all well-equipped to do.
If you’re a supervisor responsible for managing an offsite team for the first time, the following tips are meant to facilitate effective communications and seamless workflows based on what has worked (and hasn't worked) for our teams. It should be assumed that specific tactics, approach and implementation of the practices may or may not apply to certain organizations based on size, location, industry, and other variables that are specific to an individual organization.
- Practice virtual leadership. Your team relies on clear direction and organization to get the job done. Leverage remote communications to showcase your leadership practices that your team has grown accustomed to in the office. This includes setting up virtual workspace and collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, Google Hangouts, Google Drive and more for easy online messaging and file sharing.
- Err on the side of over-communicating with your team. To maintain close collaboration remotely, make sure you’re proactively engaging with and responding to your team in a timely manner. Depending on each team member’s role, mix up your approach through team emails with clear guidance, one-on-one phone conversations or video face-time to check in with each person as necessary, as well as group video chats for team brainstorms or workshop sessions.
- Encourage productivity and time management. Ask any experienced freelancer or solopreneur about how they manage their time, and you’ll quickly realize that their success is tightly linked to increased productivity and efficiency. We’re faced with a lot of distractions at home, but you can alleviate any stress associated with the home environment with simple guidance to help your team manage their time well. The key is to provide suggestions for a productive day, then give them the space to practice effective time management on their own. This way, they can figure out what works best for them to meet individual and team goals.
- Study the larger competitive set. Several major organizations such as Google and Twitter have advised select employees to work from home. Other organizations have implemented new restrictions on work-related travel. You can learn a lot about effective practices for employee communications and protocol by studying your competitive set, particularly larger competitors that have a global footprint and more experience having navigated through similar issues in the past.
Author Bio
| Nina Velasquez is the EVP of Talent Development at North 6th Agency. Visit http://n6a.com/ Connect Nina Velasquez Follow @North6thAgency |
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