The Remote Control: Working from Home

In todays world, many teams are working remotely some or all of the time. Since the pandemic, workers have proven that they can deliver from home and managers have had to adapt their management styles to suit it. It offers its challenges but it can be done. Thanks to technology, working remotely has become increasingly common in many different industries, and employees can now work from virtually anywhere as a result. In this post, I will delve into a few of the methods a manager can adapt in order to continue the success of their teams when working remotely.

Firstly, you need to learn to trust your staff. This will prove to be the basis upon which your relationship with your team will be built. You can do this by doing the following:-

Setting clear expectations:

Define work hours, deadlines, ensuring company culture is maintained and agreeing clear performance metrics. Managing performance in a remote team can be difficult, as it relies on effective communication, trust and the ability to provide feedback and support from a distance.

Providing access to the right tools:

When working with remote employees, ensuring that each one of them has access to the required tools and a suitable work environment can be challenging. So the first thing that needs to be done is to ensure that a workplace assessment is carried out. This can be done by the employee and it should consider conducting a DSE assessment on the employees work space.

Fostering regular communication:

Schedule regular check-ins, daily or weekly catch up sessions is crucial to ensuring remote workers feel recognised and valued. Ensuring you as a manager schedule these check-ins along with team meetings, one-on-one sessions and create and agree communication guidelines. Remaining cognisant of time zone differences.

Encouraging work-life balance:

Being supportive of doing the school run for example and becoming aware of effects of isolation and disengagement.

Recognising and rewarding efforts:

Effective strategies for recognising remote employees include public recognition, celebrating milestones, promoting a sense of belonging, and offering personalised rewards like monetary incentives, charitable donations, and wellness activities.

Providing opportunities for growth:

To bring out the best in your remote employees, offer training opportunities and provide a path for career development.

Conclusion

Overall, the onus for successful remote working is not on the employee, its on the manager or the employer. Its up to you to make it work and to provide your team with enough motivation and desire to want to do a great job. Its time to step up as a manager and spend time focusing on your team.