As a result of the pandemic, several businesses made the difficult decision to institute a remote-only policy immediately. Due to this and the gig economy’s growth, many managers rarely interact face-to-face with their employees. As a result, some businesses struggle to navigate the transition, and it’s natural for managers to feel they’re still figuring out how to work with remote employees.
Many firms have discovered in recent months that, with the right leadership in place, they can maintain or even enhance productivity levels when some or all team members work from home. Consider these tips if you’re still learning the ins and outs of managing remote and contract staff.
1. DON’T EVER DOUBT YOUR STAFF.
Reducing time spent on conversations is an essential step toward better remote work. People can self-manage their goals and activities; therefore, polls should only be used to check progress when necessary. You can believe in clever people’s ability to solve issues and care for themselves.
2. SCHEDULE REGULAR MEETINGS WITH THE PERSON IN QUESTION.
Having productive one-on-ones is a tried-and-true management method that can be employed anywhere. The key to effective leadership is to hold regular one-on-one meetings with your employees, during which you should discuss both professional and personal growth. These three tenets need frequent check-ins, are adaptable to variations in speed and duration, and inspire action that will improve and reward your team’s performance.
You might also like to read: How do I prepare for remote work?
3. CONVENE REGULAR MEETINGS TO DISCUSS ONGOING INITIATIVES.
It’s wonderful to meet every day to talk about a current issue. Schedule them if you can get them so that you can experience flow at the same time. Instead of looking over their shoulders all the time, you’ll offer each contractor a full hour of your undivided attention once a day. Since information is often lost on the internet, be prepared to repeat yourself.
4. CREATE UNMISTAKABLE BOUNDARIES.
Many companies now rely on freelancers and remote workers from around the world. Trusting this type of team is the best way to deal with them. Allow them to carry out their duties after you’ve established clear objectives for them to meet.
5. INCLUDE THE GROUP IN THE HIRING PROCESS.
If you run a company from afar, the epidemic has not affected your operations; nevertheless, you may be able to improve our recruiting process. To select the best applicants, all department heads and some workers may participate in a virtual review panel. Hiring the appropriate individuals will therefore enable you to save time and money. For fun, staff members may host “Vengreso Water Coolers” on Zoom twice a week.
6. PUT YOUR TECHNOLOGY TO GOOD USE!
Establishing reliable methods and foundations for task completion is critical early on. As a result, executives can be confident that their teams understand all facets of a project, regardless of the number of employees or suppliers involved. CloudApper’s Projects, CMMS, Tasks, and Field Service apps are excellent for this task. Build a system out of it!
7. PROMOTE OPEN DIALOGUE.
Make-up conversation starters. One approach to accomplish this is to make contact with people who are not generally on your conversational radar. To what purpose? Facilitate people’s feelings of acceptance. Attempting to connect with someone has two potential benefits. First, simply exhibiting an interest in them may make them feel more special. Second, you encourage persistence by creating arrangements for additional engagement to strengthen the connection. The effect may be amplified if several managers utilize this strategy.
8. SHOW YOUR STAFF THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THEM.
Putting the other person first is the most crucial thing. So, first, make sure your employees understand that they are respected and that you care about them as people before anything else. The next stage is to have an open conversation about the company’s hopes and intentions for the new hire and any specific roles they will play in assimilating into and contributing to the existing culture.
9. RELY ON MUCH LESS TIME IN MEETINGS.
Recent changes in people’s lifestyles have pushed businesses to reevaluate their assumptions about the future of employment. As a result, companies are looking for creative ways to re-engage with current and past employees. For example, short daily scrums, instead of two-hour meetings, allow companies to stimulate communication, identify issues quickly, work on them efficiently, become more agile, and build a healthy rhythm.
10. DO YOUR BEST TO MAKE EVERYONE FEEL AT HOME.
When working directly with contractors and remote team members, treating them the same way you treat workers in the office down the hall is vital. Include them in your squads. Make sure to keep them informed. Set up one-on-one meetings. Grant them access to your systems and invite them in. Giving people a sense of belonging is the most effective approach to making them feel like they belong.
You might also like to read: How to Monitor Your Remote Employees and Businesses with CloudDesk
11. MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE.
It’s especially crucial to maintain the lines of communication open while working with a new team member. Write a follow-up note describing the outcome of your most recent call. It’s amazing how various people interpret the same information. A person’s perception of something may differ from another’s perception of it.
12. COME UP WITH REGULARLY SCHEDULED GETTING-TOGETHERS.
Hold regular meetings with all parties involved. These meetings aim to remind everyone of their function within their profession’s more powerful strategic framework. Make a point of publicly acknowledging the contributions of team members who are making a difference, whether in terms of outcomes, culture, partnerships, collaboration, or anything else.
13. YOU SHOULDN’T AVOID VIDEO CALLS.
We’ve all experienced Zoom weariness, but don’t let that prevent you from conducting video conversations. When everyone can see each other, this effort is worth it since it develops a culture of reciprocal accountability. When you can see their face in your head and know you’ll have to look them in the eyes when you break the news, it’s significantly more difficult to let them down. Since humans are visual, keep the in-person(-ish) encounters going.
14. JOIN IN CELEBRATING WINNING SUCCESSES.
Define your success criteria clearly, considering quality, effort, and money and your sense of fulfilment. A healthy workforce on all levels (mental, physical, and emotional) will reflect in their job. The next step is to think of unique ways to honour your accomplishments. For example, during pleasant activities, the body releases oxytocin and endorphins, which have relaxing and immune-boosting effects.
15. CREATE A PLAN FOR ONLINE EVENTS.
Fostering a sense of community and solidarity among remote employees requires using the various resources available on the internet. For example, a virtual happy hour, games, or other team-building activities may be as entertaining for a remote workforce as they are for an in-office team. Even if your organization is partially or entirely remote, you cannot overlook this phase because culture is so important.
16. EMPOWER YOUR LEADERSHIP WITH COMPASSION.
It is critical to establish trust and support among team members, especially for distributed or mixed-membership teams. You can accomplish this by building a cohesive team vision, asking and considering all team members’ opinions, exhibiting empathy, and giving opportunities for lightheartedness and togetherness. Then watch the increase in self-assurance, ingenuity, and output that follow
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