Overcoming Challenges in Building and Managing Remote Teams
Remote employees have more freedom and flexibility, while firms maximizing remote work have access to an endless pool of potential candidates.
Although remote work is ideal in theory for both parties, there are numerous challenges that remote managers must overcome when interacting with teams and individual employees. In this article, we will discuss the challenges in building and managing remote teams and how to overcome them.
Communication
Working with remote teams successfully requires effective communication. Feedback from each team member and knowing what each one is working on is crucial. Open communication isn’t always simple to foster when teams operate remotely. Traditional email marketing frequently gives the impression of being a formal medium that prevents informal discussions.
Creating a designated space for communication among staff members in the same department or independent contractors working on the same project is one method that many remote teams get around. Slack, a solution for internal team collaboration, can enable dialogue across multiple channels. The responses to frequently asked questions are also accessible to potential employees.
No matter what tool you choose, remote workers won’t feel cut off from one another if there is a mechanism to encourage two-way communication.
Monitoring Output and Productivity
Managers do not often know what it takes for an employee to finish a task quickly. Without knowing someone’s productivity when working remotely, it might be difficult to tell if they are being underutilized or not doing their share of the job.
Remote managers must set up systems to monitor every employee’s productivity. It may involve establishing metrics for how much work should be completed daily
The KPI you use in a conventional office setup can also be applied to your remote workers to assess their productivity. It ensures that expectations are in place, regardless of how and where your team works.
Company Culture
Creating a healthy company culture takes time and process: selecting the best candidates, encouraging open communication, and spreading that culture throughout the organization. It will require more focused work to develop in a remote team than in an office, regardless of whether you want to create a fun and lively team or a professional company culture.
Like any other project or campaign, developing a positive workplace culture with a remote team represents your company’s values. And it starts with how the manager or business owner deals with their employees.
Scheduling Difficulties
Due to the various time zones, organizing a phone call or a video meeting for global teams is one of the primary difficulties of working remotely. Independent contractors that have erratic work schedules can make this worse. Knowing your participants’ whereabouts and general schedules will help you choose a time that works for everyone.
First, there are tools online that you may utilize to call, host a video conference, or organize meetings with remote colleagues. There are ways to make scheduling a meeting less stressful, ranging from a straightforward online poll that displays potential meeting dates and times for team members to choose from to calendaring apps, a range of websites, and free hosts that gauge participant availability.
Pay your staff and independent contractors to participate in conference calls and meetings with your virtual team. While managers themselves wouldn’t attend a work-related meeting off-the-clock, some managers working with project-based freelancers expect them to answer calls without pay or as part of a flat payment for working on a project. These managers are often surprised when independent contractors and freelancers aren’t promptly available for calls and meetings. Consider compensating staff members to attend mandatory meetings or calls related to their jobs.
One-On-One Meetings and Morale
One-on-one meetings are essential for morale. It can seem like a burden, but they help employees feel appreciated and allow them a chance to provide feedback on their performance.
If these meetings aren’t routinely arranged or are postponed, remote workers may feel disconnected from the business and uncertain about their position.
In-Person Get Together
Getting to know others personally is one of the best aspects of working with a group of people. Working with remote teams, where everyone has various residences and time zones, makes it challenging to accomplish that. Plan to meet with staff members once a year, if you can, to get to know folks in person. For full-time W2 employees, this might be an annual gathering or a group excursion to a foreign city.
Even groups of independent contractors can arrange to meet at a conference, convention, or annual meeting. Some remote contractors have plans to meet up when they are in the area for other commitments. Encouragement to visit new places when visiting the city for any reason, even a family vacation, can be all that is needed to make the change.
Final Thoughts
It’s essential to always keep in mind the importance of communication when leading remote teams. Be careful to communicate with your staff frequently and provide them precise instructions on tasks and due dates.
Additionally, be receptive to suggestions from your team members so that you may make any adjustments. Establish a culture of respect and trust so that everyone may freely express their thoughts and opinions without worrying about being judged or criticized.
By following these tips, you can guarantee the success and productivity of your remote staff.
Salman Zafar is an ecopreneur, consultant, advisor, speaker and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection, conservation and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Salman is the Founder of EcoMENA, a popular voluntary organization based in Qatar. He is also the Founder and CEO of BioEnergy Consult, a reputed consulting firm active in biomass, waste-to-energy and waste management segments.
Salman is a professional environmental writer with more than 350 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass environmental awareness in different parts of the world.
Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com
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