Knowing how to manage remote workers in this post-pandemic era is very essential to the success of your business or company. Remote work has been around for over a decade, but its popularity was not until the pandemic struck and businesses were forced to work from home. Since then people are now getting used to working from home thanks to the advancement of technology. This has made many companies and organizations make provisions for remote workers. However, engaging with remote workers can be challenging since they are not onsight, this can make them feel left out. So how do you make your remote employee feel like a part of your team? How do you include them in your company’s culture? Look no further, this article is going to share some tips that you can use to effectively manage remote workers in 2022.
10 Tips to Manage Remote Workers
1. Leverage Various Communication Channels
As a company that has embraced remote workers, communication is very essential to the growth and continuity of your company. Most remote workers sometimes feel disconnected from their team or employers because they don’t have access to the same communication channels their onsight counterparts are enjoying. Furthermore, being apart from each other can make communication sometimes difficult. To help your remote worker feel included in your company, you must help them feel connected by increasing the ways that you communicate with your remote workers.
You can set up several communication channels to connect and update your team members about important things in the company. You can make use of Zoom and Skype for video conferencing and screen sharing, you can also use Slack or Discord to collaborate with your team. Setting up a group on WhatsApp is not a bad idea, This way, you can drop quick messages and get instant feedback.
2. Foster Workplace Friendships
Working remotely can be boring and isolating sometimes, especially if your company doesn’t encourage human-to-human connections or friendships. One way to get your remote employees included is by encouraging social interactions. Encouraging non-formal catch-ups, virtual coffee meetups, or weekly watercooler chats helps to build trust and foster connections. The more you can empathize with one another, the easier it becomes to collaborate as a team. Research shows that one of the most important things in a team is the ability to consider and keep track of what other people feel, know, and believe. You can talk about things like weekend plans, kids, pets, or last night’s big game. These social interactions help build empathy, trust, and camaraderie.
3. Set Clear Goals, Kp Is, and Performance Expectations
Another way you can manage remote workers is by setting goals and key performance indicators. When employees know what is expected of them, they tend to be more productive. One of the most challenges faced by remote workers is the issue of time zone or time difference. Some remote employees have to work in different time zones and this can sometimes result in limited synchronous communication, leading to some employees being unsure of what is expected of them or if their performance is up to the mark.
One way to overcome this is by setting up goals and KPIs so that everybody is on the same page. Having a clear goal and expectation in mind, allow your members to know what is expected of them and this helps them hit their target putting them on the same page as their colleagues. This way, the employee will be able to be a part of the company and at the same time be productive.
You can make use of team management tools like Slack, Google Drive, Trello and Discord to assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and outline clear deliverables is a great way to put this into action.
4. Recognize and Reward the Efforts of Your Offsite Team
Taking the time to recognize and celebrate your offsite team is one way to manage your remote workers. This particular endeavour not only rewards hard work but also motivates them to achieve more. This way you are recognizing them as part of your team and at the same time motivating them. Recognize and reward them by acknowledging them in the company’s newsletter, staff meetings, social media channels and even to the board of directors. You can buy them a gift card, and give them a monetary bonus, vacation package, or salary increase. If it is someone’s birthday, celebrate them and send them a gift. This gesture shows that you value them and their input.
5. Plan Company Retreats
Get together and retreats are a great way for employees and employers to get to know each other and develop bonding and friendship. Depending on your location, a retreat or get-together might be nice to build deep connections and a way of getting to know one another in the company.
By planning a retreat, all of your remote and onsight workers can get together and share ideas, work on projects together, and set company goals. However, your retreat should not focus on only work. You can also have fun by organizing games and other adventurous activities. Make sure your team has free time during the retreat to hang out and get to know each other. You should also plan fun activities and outings. This way, they will open up and get to know each other. A retreat will make your remote team feel more connected and give them something awesome to look forward to all year.
6. Ask for Feedback
Asking your remote workers how to improve their experience, engagement and connectivity is another way to manage your employee. The feedback they provide can be great for improving their future experience. Asking for feedback is not only to show your remote workforce that you are paying attention to their contributions but to help you identify and improve on areas that may be underperforming.
By building a remote culture that encourages frequent feedback, team members are more likely to be on the same page with performance expectations, and employees.
7. Use The Right Engagement Tools
As the popularity of working remotely continues to grow, there is a need to be familiar with some remote technology and tools that can help you successfully manage your remote team.
For video and conferencing tools, you can make use of Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. If you want to collaborate with your team on projects, Slack, Trello, Asana, ClickUp, and Paymo are among the software that can help you execute the function. To store and share files, you can use Google Drive, OneDrive, Box and Onebox while Loom and Camtasia can be used to record screens.
8. Hold Weekly Meetings
Another way to effectively manage your remote team is by holding weekly or monthly meetings. Since they can’t come into the office, you can hold meetings online with Zoom or Skype to collaborate and work together. Holding regular online meetings will allow remote workers to communicate with their teams and get that face time they’re missing. Ultimately, this will help them form better bonds with their co-workers. To help achieve this, team leaders can help facilitate a social talk where everyone can talk about their day and fun moments. They can share some good news that is related to work and outside work. This will enhance the bond between team members.
9. Online Social Interaction
The advancement of science and technology has made it very easy for people to interact with each other over the internet. This has led to people being able to work from anywhere in the world and sometimes it can get boring due to limited interactions with other employees or team members. To manage this, companies can set up online social interactions using tools like Zoom. Team leaders can set up online games where team members can be paired to compete against each other. You can even set up a Q&A session where each team get to ask a fun question about each team member. Online interaction encourages team bonding and improves mental health.
10. Create a Mentor Program.
One way to manage remote workers and get them more engaged with the company is by assigning remote employees to an internal mentor. This way, they will be more connected to each other. A mentor program is helpful for new employees who haven’t yet fostered close working relationships among the team. A mentor can serve as a valuable resource for employees to turn to with any questions or concerns. It is important to keep in mind that a mentor is different from a manager.
Conclusion
Remote work has come to stay and will continue like that for a long time. As a business owner, incorporating remote work culture into your company will help you in the long run. With that said, remote work isn’t all that inclusive, there are some remote workers that may work outside the office permanently, while others may only do so once a week. As a business owner, it’s important to consider the needs of every remote worker in your company.
