Remote work, also known as freelancing, virtual job or in layman terms, a home based job, gave rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Firms had to sort for another way of working due to the pandemic across the world.

Remote work has however come to stay, because it’s shown to be very effective in work dispensation and it also gives firm’s opportunity to make use of tablets across the world.

However, it poses some major challenges to organizations such that it hinders the fostering of the company’s culture. The risk of having disconnected employees increases and lastly managing a remote team needs specific skills.

So, in this article, let’s take a tour on effective strategies for remote team management.

Remote Team Management

Here is the big question, What is remote team management? Remote team management is the process of coordinating and monitoring the activities and results of a remote team. It is also the practice of effectively leading and managing remote employees.

Now, why is it crucial to keep everyone on track even when they are not in the same location. As aforementioned, remote teams may or may not be in the same location so it requires strategies to effectively manage the team.

These are the various steps to effectively manage a remote team, they include:

• Create a structured work routine: As a remote team manager, it is important to create a work routine so as to effectively maximize the output of the team.
• Check-in frequently: Reports have shown that most remote team workers tend to fall into depression and feel left out due to minimum interaction with people. A remote leader should ensure to check in on the remote team workers.
• Disseminate information properly: information is the key. A misunderstood information will lead to a wrong output. There should be a proper outlet for dissemination of information such as WhatsApp, SMS or a call to ensure effective communication.
• Set clear goals:  A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards it achievement _ Bo Bennett. Goals have to be set clearly for it’s achievement.
• Use technology: The world is now a global world, making use of technology to effectively manage the team, such as Zoom, LinkedIn, Google workspace among many others.
• Use video communications: Video communications will serve as an avenue to bond the team and cut across different social barriers which may occur due trace, gender or ethnicity.

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Common Challenges Faced By Remote Teams 

Well, there is a reason why there is a saying that there are no advantages without its disadvantages. Without mincing words, there are challenges faced by remote team workers such as loneliness, working from different locations, distractions from home, etc. So let’s explore each point.

Loneliness

This is a challenge that is faced by remote team workers. There is no interaction with the outside world, which makes them feel lonely and easily fall into depression.

Different Locations

The difference in location can lead to different sorts of barriers such as language, culture, etc. It can also make work output slow as there might be difference in time due to the location which might cause delay in cases such that the individuals have to work together as a group.

Distractions From home

This is a term that is quite common in all workforces right. Imagine bringing some work from the office to work at home, there never seems to be enough time to do house chores and deal with the office work.

Now, in the case of someone who works from home, there will be more distractions as home might not be conducive enough for work compared to the office where there will be no distractions from performing your task.

Key Strategies For Remote Team Success

Here are the top 11 key strategies for remote team success, and they include:

Set Clear Expectation 

It is very crucial for the remote team leader or organization to set clear expectations of its goals to the remote team workers. If there are no common goals for the remote team, there is a possibility of diversity in the output.

Therefore, there must be specially designed goals which must not be distorted by any means such as communication.

Foster Effective Communication And Collaboration

Team communication is very important as it will promote effectiveness, improve your products. Communications between team members will give room to new business ideas and Intel.

A lot of problems in the world would be solved if we talked to each other. So, this means that communication  is very crucial to team success.

Give Regular Feedbacks 

Feedback is very essential to team success. The organizations or the team leader have to give regular feedback to their employees as it will decrease error and promote the productivity of the remote team workers. Giving feedback to the employee is quite laid back in the remote work system, but it is also as important as setting clear goals.

Define Rules Of Engagement

Defining the duties of employees promotes the effectiveness and productivity of workers. It also ensures that there is no confusion. So, it is very necessary for you to clearly define the rules that guide the job and the necessary drills for their participation in your organizations, this will help in enhancing the success of the team.

Establish Regular Check-Ins

Establish regular check-ins in order to correct errors. This will help in minimizing the mistakes performed by workers. It will also serve as a check and balance for the remote workers as it will ensure that they are slugging behind in their duties and obligations.

Provide Detailed Feedback

Giving a very detailed feedback to the remote workers ensures that they know the areas at which they are lacking. It also increases productivity as an employee will be able to adjust to the needs of the organizations based on the feedback given. This strategy will increase the success of the team.

Celebrate Small Wins 

It is very important to celebrate small wins. It serves as a positive reinforcement to the remote team. This will encourage the employees to work harder and also make them feel appreciated which means it is quite essential to also cut back on criticism of the employees.

Use Technology To Your Advantage 

Technology should be used to your advantage. There are different social media platforms  which will promote team effectiveness. This typically comprises a mix of communication processes and technology specifically designed for leading a productive remote workforce.

They include Zoom, LinkedIn, Twitter, Cloud app, Google drive, and Slack in order to improve the success of the team.

Provide Resources And Training Opportunities

For the success of the team, the team manager should provide adequate resources and training opportunities for the team. The training opportunities should focus on effectively integrating the team workers to work together and bring out the best. Note that  The resources should also be an effective tool towards the set goals.

Support Work-Life Balance Of Your Team members 

The  work life balance of the team members is very essential to the productivity or success of the team. The organizations should create a flexible work schedule for its workers. It should also integrate technology into its systems such that it will make life easier for both the organizations and its workers.

Be As Flexible As Possible 

The organizations or the team manager should set flexible working hours and schedules for the remote team workers since it is a home based job. This will promote productivity in the delivery output of the remote workers.

It should be well noted that the remote workers are very different from office base workers and the reason for them opting for a remote work is due to the flexibility it offers. Therefore, the organizations should provide a flexible schedule in order to retain talent and promote team success.

Conclusion 

The curtain is about to be drawn on this tour on the key strategies to effective team management. We have mentioned several factors such as feedback, usage of technology, checking in frequently, all these promote an effective rote team management.

It is very important to effectively manage a remote team as ineffectiveness will also lead to a decrease in productivity and a wastage of talents.