Managing teams remotely

As organisations navigate their way through the coronavirus pandemic, many people are coming to terms with managing teams remotely. Remote management might feel like a completely different challenge to managing a team in the office. Things that work in the person don’t necessarily translate to remote employees. Here are our top tips for managing your team remotely.

Set clear expectations and goals

Be clear with your team from the start about what you expect from them whilst working from home. Set some clear and achievable goals to keep the team motivated and productive. Ensure each team member is involved in setting their own goals. When employees feel they have been instrumental in setting the goals, they are more likely to be invested in the results. Make sure you assess these expectations regularly to ensure they remain relevant as the situation changes.

Support flexible working hours

With daily changes to government advice and parents trying to navigate working from home whilst keeping children entertained, maintaining regular working hours has become difficult for some people. Allowing the team to be flexible with their hours will mean the team can be as productive as they would be in the office. As a manager you need to respect and support these flexible hours. Make sure you schedule team calls at a time that works for everyone.

Communication

Keep in regular contact with each team member and set aside more time for one-to-ones to find out how they are doing, update them on changes in the company and answer their questions. Make use of different communication tools for informal and formal communications. Ideally, virtual meetings should be face-to-face video calls. Daily team video scrums will also help to establish a regular opportunity for collaboration, discussion and check-ins for your team.

Prioritise mental health

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Creating a plan for the day can help employees maintain focus and keep track of deadlines and priorities. Encourage the team to take regular breaks where they step away from their workspaces.

Create a culture of accountability

To make remote working effective a culture of accountability is important. Team members should be prepared to own both the successes and failures of a project. To increase accountability, make sure you regularly feedback so the team know what they are doing well and what needs to be improved on.

Trust your team

A successful team is built on trust. Trust your team to do the work based on the expectations you have set out.

If you need advice on managing teams remotely we’re here to help, please get in touch.