You’re an entrepreneur or a business owner in general and you’re doing your absolute best. It’s been difficult in the last year, but you’re finally at a point where you are – or are about to be – managing a team. In a trend representative of the times and of growing popularity worldwide regardless, it’ll be all done remotely. Working from home will be standard.
You know that it’s difficult to keep people motivated at the best of times and you’re concerned about the wellbeing of your employees as they push through the months ahead while working remotely. What can you do to make things better? What tricks work and what don’t? What can you do on a budget?
Why, let’s take a look!
Understanding isolation
While we’re still amidst the present crisis, polls on how the workplace has reacted have started to come in. We’ve seen reports pinning as many as 55% of businesses planning to increase the amount of availability of remote working in 2021 and beyond. With the catalyst of the pandemic forcing people to work remotely, many companies will now be adopting a more flexible culture once things are ‘back to normal’.
And this isn’t all good. Isolation affects people differently, but it does so by tending to leave a person with the worst of themselves. Insecurities, bad habits and past or present addictions are all able to thrive more readily the more a person is cut off from regular contact with friends, peers and loved ones.
Because of this, it’s simply important for managers to first prioritise a sincere and continuing dialogue with their employees. It’s important to go a little deeper than you would have previously, doing your best to genuinely be there for the people you manage and work with.
Avoid micromanagement
One of the harder things managers have reported as embracing in remote teams is uncertainty. With so little oversight on their employees compared to working in an office, the mind can get to racing and worries about productivity can blossom.
The truth? Your teams will work consistently and they’re likely to get the job done. The key for managers to secure this result during the pandemic is to ensure they are there for their teams’ wellbeing, communicating with them regularly enough to make them comfortable and ready to continue work.
Ultimately, it’s about having confidence. And managers will find that if they are willing to give their team more of that, they’ll be rewarded in results and loyalty.
Embrace coaching
One trend in styles we’ve seen emerge during recent months is that of a more coaching-oriented management approach. Instead of guiding an employee strictly through their day and mandating specific productivity KPIs regularly, results have been observed in companies whose managers adopt a style that is focussed on empowering staff to get results alone. The key to this method is an approachable manager with a decent and regular engagement level with their teams – important in making them comfortable enough to come to the manager when they need help.
Coaching is a real opportunity to turn regular working time into an opportunity to develop your staff and their skills in a focussed manner. It can also help with productivity, wellbeing and staff retention by allowing them to uncover skills and goals that make them more engaged with their work – and happier with their environment.
You’ve got this!
If you’re a manager looking to do their best in the months ahead, we commend you. It’s daunting, worthwhile and valuable to be a leader for others – especially during tricky times. The Idea Financial team, who are here to help businesses secure a line of credit when they’re in need, wish you well.
