If there is one thing that the global pandemic changed for business owners and workforces around the world, it was the rapid introduction of remote working. Many workers and businesses had never used remote teams before, while many had to quickly adapt to huge increases in those working from home or wanting to do so. But, there was no choice. It was: adapt to remote teams or lose your business.
Remote working brings a whole new set of challenges, work styles, and business operating strategies to all employers. What was once a weekly stand-up in the office is now a Zoom call, while managers get used to coaching staff from a distance. In this article, you’ll find some expert tips on monitoring and managing your remote teams successfully.
Clocking In
One of the biggest fears many managers had with remote teams is the fact that they would not be able to actively monitor the amount of time their staff were actually working. How are you supposed to know if they’ve popped out with the kids or gone to make coffee mid-morning, taking an extended break to do so? Some would argue that as long as the work gets done, it doesn’t matter. However, managers want the most productive teams they can get, even when managing them from tens or even hundreds of miles away.
There are some great ways to keep abreast of your staff and how active they are. According to the folks behind workpuls.com time-tracking app, you can actively monitor how long your staff has spent on each task. You can see if they are currently active or haven’t used their system in a while. This helps you see how often they are spending time at their computer and how often they are not.
This is just what a normal manager would do when sharing an office with their staff, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many remote managers are interested in tools like this. If you kept popping out of the office for 10 minutes every hour, your boss would notice. So, you shouldn’t be doing the same at home! Makes perfect sense, right?
New Ways of Monitoring Performance
As well as monitoring the amount of time your staff actually spend logged into their system working on projects, you also want to be able to monitor accurately how well they are doing. Again, this is just like what you would do with face-to-face meetings or over-the-shoulder analysis in the office, only now you have to find a way to do it remotely.
Again, there are various awesome software tools to help you do this. Tied in with your time management software, you’ll be able to find things to more deeply analyze how each member of staff is using their work PC. For example, you can get updates about which apps they are using, what websites they are visiting, or what amount of time they are spending on different projects.
These tools will help you to generate a productivity score for each member of staff. This score gives you a number to work from, a target to set for each member of staff. You can offer incentives, bonuses, or just great tips to help them maximize their potential at work, using this software to score them. Alternatively, you can go incognito and view all the data yourself, without ever sharing it.
Coaching Remotely
Remote management, though, is about more than just looking at and using data. The data can be a huge help and benefit to your choices when it comes to who needs some coaching, but you also have to remember that everyone is in the same boat. Those who have never worked from home before could be especially in need of some expert tips and wisdom from their superiors.
It’s a totally different environment working from home. There are distractions, family, TVs, and all sorts of things that would never be able to distract someone from their work in the office. Don’t take these productivity numbers at face value. Always consider what could be affecting your staff’s ability to hit 100%, and then help them develop ways to get better. This is what a true expert remote team leader would be able to do.
These things combined can help you have a far happier and more effective remote workforce. The challenges are certainly there, but so are the tools and methods that can help you overcome these hurdles. No matter what kind of business you run or team you look after, utilize tools and top managerial skills to help create a successful workplace.
