Having a remote team is rapidly becoming the new normal, with COVID-19 continuing to devastate the world and make business difficult for many business owners. Chances are, recently, you’ve had to convert your in-house team to a remote workforce, which can result in some serious hurdles.
You’ve got problems; we’ve got tips. With ten simple tips, you’ll know what you need to do to build a strong sense of camaraderie in your team, even if you’re restricted to video conferencing for the foreseeable future. Let’s dive on in.
1. Hire on strong team members
Remember: you can’t have a solid remote team without having a solid team in general. Remote or in-office, high quality talent will elevate your business to the next level. Not sure what makes the qualities of a good employee? Here are just a few:
- Reliable
- Always on time
- Invested in the company
- Finishes their work on time
- Supports other team members
Once you have a strong team, it’s time to start thinking about how to ensure productivity.
2. Remember to have firm deadlines
Working from home, employees may develop a somewhat lax attitude. After all, when you’re hanging out at home, working from the couch, it definitely feels much more laid back than clocking in at the office.
One way to ensure that your employees remain working consistently is to establish firm deadlines. That way, if they start to fall behind schedule, you have clear items you can point to when telling them they need to pick up the slack.
3. Set expectations for productivity
Similarly, employees should have a clear understanding of the expectations for their productivity. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that the amount of work you produce should go down, after all.
Hold employees accountable to their schedules by establishing due dates, as mentioned before, and by establishing the number of hours they should be online and available throughout the day, and the number of hours they should log while working.
4. Keep work hours flexible—but not too flexible
Working from home presents some awesome opportunities to make your schedule more flexible. Maybe some employees would rather work Tuesday through Saturday, or would rather work from 7:30am to 3:30pm. If your company can manage having a flexible schedule, it’s a great idea, and can significantly boost morale.
Just remember that, if you do need things done by a deadline, having a flex schedule doesn’t get in the way of producing ready-to-go deliverables by the due date.
5. Establish clear communication
Clear communication is really the foundation of all remote work. You’ll need to communicate with employees about project management, progress on their various tasks, and daily check-ins. Establishing clear lines of communication makes this much easier, as you won’t feel awkward or uncomfortable in reaching out to find out the information you need. It’s also smart to use workplace instant messenger software, which can make it much faster to stay in touch than using email.
6. Invest in innovative software
Speaking of workplace software, there are tons of awesome project tracking software options out there, along with time tracking apps, that can make it much easier to stay on top of your team’s progress. It’s always a good idea to invest a little extra in software that makes work a lot easier, especially when your entire workforce will be working from their computers at home.
7. Keep up strong company culture
No longer being in an office can make it hard to keep a handle on company culture. All your usual inside jokes, office decorations, and after-work happy hours are pretty much put on hold until further notice. You can keep your company culture strong, however, by scheduling regular bonding events.
Having a company isn’t always about doing business. Sometimes, team members want to sit back and enjoy their progress and hard work by chatting and having a drink or two over video chat.
8. Plan for the future
Lastly, keep one eye on the prize and the other firmly fixed on the future of your organization. Whether you choose to remain remote permanently even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, or you decide it’s time to get back in the office, you should start planning ahead right now.
No one knows what the future holds, but with the right techniques and planning, your business can continue to thrive remotely.
