Feb 8, 2023 • 10 min read
The remote workforce is becoming more and more prominent as time passes by, dominating the future of most industries. It comes with a whole pack of benefits for both employees and companies, making work-life more convenient. However, even if you are new to the setup or have been in it for years, it still comes with challenges, mainly in managing virtual teams. Adapting to the everchanging working condition, facing circumstances in remote locations, and attributing to the company objective is never easy. But, this can be handled effectively by establishing policies and applying practices that support the development of everyone.
As one of the up-and-rising platforms that serve as a bridge in the distant world, DigiWorks understands how challenging it is to adjust to the new setup. But with enough experience and deliberate effort, we are sure that every company can successfully handle their remote teams. Don’t worry! The DigiWorks Team will guide you in every step of the way—from implementing company policies to mastering telecommunicating. Once you’ve finished reading this blog, we can assure you that you can bring the best out of your employees and will flourish whichever field you are in!
When working in the traditional office setup, it is easy for everyone to access the right equipment and tools they will need. However, being in a remote location might be a challenge in providing everyone’s needs. Giving your virtual team the tools and instruments to help them work efficiently indicates support, encouraging them to work better.
Providing them with materials that allow them to have a further understanding of their work will motivate them to give better performance. Some companies also offer basic office equipment, including computers, headphones, and desks. Using equipment provided by the organisation will allow them to separate their personal life from their professional role and eliminate distractions. Additionally, they can set up a home-office same as the company’s, to help them feel the corporate culture.
You can also use tools that help your teams to communicate their ideas better. Project management requires extensive coordination; you can use platforms like Notion and Miro in this case. These sites will help them assign respective tasks for fair distribution of workloads and brainstorm ideas for coherence. You can also monitor their work-life through these platforms by tracking the span from when they started and finished a project.
DigiWorks uses platforms like Slack where every employee can input their daily-to-do list and update their condition. We also use Airtable as a project tracker and Google Drive to store essential materials. Then, Zoom meetings are also set up from time to time to check on another and let everyone give an update. Most importantly, we have public channels where employees can freely chat about their days and talk about topics outside their work.
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Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.
There is a wide selection of software and platforms, such as Slack, Zoom, Hangouts, etc., that allows teams to directly message each other, communicate during and after work hours, and help one another with crucial tasks. Video conferencing tools don’t have to be imposed, but doing real-time interaction from time to time will help you give better feedback and communicate efficiently. This will also show that employers and managers work as hard as they do, indicating a collaborative work environment. On the other hand, you can use emails instead when discussing topics that don’t require video meetings. Some employees prefer using emails when informed of their daily to-do lists or duties.
Having face-to-face interaction is one of the most effective communication strategies in the remote setting when you cannot monitor them physically. It is also easier to explain demos by sharing a screen of creative presentations to have a better view of the things they need to remember. You can also allow them to speak up and share their bright ideas that you can discuss. If you cannot set up meetings on a daily basis, you can do this regularly or at least once a week. Keep in mind that other than using practical communication tools, you should also know how to communicate efficiently and build a solid professional relationship.
With the traditional office setting, it is easy to track employees’ attendance and work hours as everyone works in the same timezone and workplace. However, it is different with remote work. Companies can use software that allows you to check the work hours and performance. You can assure that everyone is working while the clock is ticking and no one is overworked as well. You can also ask them to send updates or host short meetings regularly to give a heads up about their progress. It is okay to give the benefit of the doubt to your employees as this will drive them to work better and provide a more remarkable outcome. On the other hand, allow your employees to work at their preferred time when they feel the most productive.
Another thing is tracking your employees’ progress at every assigned task. Although trust should always give to your employees, knowing how far they’ve come is still essential. That will allow you to set policies, plan future objectives, and ensure a fair work distribution. The quality and efficiency of their work are far more critical than the time they spent doing it. You don’t have to be too strict or too lenient, just provide them with clear goals and assign expectations.
Establishing an effective policy and a sound system makes your organisation more robust, which manages your virtual employees better. Setting clear grounds for rules will keep you from constantly monitoring your employees and build trust in the workplace. Here is the list of things that will guide you set up a better system:
Confusion is one of the factors that hugely affect a remote work environment. Therefore, setting clear objectives for your employees will give them a better overview of what is expected from them. Plus, it will provide them with a sense of achievement when they reach specific goals, motivating them to work harder. Things at work can get hard sometimes but knowing that they are close to the destination will help them be more productive and provide better outcomes. That is an important thing to consider other than just tracking their progress. Remember, only the finish line lets you know what you’ve reached.
Consistency is an important aspect of creating a solid foundation for your team. Having consistent routines will help employees avoid distractions and set individual goals. You don’t have to control every movement of your workers as everyone has their way of doing their tasks and creates their personal schedule. Perhaps, unburdening tasks like setting monthly meetings or sending daily updates should be unnegotiable or must be complied with all the time. However, allow your team to create a routine to settle on an agreement that works for everyone. Virtual teams are most likely working at different hours, so no one would want to attend meetings or answer an email past midnight. Allow them to work flexibly and make adjustments that will help overcome the barriers of a remote setup.
It is easy to feel discouraged in a remote setting, especially when you feel like your work is not being appreciated. Even encouraging or motivational quotes have a massive impact on the performance of your employee. Since it is easy to track your team’s progress, ensure that every achievement is acknowledged. Companies can list down every project that has been accomplished by the groups every month and organise an event or a little get together that recognises their achievements. That is one of the best tips or ideas if you want to improve the employer-employee relationship.
It is challenging to identify your employees’ needs as you are not working in the same workplace. If your employee can easily bring up problems or issues, then you have successfully built a great professional relationship. Otherwise, just ensure that you make yourself approachable and communicative by asking them questions. Whether it is changing their work hours or organisational and professional development, the manager’s responsibility is to listen to those needs and come up with a settlement.
Setting an excellent work-life that lets you work competitively and enjoy your personal life at the same time is challenging. Tipping it over will just cause counter-productiveness. If some work-hours issues come up, make sure that it is communicated with your employees. As a manager, you should respect their personal time and ensure that they can work flexible hours that are convenient for them.
Remote setting drives everyone to crave interaction as communication is not an easy process. Most employees rely on platforms and sites to interact with one another, making them feel isolated. As part of practising inclusivity and ensuring that your team is working harmoniously, it is essential to create events and activities that escalate communication. You can set up breaks where everyone can take a little time off and chit chat while drinking coffee or eating snacks. There are plenty of creative ideas that you can do to set up team buildings to create a collaborative remote work environment.
There are times when you have to be serious and focused on your work activities, but managing a virtual team expects you to communicate efficiently with them. Although being professional says a lot about your effectiveness as a manager, you don’t have to be formal at all times. There might be some cases when you sounded mad or annoyed toward your employees, especially when using overly formalised words. It is hard to convey the tone of the message when delivered through messages. To avoid these situations and let your team know that you are friendly and approachable, you can use emojis to express your mood. That will enable them to communicate freely since they would most often reciprocate your actions.
Managers might not notice when they send tons of messages that cause a whirlpool of notifications. That might not seem such a huge factor, but it does make a workplace inefficient. Instead of constantly sending messages in a short period, list down all the things you need to discuss, minimise them, and compress them into one memo. That will avoid unnoticed reminders and team members replying to each message. Additionally, Slack has a reaction button that employees can indicate that the message was acknowledged.
Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.
It is easy to join the trend and switch to a remote team instantly. But knowing the factors that affect this setting is essential in building a better workplace for your virtual team. Having positive management, a collaborative environment, consistent policies, and a clear vision make this a more effective strategy. As much as it is easy to find the best employees with the maelstrom of candidates globally, it is hard to manage a virtual team. But, with the proper practices and system, you will undoubtedly have an effective workplace. If you want to build successful teams and be guided by the best platform, come and join the DigiWorks Team! We have abounding talents worldwide that will surely help achieve your company’s objective and accomplish your mission!
DigiWorks is an easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and start ups hire amazing remote talent from around the world. DigiWorks offers a way for you to hire, manage and pay people from all countries. If you find an amazing virtual assistant from Philippines, a content writer from Nigeria, or operations manager from South Africa – manage and pay your entire team from one platform with no hassle.