5 Ways to Effectively Manage a Remote Team
Maximize the capabilities of your remote team by following these tips.
The advent of remote teams has enabled companies of all sizes to gain global access to highly-qualified professionals at a fraction of the cost of in-house employees. This new remote workplace model has numerous advantages.
Particularly when it comes to having a group of skilled individuals who specialize in a variety of disciplines. But managing a remote team is slightly different than managing a traditional onsite workforce – and doing it effectively is key to maximizing the capabilities of professional remote teams. Here are 5 ways to boost productivity and efficiency.
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Hire the Right People for Your Remote Team
Just as you would take great care and consideration about who’s working for you in-house, it’s also important to hire the right people for your remote team. Because these individuals will be working remotely, they’ll need to have the initiative, qualifications, and skills to handle tasks without someone looking over their shoulder.
And although you’ll be in constant communication, the more professional your team is, the less managing they’ll need.
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Establish a Communication System
Just as you have regular meetings with your onsite team, there needs to be a communication system in place for your remote teams. It’s a good idea to have specific tools that your remote team can use in certain instances.
For example, if a matter is urgent, there’s a phone number to call to provide a progress report; they know who to email on daily tasks; or an effective intranet or project management solution is in place for current initiatives.
Communication should be a part of a remote team’s routine responsibilities, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and gets the required direction.
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Provide Clear and Detailed Expectations
To ensure that your remote team can perform all the tasks that you need, it’s vital to create clear and detailed expectations and to outline exactly how you wish for these to be accomplished.
Providing expected goals (whether they are sales calls, follow-up emails, or social media posts) and a timeline for achieving them are key.
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Create Documented Systems
A great way to ensure that your remote team is working effectively is to create a streamlined and documented system for all processes.
This helps everyone know the who, what, and when of every task. And since everyone is following the same system, they can pass responsibilities on to each other, hold each other accountable, and remain organized.
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Respect and Celebrate Cultural Difference (and Time Zones)
It’s not required, but if you can arrange it so that there’s an overlap between your in-house team and your remote team, even if it’s just a few hours a day, it’s a good idea.
This enables your remote team to get online at the same time as your onsite workers if necessary and can encourage collaboration. It’s important to remember that remote teams often live in another country that’s in a different time zone.
And although professional remote teams speak excellent English, it’s possible that they may not understand certain expressions or euphemisms that are common to native English speakers.
Being mindful of the cultural differences of your remote teams is helpful to make them feel a part of your team.
Many companies schedule special celebrations and events in which both remote and onsite employees can interact virtually to foster connections and help the remote team feel a deeper sense of engagement in the company mission.
See:
Noon Dalton – Your Remote Team Resource
Today’s technology allows us to work differently than we ever have before and it’s truly an exciting era for businesses of all sizes throughout the world. Having the ability to cut across geographic boundaries and work with a range of talented professionals gives companies a new way to operate, while maximizing efficiency and productivity.
Noon Dalton is the leading provider of professional remote teams for businesses across the nation and around the world. If you’re interested in enlisting the services of a remote team, get in touch with us today to get started.
See our case studies on how we’ve helped businesses to save time, cut costs and boost their output with our remote teams and professional BPO services like: