Working remotely is here to stay. If you manage a team of remote workers, you may be worried about productivity and distractions. Still, study after study has found that people actually work harder and are more productive with their time when they don’t have a manager looking over their shoulders.
Still, working remotely can have a significant impact on your team’s culture and connection. The transition to working from home comes with challenges such as juggling responsibilities at home, homeschooling kids, and caring for aging or ill parents. As a leader, it’s your job to lead your team and support them through online communications and creative ways. At iSpace Office Interiors, we know how important open communication lines are for every business and how technology plays a role in helping you lead your team remotely. So, here are our top five tips for accomplishing just that.
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Embrace This New Normal
The first step in managing your team remotely is to accept that this is our new normal. Whether you like it or not, the success of the entire team is riding on your shoulders. The longer you fight the change, the longer your team will struggle. But when you become adaptable and optimistic about the change, then your employees will follow suit. Embrace working from home – it’s not going anywhere.
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Leverage Technology & Equipment
Managing your team remotely means you’ll need to learn how to leverage technology and all that the internet has to offer. You can employ various task management tools to easily track the progress of a campaign or assign employees new tasks. Additionally, community building apps and platforms like Slack can help you improve your remote work culture.
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Solidify Logistics
The challenge of working from home includes all the new logistics you suddenly have to worry about. Do they have a home office? Do they need a filing cabinet? Do they have a computer or laptop? Getting answers to these questions sooner rather than later will ensure your team doesn’t fall behind on deadlines.
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Be Available
When working from home, it’s easy for projects and initiatives to get lost in the daily shuffle of life. As a leader, it’s well within your role to keep everyone together and engaged. To accomplish this and measure your team’s progress, schedule regular team check-ins or offer up specific office hours to be reached. When your team can trust that you’ll be reachable, they’re more likely to reach out.
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Remain Empathetic
Our final tip is to remind you that your employees are humans with lives outside of work. They likely have families, small children, or even pets. Additionally, working from home can create an isolation effect, leaving some of your team members feeling left out from the group. As a leader, one of the best things you can for your employees is to remain empathetic. Who cares how much time is spent at the computer as long as the work gets done, right?
Let’s Set You Up for Success
Whether you’re working from home or from the office, there are a few key elements you’ll need to be successful. This includes space planning, delivery, and installation of a new home office. No matter what you need, iSpace Office Interiors has you covered. Together, we can make managing your team remotely a success! Contact us today at (317) 694-7197.