Managing a Remote Workforce: Best Practices for UK Companies to Improve Productivity
About 28% of all employees worldwide work remotely or hybrid in. Studies have shown that the number of companies managing remote workforce has been increasing drastically over the years, with 56% of companies preferring it, as it offers countless benefits for the employees as well as the company.
However, as several employees work remote globally, companies have a hard time managing their remote workforce across different territories. That is where remote workforce management is crucial to maintain workplace ethics and achieve tailored goals.
In this blog, we offer you a complete guide to the best practices for managing a remote workforce, challenges you might face and how to tackle them wisely.
Challenges Of Managing a Remote Workforce
Working from a remote may seem a piece of cake. However, it is complex and offers a great deal of challenges. It is beyond getting an internet connection. You need to make sure your employees have adequate resources, checking in regularly, delivering the goals with honest work ethics.
It can be just too hectic. Before getting into the strategies and practices of handling a remote team, let’s dive into the main challenges faced while working with a remote team.
Shifting to a New Business Model
So, moving to becoming remote is truly not easy. You have your daily workplace check-ins, workflow management, office culture and other duties. Moving to a remote place feels like you have jumped into a new routine. There is a change in how your employees communicate, work, and respond.
Moreover, you have to change the way you onboard, monitor projects and handle feedback. The entire process can be hectic and if not managed accurately, you may need to face missed deadlines and low workflow efficiency.
Having Effective Communication
Maintaining effective communication is another issue you might face. It is not like the normal workforce culture that your employees might be asking the other for a few minutes, or waiting for the other to answer, knowing they might reply in a couple of minutes.
Well, you need to ensure it is a remote environment where communication is streamlined. Your employees and management staff do not have to wait for countless minutes for a reply.
Using the best collaborative tools for remote teams’ accessibility, visibility, and keeping them in sync is how you can keep the same energy throughout the day, as if you were working in an office environment.
Personal Distractions
Many of the employees find it challenging to manage their personal life and remote work. There could be distractions for home life, such as food, managing children, making the home etc. While working in an office space, there were fewer distractions and personalized workflows.
This is where your employees need to understand that they need to attain a balance between work and personal life. He must be provided with effective guidance so that you can achieve the most from him.
Balancing Autonomy and Accountability
While working with a remote workforce is like giving your employees autonomy, without accountability you will not get anywhere. Some team members will need proper direction when they work, while others work under freedom.
You just need to understand your employees and work accordingly. Don’t start micro-managing or disappearing for even small intervals. Set clear expectations and realistic deadlines, so that the employees can work at ease. Performance tracking for remote employees is far better than pinpointing time, and that’s how you can get things delivered efficiently.
Best Practices to Manage Remote Teams for Improved Productivity
As the remote world keeps expanding, companies need to discover ways to manage a remote team more efficiently. Remote working takes trust, technology, and effective Virtual team leadership to increase productivity and help them achieve a healthy work-life balance and high output.
Here are some of the top best practices on how to manage a remote workforce more effectively so that your business evolves in the competitive environment.:
1. Set Clear Guidelines
Clearly defined and reasonable goals provide staff members with a direct road to completion of tasks. It eliminates irrelevant interruptions like unexpected meetings, guesswork, and fosters flexibility into the workflows. Properly defined expectations help staff remain organized, motivated, and engaged, which produces preferred outcomes delivered on time.
Here’s how to apply that:
- Specify duties and obligations
- Create deadlines and deliverables for every project
- Set response times and working hours.
- Clarify the means of communication
- Line up on measured goals
- Record important procedures and tools
- Plan frequent and orderly meetings
- Promote open communication to clear issues
Thus clear setting of policies, goals and expectations are the best way to enhance remote workforce efficiency.
2. Priorities Seamless Communication
If there is one thing that will keep your team together, and that’s maintaining top-tier communication. Communication must be of the kind that delivers the message, but something that keeps everyone on the same page.
When people know where to find someone, what is expected of them and what they need on time, the workflow becomes smoother and hurdle-free. It imparts a feeling of importance among the people and enhances it.
Moreover, well-structured communication reduces any delays in the delivery of the task, prevents misunderstanding, and helps employees to remain focused. Using the right tools and technology helps workforce management to streamline communication regardless of your location.
3. Set Regular Team Check-Ins
Setting regular check-ins is one of the remote work best practices to enhance alignment and ensure accountability of the remote employees. It fosters trust
Scheduling regular team check-ins improves alignment, builds trust, and ensures accountability. These meetings help track progress, resolve issues early, and maintain team cohesion. Use a consistent format, keep agendas focused, and encourage open communication. Adapting timing to team needs and time zones fosters inclusivity and maximizes participation.
4. Promote a Supportive Team Culture
Fostering a supportive team culture is the most important aspect of engaging your employees. In fact, 58% of the employees prefer to switch their company just due to experiencing a worse culture. A good workplace culture means a place where people feel valued, important and supported for their tasks.
To achieve a good culture, appreciate your remote employees for their outstanding performance. Set monthly achievements and give bonuses or even small awards that can make him feel happy and supported. Prefer hosting regular Remote team building activities like virtual coffee chats, celebrate birthdays, holidays, and milestones remotely to have a supportive and effective environment.
5. Be Mindful of Time Zones
Keep in mind that the different time zones of your employees are the key to ensuring harmony between the teams. When scheduling a meeting, select a time that can manage the overlapping work hours. Make a detailed calendar that provides different time zone schedules.
You also need to establish obvious expectations about response times and always mention deadlines relative to a time zone as key HR strategies for remote workforce. For people who cannot join live, recording meetings is helpful to keep them in the loop.
Being sensitive to time differences not only leads to better collaboration but also demonstrates empathy, an important component of a thriving and productive remote culture that values the time of everyone equally.
6. Offer Means of Socializing
Providing opportunities for remote teams to socialize is important, especially at a time when 25% of remote employees say that they feel lonely every day, and 98% feel more isolated than their onsite counterparts. So, the obvious message is that socializing plays a huge part in enhancing remote employee productivity.
Organizing virtual events, such as game nights or themed hangouts, goes a long way towards alleviating that isolation. Here’s what you can do
- Schedule Virtual Social Events
- Create Casual Chat Spaces
- Add Social Time to Regular Meetings
- Play Video Games or Watch Movies After Work
Peer recognition in low-pressure situations boosts morale, and just a few minutes of casual conversation before or after meetings can make a difference. That’s how to manage and motivate a remote workforce, boosting their emotional, mental and physical health.
Conclusion: Enhance Remote Team Productivity Seamlessly
Remote teams offer countless benefits for businesses worldwide. However, it is important to know that handling a remote team is not that easy. You may need to monitor your employees’ financial health and implement key tips for managing a remote workforce so that your employees remain productive and engaged while working with you.
Whether adopting the best remote workforce management technology to scheduling different recreational activities to improve productivity, with these strategies, you can improve your employee engagement and maximize their working efficiency.
Eco Outsourcing offers you the most effective remote team management services for improved employee retention and top-tier operational results.
FAQs
It begins with clearly defined expectations, open lines of communication and the right project management tool. Priorities regular check-ins, and stay connected through video calls, chat platforms, and use project management apps for improved efficiency. This is how you can manage your remote team efficiently.
The common struggles are poor communication, lack of team bonding, the challenge of time zones as well as tracking productivity. These can be addressed with structured workflows, frequent check-ins, and clear KPIs. With regular, relaxing meetings and virtual recreational activities, you can improve your employees’ productivity significantly.
Use better communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. Using these tools, employees can connect more effectively with their coworkers. Use project management tools and set guidelines from the start of the day to let your workforce know what targets they must achieve.
To track the performance of your remote team, use project management tools. Your employees will be asked to update their daily tasks and deliverables there. This is how you will be able to track their performance more efficiently and ensure accountability without micro-managing your team.
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