Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of managing a remote team? You’re not alone! The rise of remote work has revolutionized how businesses operate, but leading a team scattered across locations can come with its own hurdles.
At PixelCrayons, a passionate team of developers and digital marketing specialists, we’ve embraced remote work with open arms. A recent report by Upwork revealed that over 35% of the U.S. workforce now works remotely at least some of the time. We’re fortunate to work with an extremely bright and dedicated team whose service is spread across the globe. The experience has taught us some best practices and insights into the future of work.
The communication gap is among the most challenging things we’ve encountered when working remotely. This is a common experience for many remote teams. This shift has fueled our research into effective remote team management strategies, and we’re excited to share some of our best practices with you! In this article, we’ll delve into practical tips and strategies to help you build a thriving and productive remote team, no matter where your employees are located.
1. Implement Synchronous Vs Asynchronous Messaging
Synchronous messaging means the channels and mediums such as the phone, video calls, and face-to-face meetings. Whereas, asynchronous includes email, slack, text, messaging apps, and anything where you get a chance to think and compose the reply before hitting the enter or send button.
You need to identify which of these two works best for your team. Otherwise, you may end up wasting your time on endless email chains, irrelevant conference calls, and annoying notifications fatigue. Don’t neglect this vital part; you will soon witness the difference.
2. Prioritize Employee Wellbeing
Prioritizing employee well-being isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a strategic investment in your company’s success. Happy, healthy employees are more engaged, productive, and less likely to experience burnout. Here’s how focusing on employee well-being can benefit both your employees and your business.
You can create a culture of trust and respect by fostering a work environment that prioritizes physical and mental health. This can improve communication, increase collaboration, and a more positive work experience. Additionally, when employees feel supported and valued, they’re more likely to go the extra mile and contribute their best work.
This translates to better results for your company, whether it’s increased customer satisfaction, higher sales figures, or improved innovation. Investing in employee wellbeing programs, like stress management workshops or flexible work arrangements, might seem like an extra cost, but the return on investment can be significant.
3. Focus on Outcomes, Not the Activity
We have often seen most companies focusing on the activity and number of hours their employees work. But we at PixelCrayons never judge our employees based on this parameter.
When employees supervise remotely, the entire team is distributed across multiple locations, so you can not track and manage every aspect of their work. Instead, focus on the outcome and whether the work allotted has been completed in the required time frame.
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4. Assume Good Intentions from Co-workers
The same thing goes for an organization when you work remotely. Emails can be crazy because there are no context clues like tone, body language, etc. People tend to interpret messages differently based on their mood or what they assume about the writer. Train your team to assume good intentions in each message.
It is the team leader’s job to take things in a positive way and spread positivity among team members. The employee does not really need to add an appropriate smiley after every text and search for the GIFs. All this is done to soften the tone of compact and straightforward messages. It will automatically save a significant amount of time and allow the team to focus on what they really need to.
Managing a remote software development team effectively requires a strategic approach. Our blog post delves into essential tips and tools for optimizing remote collaboration.
5. Resource your Team
At PixelCrayons, all the team leaders and managers know the technology they need to complete the work. We know what equipment and resources are necessary so that the employees can work without any hurdles.
All our managers and team leaders make sure that the employees are equipped with laptops, workforce management software, mobile devices, and high-speed internet connection. PixelCrayons has also provided WFH allowances to all its employees to set up and upgrade their workstation the way they wish.
If possible, try to provide allowances to your employees as anyways software development companies are flooding with profits during this pandemic.
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6. Be Flexible
Trust your team and allow them to be flexible while leading a team remotely. Everyone is facing the pandemic, and so are the employees. All the employees should have the freedom to work at their convenience. We at PixelCrayons focus on productivity and allow the employees to work at any time of the day.
Many companies force their employees to complete 9 hours of shift and a certain level of productivity, which puts them under restriction and drives away their freedom. So, these remote management tips and strategies for successfully managing remote teams by PixelCrayons will be helpful when you implement them.
7. Stick to a Routine
Consistency in keeping appointments is of utmost importance. When it comes to complex schedules across time zones, a disruption in calling hours will create chaos. Get consensus on a regular cadence of meeting times and make sure team members treat it as a priority.
We make sure that employees recognize that regular meeting times are the foundation for respectful play with others. It has infrequent exception requests and increased productivity for everyone.
8. Use Video Calls as a Part of the Meeting
Our mobile app development company feels that conducting meetings by keeping your videos on has a great and positive result afterward. We require video calls for every meeting. Meetings should be held from a quiet location with high-speed WiFi and headsets.
When team members professionally present themselves, it means fewer distractions and less wasted time while building rapport and increasing productivity. A video call through Zoom or Google Meet reflects your company’s reputation, especially when you are scheduling or conducting a meeting with foreign delegates or clients.
To enhance productivity and ensure accurate project estimations, utilizing time tracking software is crucial. Discover the best tools and strategies in our comprehensive blog post.
9. Help Employees Disconnect Completely During the Holidays
At PixelCrayons, we make it possible for employees to prepare for their free time in advance and temporarily hand over all responsibilities so that they can really loosen up and relax during their vacation.
In the meantime, each task is assigned to another employee within the team so that it does not remain in process or uncompleted. As part of the handover, the vacationer makes a short call with everyone who will cover him. Authority, timelines, and other items are documented in a shared record that others can access for quick guidance on who to contact.
Do not bother them by contacting or texting them via communication tools like Skype or Teams. After vacation, the employees will be more proactive and more focused on their work.
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Concluding Thought from the PixelCrayons Team
Though these tips sound simple but believe us, it becomes somehow tiresome when you will implement these within your organization. These are simple but not easy tips. What it requires is time, commitment, and consistency.
While we have shared some secret tips and strategies for successful remote team management, the heat and trial will continue till the WFH mantra ends. These were the tips and strategies which we have revealed with this blog.
We would love to hear your thoughts, either good or bad, on this topic, and we would like to adopt their best practices for managing remote workers.
Quite interesting tips. I am sure your business wouldn’t have decreased in this pandemic if you really followed the tips.