Managing remote workers can be challenging. Find expert insights on building trust, promoting productivity, and engaging remote teams
Leading a team in the office can be challenging; managing remote workers is a different ballgame. The pandemic has shown us a new approach to managing across borders and time zones: one that requires trust, focuses on outcomes, and promotes accountability.
In this article, we’ll talk about managing remote staff, what the challenges are, and how to overcome these. Trust is a big piece here, so we’ll go over how to build trust with a remote workforce.
Many of the points discussed here are aimed at team leaders of remote teams. HR leaders, please include this article in your company’s newsletter or induction pack for managers and employees of remote teams.
If you haven’t met or worked with anyone before, would you trust them to do a good job? That’s what managing a remote team calls for.
“Trust by default – assume that your team members are capable adults who want to do good work,” says Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of global HR platform Remote.
Here are some tips on managing remote staff:
Outlining what success looks like is an important part of managing remote teams. Set objectives so that they know what to strive toward.
“Set clear expectations about deliverables and success metrics but give people autonomy in how they achieve them,” van der Voort says.
Traditional management styles might have involved a more directive approach. That’s not the case when managing remote workers. Define goals, set expectations, then give them free rein in how and when to complete the job.
Having a detailed and robust remote work policy helps set expectations for remote teams.
Trust goes hand in hand with accountability. Managers need to trust their teams, and remote employees need to be accountable for their work.
There are a few strategies that managers can take to build a culture of accountability:
This is what accountability is all about. Empower your virtual teams to manage their own time and workloads. Share some time management and productivity tools to help with this.
Encourage your teams to be proactive by sharing updates and milestones. And if they face any problems, they should share that, too. Be ready to offer support when they need it.
Encourage your team to own up to mistakes. Transform these into learning opportunities.
This is one of the best ways for your team to learn accountability. Follow through on commitments you make to your team. Be the first to point out any issues, then find a solution. Have a positive mindset about mistakes and challenges – everything is an opportunity to learn.
Leading by example could be more challenging than you think! This will require a great degree of self-awareness. Find out more about this leadership trait in our article on successful leaders.
Having a great work culture is vital in any work setting, even more so in a remote work setup. According to a study, remote workers are least likely to feel connected to their employers’ purpose.
Here are some ways to promote a great work culture:
This is an essential starting point. Any employee – remote or not – needs to make sure that their own personal values align with their employer’s.
Virtual teams need to know everything about the company: its leadership, values, and goals. Individuals should also be aware of team goals and how their own efforts help meet these goals. That way, remote employees, no matter where they are, stay aligned and focused on the shared mission.
Some remote organizations like GitLab have a company handbook that outlines their mission, goals, and policies. GitLab treats it as a living document; it is constantly updated, and it is an essential part of its work and culture.
Read more about GitLab in our article on top remote work companies.
Promoting the company’s L&D strategy with your remote teams is a great way of fostering work culture. Training courses on platforms like LinkedIn and MOOCs like Udemy and Coursera are a good starting point.
A study has shown that 27% of remote workers have missed out on promotions. No need to add to this statistic! Identify rising talent in your team and support their growth.
“As a remote worker, I would like my manager to be invested in my development,” says Olive, a graphic designer. “Giving me regular feedback and performance evaluation is helpful to gauge how I am doing and how else I can improve.”
Disputes and mediation team lead Christine has similar views. “I work best with minimal supervision but appreciate constant feedback. I want to be aware of areas where I excel and identify opportunity areas as well,” she says.
Sharing timely, empathetic, and measured feedback helps with staff development and morale. This also gives employees the message that you care, and that you would like them to succeed.
Employee engagement and recognition are a big part of managing remote workers. Celebrate achievements and milestones by:
“Recognizing contributions is one way of valuing a worker,” Christine says. “If an initiative is introduced that impacts the team, a simple call out or note of appreciation is a big morale booster.”
Find out more about employee recognition tools on our list of the best HR software and tech providers.
Hit two birds with one stone by setting up group sessions: feed your team’s learning needs while promoting rapport. Make it enjoyable! Tools like Kahoot! and Mentimeter make the experience fun and interactive.
When managing remote staff, make sure that they have the right tools to do their job well. Set them up for success by giving them access to:
Organize training sessions to help them maximize use of these tools.
According to some remote work statistics, 96% of employees are happy with their remote or hybrid setup. Just the same, remote work staff could benefit from having tools to support their overall health and wellbeing.
Feelings of isolation and stress are some of the issues remote teams face. When managing virtual teams, make sure to let them know of the health and wellbeing tools available.
Here are some wellbeing ideas that your teams could benefit from:
Remind your teams to have a home office setup that promotes good posture and wellbeing:
To build trust, you have to give trust. This goes back to what van der Voort said earlier about trust being the default.
He’s onto something there. According to Edelman’s Trust at Work report, employees who feel like they’re not trusted end up not trusting their CEO, manager, or head of HR.
There’s another study on trust—this time about how it impacts productivity. It found that:
remote workers were more productive when they were engaged with their managers
work monitoring tools (signifying a lack of trust) were no match for an engaged team leader
How do we develop trust when managing remote workers? Here are some pointers:
Another great way to build trust? Be trustworthy. “The key is to demonstrate trust through your actions,” says van der Voort. “If you show your team that you trust them to do their jobs well, they'll usually exceed your expectations.”
There’s a strong tendency to control and micromanage employees you don’t see. According to van der Voort, constantly checking in when they’re online is counter-productive and shows a lack of trust.
“The key is to shift from monitoring presence to measuring outcomes, while ensuring transparent communication,” he says. He believes in over-communicating – not through meetings, but by recording everything and saving it where teams can easily access.
Olive, meanwhile, considers the lack of voice calls and real-time conversations as a barrier. “You wouldn’t know how they are saying what they are saying,” she says. “It is a challenge to clarify, brainstorm, and get better directions through chat.”
Olive’s concerns emphasize the limitations of text-based interactions. Managers should tailor their communication approach to the needs of the team and the nature of their work.
For example, creative teams could use regular video calls or brainstorming sessions. Roles that don’t require as much interaction could do well with Slack messages or the occasional Zoom call.
When leading a team of remote employees, it’s important to:
Remote workers have specific needs in order to thrive and do their best work. It’s a manager’s job to develop the skills to lead their teams as best as they can.
What tools and strategies do you use in managing remote workers? Let us know in the comments
