2020 has helped many of us realize remote working is no longer just a trend but a viable and sometimes more efficient way to work.
Hours and fatigue of long commutes are no longer necessary for many. Home office productivity is rising and things are changing in our working world. This extra time allows workers to generate schedules that meld family life and work more seamlessly and with less stress. Here are some tips to better manage your remote employees.
1. Software, hardware and security
Provide remote workers with the hardware they need to accomplish their work and still protect your company’s vital information. The last thing you want a remote employee to do is use the family room computer that the entire family has access to. By providing a computer to an employee will help you to safeguard your data.
The best way to secure your network while allowing remote access is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). These create a secure access point from the remote device to your company’s internal network. VPNs should be used with company owned hardware to maintain optimum security.
Portals are a way for telework employees to access company data through a browser-based web page. Data is stored on the portal’s server and cannot be downloaded or saved on an employee’s device without permission. This is a great way to control who has access to your data.
2. Have a daily check-in process
Remote employees need the same type of care as people who work on-site. Saying “Good morning,” or “Hey, how are you?” is a way to acknowledge your employees. Simple recognition reduces feelings of anonymity that can happen with remote workers.
A daily, personal greeting, whether via email, face-to-face video or text goes a long way in humanizing the remote workplace. Make time for short, one-to-one contact and you will discover your employees will feel a personal connection to you and their work. People who feel a genuine link with their manager will be happier and tend to be more conscientious employees.
3. Communicate a lot
Aside from daily, personal greetings you should have systems in place for regular, work related communications that you and your employees to utilize. If your employees work in teams, they must have a way to easily meet remotely, to share ideas, concerns, and data. Collaboration tools for almost any type of company are available from an ever-growing list of software specifically for companies. Slack and Microsoft Teams are just two amongst many. Choose a platform designed for your type of business.
4. Set expectations
Define the scope of every project clearly. Describe tasks, deadlines and expected final outcomes. As a manager you must not assume that all members of your team automatically understand the criteria for a project. To assure positive outcomes, clearly state the tasks and objectives and let your employees know how you will measure their success. Let team members know what the check-ins will be for projects and that collaboration is encouraged.
5. Create schedules
Scheduling remote employees is a task that demands a certain amount of flexibility. If your business requires staff to be available for customer contact at certain periods of the day make that clear to begin with. Projects that are outcome-based require you, as the manager, to not expect to know when and where employees are working. Likewise, this can become more complicated when it comes to things like the ever-changing work environment and payroll.
A remote employee must be able to manage their work and create a schedule that permits the work to be accomplished on time. Micromanaging creates resentment, both in an office and remotely. You are not hiring toddlers so do not treat them like toddlers. Fostering creativity in your employees will create employees who can think critically and surpass goals. Finally, trust your team members with the freedom and flexibility to get the work done on time. A good team manager does not drag, they lead.
