As more and more businesses are hiring employees to work remotely, either to save money or to hire better professionals, companies that haven’t had experience in managing and working with remote teams can mishandle and lose great professionals because of their own negligence.
But everything can be done properly, even if you have zero experience in the field as a company if you read, learn and apply some key things.
So, from keeping a level playground, to including them in every project, let’s go over a couple of things that will allow you to have a winning remote team who’s giving their all, instead of slacking, just because they aren’t in the office.
And even though there are many different things that play a role in managing distant employees, we can go over five things that can help you manage yours.
Treat remote workers as your on-location employees.
That means that your remote workers enjoy the same benefits as your employees working in the office. If you have corporate wellness programs, make sure your remote workers have some type of access to them.
If you’re holding anniversary company events, make sure your remote employees are invited.
This goes for the work process as well. Just because you have someone working a thousand miles from your office, it doesn’t mean they aren’t as invested as the people who are sitting in the same office as you.
So listen out their ideas and see if you can execute on them.
And don’t forget to hold regular meetings.
Meeting once, or even twice a week can help with keeping remote employees motivated, informed and invested in the company.
Make sure you’re having regular meetings with the teams to keep them in the loop and catch up with them and see if everything is going to plan.
Some companies now are even starting to utilize the so-called daily catch-ups where they’re spending fifteen to thirty minutes a day to catch up on tasks and prioritize projects.
And make sure to provide the needed equipment.
Even though remote employees will most likely have some type of equipment, especially those doing creative work, it’s always a good idea to provide them with the needed equipment.
Meaning, they are not freelancers, that’s why they shouldn’t pay for their Adobe suit. Instead, this should be covered by the company, and any other hardware or software needs your employees may have.
Think of this as an ongoing expense, that even if you hired someone to work from the office, you’ll have to invest in a work station and the software needed for the employee to do their job properly.
If that’s something you don’t want, or can’t cover as an expense, then maybe hiring a freelancer will be the better choice for you and your business.
Whether you choose to hire someone to work distantly, or not, is up to you and your company’s policy. But if you decide to try it out, proper management, good communication and giving your employee or employees everything they need is what will help you build a successful remote team.
