How best to manage remote workers
In the modern age of working, around half of all the workforce work at least partly remotely for some of their working week. With this being true, and with more workers hoping to make the switch at some point in the future, it is important that companies know how best to manage their remote workers. With this in mind, we have put together some tips that should help you with this.
Tell them what is expected
Working from home can work in one of two ways. Some people will be more productive than ever, and others will hardly get anything done at all. To help balance this out, you should set expectations before they begin working from home – including how much work you expect to be done, the standard of work you would like, and the deadline.
Respond quickly
Working from home can sometimes be quite isolating, and it can be inconvenient if waiting for an answer to a question – as often nothing else can be done while waiting for the answer. Therefore, if you have a remote team, you should do your best to respond to any questions they ask as quickly as possible, to allow them to get on with their day.
Check in on your team
If your team permanently work from home, then it can be easy to forget to get in touch. If they are working on a project that lasts, for example, a month, it is important to ask for regular progress checks. It is up to you how often you do this, but it can help to check on how the work is going along the way.
Place your trust in your team
It is understandable why lots of managers would prefer for their team to be in the office, as it means that they are better able to keep an eye on the work they’re doing. However, it is vital that you are able to place your trust in your remote workers. You should set guidelines, for example how quickly emails or texts need to be responded to, and trust them so long as they stay in line with this guidance.
Include them in employee events
A lot of the time, members of the team who work from home feel left out of events. It’s often a case of out of sight out of mind, however you should try to include them when planning things. This means ensure that they are invited to meetings, training, and any kind of social event that you have in the pipeline.