Managing Remote Teams: 4 Tips to Make It Easier

So, you decided to allow your team to work from home. After all, the advantages of working from home seem to outweigh the disadvantages. You’ve noticed that your employees are happy this morning because they didn’t have to rush to make it to work on time, even though it’s a Monday morning!

Unfortunately, the last brainstorming session was a disaster, emails are going unanswered, and the team is not as productive as you had hoped.

Continue reading to learn how to get better at managing remote teams. You will also find ways to encourage those on the team to be more productive during work hours with these tips for managing remote teams.

1. Set Some Expectations

The members of your team still have to adhere to the rules, just as they would in the office. It’s important to set clear expectations as far as work procedures, company culture, communication guidelines, and even relationship building. You also have to let team members know when these policies and changes occur so that they can adapt to them.

Remember that your team members might not have a quiet place to get work done, especially if they have small children at home. Try to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to getting work done.

2. Check in With Them Often

Start each week with a video call to make sure everyone is on the same page and prepared for the upcoming week. Check in again mid-week to make sure everyone is still doing well. If possible, take some time to meet face-to-face and encourage social interactions between team members.

Encourage team members to prioritize their mental health early on rather than waiting until they show signs of mental distress.

3. Be Responsive to Their Needs

When working as part of a remote team, you might notice a lack of communication. This might be due to the inability to walk right into a colleague’s or employee’s workspace to get clarification. Your team will respond positively to a team leader who engages in and promotes conversation.

Giving your remote team access to a messaging program, like Microsoft Teams, can help to keep the lines of communication open. This direct communication can help team members brainstorm ideas together or partake in water cooler talk without having to wait for a response to an email.

4. Give Them Adequate Resources

Working from home might pose certain issues that need technological solutions. Give everyone on the team access to collaboration tools and other resources needed to be productive.

There are a ton of work-from-home solutions that might benefit you and your remote team members, including remote work software like Microsoft 365 business.

Remote Work Made Simple can guide you to find the best remote productivity tools on the market. We can even provide you with a comprehensive assessment to track gaps in the remote team workflow. We can also help with Microsoft 365 setup and Microsoft 365 deployment.