What Are Best Practices Supporting Remote Business Teams? By cioreviewindia Team

What Are Best Practices Supporting Remote Business Teams?

cioreviewindia Team | Monday, 08 February 2021, 11:41 IST

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What Are Best Practices Supporting Remote Business Teams?Working from home or remote working is currently a trend and a necessity for companies worldwide. As a result, team leaders and managers have found themselves unexpectedly managing remote teams. This new necessity can be scary, especially if your company has never had to do so.

There are actually some great benefits of remote teams such as:

  • Higher productivity because remote workers have a more flexible schedule and minimal distractions
  • Greater employee autonomy to finish a task in a comfortable environment
  • Increased employee loyalty
  • Financial savings for office rent, technology, electricity, furniture, etc

Best practices for managing a remote team

Probably the biggest challenge about managing a remote team is building teamwork of different individuals of different capabilities and backgrounds without meeting them face to face.

With physical and cultural barriers such as time zones, cultural differences, and different work styles, managers should make every effort to build consistent processes for remote teams to prosper.

Consider these practices below:

Find the right people

Incredible as it may be for most people, not everyone is cut to work in a remote environment. On the same note, not everyone can work well in a remote team. Therefore, managers need to be very careful when recruiting new members into the team.

In a remote setting, everyone should know the importance of striving to attain company goals. This means individuals should be trusted to deliver from wherever they are with minimal supervision.

One way to find the right people would be to recruit new people on a short-term basis, assess their capabilities, and select your team.

Build the right tech stack

Technology and software go a long way in helping your team perform maximally no matter where they are. Establishing an effective, secure, and well-equipped infrastructure is one way to build a seamless collaboration and thriving remote work. Therefore, make sure in the right tech to bridge the physical gap.

Keep in mind that your remote workers depend on infrastructure, processes from corporate headquarters and will require communicating with their home base in real-time. Making use of the IT Help Desk platform can make an employee fulfillment service operate efficiently.

Hence, you can utilize some of the best help desk software to assist remote teams with reliable IT support.

Facilitate easy collaboration and communication

In a remote team setting, establishing clear communication cannot be emphasized enough. Setting up expectations and processes will boost your team's performance. Hence, ensure that you communicate, follow up, and repeat the process repeatedly.

Strengthen company culture

Organizations that nurture an inclusive virtual environment get the best out of every individual in the remote team. When everyone in the team believes in a similar vision and possess the same values, things are done effortlessly.

Establish rules of engagement

Remote work is more rewarding when managers set expectations for communication. You can establish the frequency, means, and the ideal time for communication. For example, you can opt to use video conferencing for check-in meetings and use IM for urgent matters.

Enhance team bonding

Providing opportunities for team bonding is crucial for your company. However, establishing a personal connection can be hard when some team members are remote. You can still consider posting fun questions and teasers on your company chat channel to encourage casual conversation or even play online games as a team.

Have a daily check-in

Phone calls, email, and Slack can only go so far. Keep in mind that your team needs to see you, and you need to see them. Fortunately, services such as Zoom have made things easy. Ensure that you check in daily to provide feedback and anything else your team may need.

Focus on outcomes, not the activity

Clearly defining the organization's desired results and allowing employees to develop an execution plan encourages creativity and ownership. Of course, such employees should have the training and resources to execute this plan.

Show flexibility

Working from home has its own challenges. Some employees with be in a family setup and experiencing relationship problems- some won't. As a manager, it's important that you understand the unique circumstances of every employee.

Final thoughts

 Employees can be engaged and productive without being in the same building. While it may take time to adjust to remote working, taking advantage of the best practices can strengthen your organization's culture.

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