These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that requires employees to be tethered to their cubicles 24/7. Today, businesses are more than willing to embrace the remote working trend because of the many perks.
Without geographical limitations, companies cast a wider net to access a wider talent pool. And the practice makes for happy employees: telecommuting workers are 48% more likely to rank their job a 10 (the highest level) on the happiness scale.
However, these perks come with their own set of challenges—primarily on your company’s ability to manage remote teams. Here are some of the best tips you can try to ensure you’re handling remote teams efficiently.
#1. Centralize communication
Communication is key with geographically disparate teams. Connecting everyone and establishing a sense of camaraderie (despite the distance) helps create a sense of accountability. Centralized communication will also keep everyone in the loop. No one is left out when it comes to making critical decisions.
#2. Use tracking tools
Just because your team isn’t located in a single physical space doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to track their whereabouts. Most managers coordinating remote teams recommend setting up a group chat that allows team members to send quick messages regarding work, or simply to share updates about their day. For employees working in varying time zones, try using a time-tracking tool to verify that your employees are clocking in the required hours.
#3. Be open to new technology
There is a wealth of new technological innovations that can help facilitate better communication and support collaboration between team members wherever they are located. Hosted VoIP, for example, can ensure each team member is accessible in the most cost-efficient way. Unified Communication allows team members to keep everyone up-to-date and stay on top of their responsibilities.
#4. Don’t micromanage
A lot of employees today choose job opportunities that allow remote working options or telecommuting because they want to enjoy a sense of autonomy when they do their work. For business owners and managers, this requires a certain level of trust in your employees. That said, resist the urge to micromanage team members.
Of course, keep track and monitor their progress and day-to-day tasks. Understand that you’re all working towards the same objective, which should give you enough confidence that the team can deliver quality work.
Remote working opportunities are boosting productivity, cost savings, and employee morale. Keeping these guidelines in mind will help you manage this new business trend and maximize the opportunities it presents for your business.
If you would like to explore what Hosted VoIP can do to help better manage your remote teams, feel free to contact us at Jive today.
