Topic: Remote Workforce Management
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Team leadership has always come with its challenges. However, add in remote working and those challenges grow exponentially. It’s the role of leadership to keep morale and productivity up, but how do you do that with a disparate bunch of team members?
1. Schedule Frequent 1:1s
Communication needs to be an active choice with remote working. The Performance Management aspect of Bridge makes it super-simple to schedule and carry out 1:1s. These need to be the focal point of directed communication. Remember, there are no impromptu chats waiting for a kettle to boil in the team kitchen, so you need to make these times happen.
In addition, regular 1:1s need a decent framework and should be tracked. Use Bridge to keep track of topics, pain points, discussions and more. Doing 1:1s in this way makes them more meaningful and more concrete for both the manager and the team member.
2. Communicate, Then Communicate Some More
1:1s are valuable, but alone are not enough. If you don’t communicate, you can quickly expect the team to fall apart into its individual elements. The point of a team is that the sum of the parts is greater than the sum of the whole.
You cannot communicate too much as a remote team. The conversation needs to flow from you to others and between others too. The good news is that digital connectivity makes not communicating inexcusable.
3. Care About Culture
When you’re all in the office considering your next fundraising gig or social night out, it’s easy to develop an organic and vibrant team culture. Unfortunately, it’s more difficult to do with remote teams.
Yet, culture gives identity and a sense of commitment to everyone in the team. You need to be ‘in it together’. So, as the team leader, you need to nurture and create the culture of the team.
From morning team check-ins to virtual games to celebrating milestones, you need to create a cohesive culture.
4. Set and Measure Goals
Goals enable the team to set their eyes on the prize, and they help individuals to know their importance in reaching overall objectives. Goals are also a secret weapon for team leaders for another reason: they enable you to measure performance.
When goals are set they should be clear and measurable. Using Bridge’s wonderfully user-friendly visuals allows the team leader and the individual to see their progress. It’s motivational and leads to collective and individual success.
5. Ditch the Micromanagement
If a team’s work is suitable for remote working then chances are you’re dealing with responsible, conscientious employees who do not need you virtually breathing down their neck all day. Communication is important, micromanagement is not.
Instead, your team members need to be empowered. They need the autonomy to get on with their work. They also need to know that they can set and achieve their own development goals.
6. Give Praise and Feedback
Remote working can be isolating and lead to a sense of invisibility. If you want an engaged team you need to offer up praise when it is deserved and offer constructive feedback when needed. It’s your job as the leader to inspire and motivate. Praise and feedback make individuals feel supported, more engaged and committed.
It’s also important to encourage each individual in the team to give praise and feedback to other team members. 360° feedback is a powerful tool in that regard.
Remote Teams Can be Incredible
It takes a different approach to successfully lead a remote team. But it’s not just possible, it can be immensely effective. As long as the manager leads, builds rapport, and communicates, a remote team has the capability of being freed from the constraints that the four walls of the office create.
If you’re leading a remote team, now is the time to learn about the Bridge Learning and Performance Management solution – that will be the biggest secret of your success.
