Coronavirus: Managing teams remotely

30 MARCH 2020

Some employees will be working from home for the first time, which means business owners will be having to implement new workflows for the first time too.

Regardless of business size or physical set-up, working remotely comes with challenges and opportunities. In order to remain efficient and reduce stress, here are some simple steps to follow:

Select communication tools carefully
Think about whether you would prefer staff to call you directly every time they need something, or via email if a 'paper trail' is needed for recording purposes. Or perhaps a group chat via WhatsApp or Microsoft Teams would be more appropriate if there are multiple team members. Additionally, decide how files are to be shared ahead of time. There are many options available, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. Let all employees know about these decisions, to avoid any misunderstandings and disrupt to the workflow.

Upskill team members 
If new tools and software are going to be introduced, take the time to provide training to your staff members. A lot of software companies offer basic online training for free, publishing blogs on their websites or how-to videos on YouTube. Providing these resources to employees, and giving them a reasonable amount of time to learn, is crucial to ensuring the smoothest transition possible to remote working. If you can, create a 'cheat-sheet' including processes and useful links so that employees can refer back to it if they begin to feel overwhelmed. 

Create routine check-ins
A good rule of thumb is to lock in two regular check-ins per day with employees working remotely. It is likely that you will be in contact throughout the day anyway but putting a routine touchpoint in place at the start and end of the working day will help give employees a chance to share their individual goals, progress and feelings. During these stressful and uncertain times, video chats are encouraged, being able to see each other creates a greater connection and will allow you to better gauge how an employee is coping. 

Make time for social
Chances are your team is missing Friday night drinks, or perhaps someone's birthday is coming up and instead of a cake with the team, everyone's separated this year. It's a stressful time, which makes it more important than ever that you take the reins as the employer, and keep up the team morale! Here are some ideas for 'digital' team-building exercises:

• Daily team chat purely dedicated to non-work related updates and jokes
• Daily stretch club video call
• Shared Spotify 'work' playlist 
• Online video call social events such as Friday night beers.
   

Embrace remote managing in the same way you are asking your employees to embrace remote working. Take the time to create clear processes, choose the right communication tools and train your staff. Planning will help ensure that everyone feels connected and supported as they move online.