How to Manage a Remote Team with the Right Tools and Modern Leadership

The soar in the number of people who have switched to working remotely in the past decade is not a bluff. If anything, statistics prove that work from home has grown by 173% since 2005. With greater flexibility, saved time and money on commuting, and comfort in knowing that you have more life-scheduling freedom, it’s no wonder that more people choose to take the leap and apply for remote jobs instead of office-based ones. 

And while this workplace movement sounds good not only on paper but in practice, too, it is still met with a hefty dose of skepticism from both employees and employers. Both parties have concerns that keep them wishing they were in their remote counterparts’ shoes but also not enough information on hand to use in favor of going remote. Here are the most common challenges they face:

• The lack of clear communication
  
  

It’s not only about the conversations in the common kitchen and quick catch-ups in the hallway; the bigger issue lies in the absence of body language and voice tone cues that make up most of the interpersonal communication. Without face-to-face discussions, it becomes hard to decipher the intentions behind the messages in the team chat which, in turn, can lead to misinterpretation, misunderstandings, and a less-than-favorable outcome for both sides. 

• The Fear Of Missing Out (or FOMO in short)

As you would expect, those who work from the comfort of their own home can’t reap the same socialization-induced benefits that an office worker could. Birthday celebrations, charity-based gatherings, and other company-wide events aren’t in the cards for remote workers who are more often than not spread across the globe. This contributes to the rising FOMO that can even lead to people eventually becoming ‘fed up’ with the remote work scenario and deciding to go back to the already familiar office environments.   

• The feeling of loneliness and isolation    

Hands down the number one reason people struggle with working remotely is their fear of becoming isolated from society. We’re social animals after all - which was clearly showcased in the Neuroscience report from 2018 where mice were removed from their go-to social structure and placed away from it - that need human contact to stay sane. Just like the mice whose brain cells began to gradually die off, we are prone to developing mental health problems like anxiety and depression that can ultimately reverse all the benefits associated with the freedom-prompting remote work. 

Grasping the severity of these challenges is only half of the solution - working towards removing them through efficient people management is when engagement improves, productivity rises, and the company prospers. 

Having been managing a remote team of 15 for over 10 years now, I’ve figured out what practices every business owner should adopt to lead a team of their own to success with confidence. 

Four tips to manage a remote team like a pro 

Before we dive into the hands-on approaches proven to help remote teams function their best, you need to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all type of fix. My business revolves around raising awareness about sustainable diving, so you’ll have to tweak and adjust the techniques I’m about to share according to your company’s structure and operations. 

Some things will make more sense to you than others, and they are the ones you’ll have to capitalize on so that your team is fully equipped with the tools and guidelines necessary for staying productive when working from home. 

• Establish ground rules but allow some wiggle room for self-governance

Striking a balance between discipline and independence can be tricky - it rings particularly true for green entrepreneurs. When starting out, you might be confused about how one is supposed to efficiently run daily scrums (also known as a stand-up meeting) while also not interfering too much with each team member’s work process. But the right ratio will form itself as you set a clear structure of the day-to-day activities that should be performed on a daily basis and strive to communicate to your team the objectives that have to be met.

A healthy way to achieve an equilibrium here is to lay out the framework as the project arises and concentrate on having everyone working towards completing it rather than micromanaging every step. You can ask your team to post quick updates as they make progress and share drafts that require a second set of eyes, but that’s where your involvement should end. This way you’ll be able to increase each person’s accountability and simultaneously focus on the bigger picture.  

• Make the adopted communication strategy known to every team member

Physical distance isn’t an obstacle to efficient communication - poor strategy is. If you fail to convey what communication channels will be used and how often you’re meant to video chat, you shouldn’t expect anything less than all the hell breaking loose. Instead, consider over-communicating, even if it means taking an hour or two out of your week to share the agenda for the current week and brainstorm with your team. 

Apart from using Skype, Slack, Zoom, Google Meet or Hangout - or the combination of a few - it helps to have a few of the following principles in place: 

• Set your office hours and try to be as available as possible. It’s easy for your remote team to feel disconnected when they’re working by themselves the majority of the time. To ensure this doesn’t happen too often, give your employees the chance to check in when they feel the need to and be genuinely interested in hearing them out. A great manager should also be mindful of the means of communication his team members prefer to use - chat, audio, or video - and meet them halfway regardless of it. 
  
  
• Make small talks with every one of your employees. When calling up, it’s not enough to discuss work matters only - at least not when virtual communication is the only form of communication you have. You should make an effort to build the so-called rapport with everyone who is a part of your team so that you have a good idea about each one’s personality. This will be a big long-term advantage when a just-as-good or an even better opportunity appears in front of them and they have to decide whether they will stay or leave (hopefully the former).
  
  
• Schedule bi-weekly or monthly team meetings that involve video. Chatting in Slack is easy - especially when you need to quickly get a point across. But it can’t replace real-time video calls where everyone can get to know each other a little better over a cup of coffee. This form of social inclusion is the answer to loneliness and isolation so many remote workers tend to feel.
  
  

• Don’t underestimate the importance of giving proper feedback on performance
  
  

When in the office, you can come up to your employee and let him know how well the project he’s working on looks this far or what should be changed. This is a no brainer, especially when weekly or monthly meetings focusing on employee performance are an integral part of your company’s practice. With remote workers, you don’t have the same easy access - there are many miles between you - which means that you have to make an additional effort to get back to them when the time to review their work is due. 

Employ project management tools like Dropbox and InVision to categorize the feedback and give the opportunity for others to give their two cents too. This 2-way collaboration will not only help everyone keep themselves accountable for their input but also open up the possibility for them to be more collaborative with the initiatives they express regarding the improvement of the ongoing and future projects.  

• Integrate cloud-based software for an easy workflow

Speaking about the software - there’s nothing more essential for a well-functioning remote team than a set of cloud-based tools aimed at automating its work processes. If there’s no system in place for your staff to rely on, consider that you've failed at providing them with the basics for executing their work. 

To create this system - and have it serve your team for years to come - you should invest in a couple of must-have tools like Trello, Zoho, Google Drive, and Wrike that make planning, monitoring, and collaborating easy. They eliminate the need for sticky notes and heavy planners that are often used for keeping track of work progress. Besides, your team doesn’t have to worry about losing any of their work as this software is backed by the so-called digital cloud with quick and easy access.        

Buckle up and enjoy the ride 

It would be naive to assume that remote workers need less guidance than those working on site. It’s quite the opposite. They require a different kind of leadership that would allow them to perform their best while away from each other. And it’s your job to lead the way. 

Understand the challenges a remote team faces and seek to manage them with empathy and professionalism. This means getting to know people who work for you on a personal level and providing them with the required resources for reaching their pre-set targets. Use the tips I’ve shared above and you’ll master remote management in no time.