Managing remote teams requires a thoughtful and practical approach to ensure productivity and collaboration. As with any business or team, it’s often what managers don’t see that makes the difference in building and maintaining a highly productive and happy remote team. With a few cultural and technical exceptions, the rules of managing people successfully are the same wherever you are.
Shifting a role overseas through remote staffing is seamless when done right. With a few practical steps you can ensure your remote staff are happy and productive. And like professional sports team, you’ll build a culture which attracts the right type of people to your business effortlessly.
Set-up and managing expectations
Lift and drop what works with your operation and remove what doesn’t. Building a remote team allows a fresh start with highly motivated individuals. This is your opportunity to establish a set of practices and means of working conducive to healthy productivity and happy staff.
Involve your outsourcing partner and local HR professionals to get the best out of your team and leverage their expertise.
Treat your remote staff as you would in your hometown. Be honest. They may be in another country, but they’re not ignorant. The rules around employee retention are the same everywhere. Reward good performance. Coach and train for success.
Be flexible. If a role is highly process driven, let the completed work show for itself. If it’s a creative position, meet collaborative with your remote team at a time that works for both of you.
Getting the most out of your remote team
Be open with your team. Talk regularly, especially at the beginning. Leverage video calls, instant messaging, and project management tools to stay connected.
Set clear and simple expectations – then let go. Define roles, responsibilities, and project milestones. Clear expectations help remote staff understand their tasks and deadlines. Let go and let them impress you.
Use technology wisely by investing in tools that facilitate remote collaboration. Project management platforms and communication apps streamline workflows and enhance efficiency.
Check in regularly with your team to discuss and measure progress, address any concerns and collaborate on projects. This is a check-in, not a casual check up. Make it clear.
Respect the boundaries between work and home life. Encourage your staff to be open enough with you and be mindful of different time zones to avoid burnout.
Delegate, measure and coach
Delegate the work you’ve employed your remote staff member to do. Thankfully, micromanaging is harder with a remote team. Give your team the work to do, and let them impress you and ask questions if they need help.
What gets measured, gets done. Without overdoing it, measure the work and progress moving the needle on business operations and profit. Involve your remote staff on this and be frank with what it is they are achieving in the big scheme of things. They should be able to answer how their work impacts the business financially.
Coach and mentor your team members individually. Set up a buddy system where a member of your onshore team checks in and is available to a remote team member for the first few weeks of their employment. Cast your mind back to how you felt as a manager when you first started.
Repeat what works with new staff, and use your remote team ingratiate new staff members.