(www.forbes.com article)
How To Be A Successful Remote Manager
As the remote working model continues to evolve, the traditional office setup seems to be shrinking day by day. From in-office workstations and cubicles, employees are now rapidly moving to their kitchen counters and home offices to continue their projects.
Through this transition, how can managers ensure that efficiency and productivity remain on point and projects are completed successfully? Here are my top three tips on how to be a successful remote manager based on what I’ve learned and experienced so far at Uassist.ME.
1. Maintain regular communication.
In physical offices, there can be constant communication and immediate access between employees and managers. It only takes a couple of strides to catch up with your employees and find out their progress on looming deadlines.
Now that you’re a remote manager far away from your employees, don’t forget to keep close tabs on your team members. Make time to reach out to each remote worker individually, if possible, and connect. It is imperative to maintain regular communication so that your employees know you are still paying attention to their work. This will also ensure that they can reach out to you whenever they need to even from miles away.
Several chat tools make it possible to connect with remote workers within seconds. Use this to your advantage as you conduct meetings and discussions on a regular schedule.
2. Rely on technology.
Technology has blessed us immensely; it’s the main reason remote working can be a breeze. We live in a high-tech era, and several apps and tools at our disposal make life easier and faster.
As a remote manager, you need to stay updated on the latest apps and tools that can improve the efficiency, productivity, communication and project management of your remote team. Task manager apps are particularly helpful because they show clear status updates throughout in-progress projects to the team members working on them.
Choose the right tools, and ensure you implement them uniformly across your team. Make sure every employee has an updated technological system to keep up with the tools you implement.
3. Demonstrate empathy for your team.
On every team, whether it is remote or in-house, the driving force is the manager. Your role as a manager is not only to facilitate projects, but also to show that you value each team member. Your concern should go beyond their project performance; you are not a dragon constantly breathing down their necks.
It’s a great idea to connect as a lighthearted manager every once in a while to let your employees see your warm and approachable personality. Sounding too strict and stern all the time may make employees hesitant to reach out to you, even with work-related issues.
Organize a friendly virtual coffee meet-up to lighten the atmosphere. It will help you unwind and win employee trust as they relax in your presence.
Try to wish team members happy birthday, ask how they’re feeling and do whatever you can to make sure they’re all right in tough times. Little efforts will go a long way in developing strong relationships between you and your team members.
There’s no doubt that managing a remote team is vastly different from managing an in-house one. It comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. As a remote manager, you must make continuous efforts to encourage your employees, be accessible to them, contribute to their projects and build a solid foundation of trust.
read more here at forbes.com…
