Managing remote teams: out of sight, out of mind?

Managing a completely remote team can be scary, especially if it’s the first time you’ve ever had to do so. If this is you, pour your cup of coffee and keep reading...

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home has become a necessity for several companies around the world. Although working from home has many great benefits, yet it’s not always everyone’s cup of tea. Leading an “out of sight” team can be even more challenging, especially if you’ve always been leading a team in a fixed workplace, and now you are going to have to lead them remotely.

At Medicus, our teams are based in different locations worldwide, and some of them have been working remotely for a long time. I’m happy to share our learnings and tips to help you manage your team as successfully as possible and find ways to get back to your stride. Let’s dig in…

1. Address remote work challenges

If your team never worked remotely before, make sure they are aware of the struggles they might face, and discuss the solutions with them. Most of these are related to less collaboration, loneliness, and not being able to unplug, distractions (kids, TV, etc.), but make sure you also address practical things like connectivity issues and access to all the required systems and tools.

2. Provide clarity and set a plan

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” — Theodore M. Hesburgh

The good news is that 39% of employees working remotely from home complete their tasks faster than those in the fixed workplace, according to research. In order to set them up for success, managers should make the expectations crystal clear by discussing their duties and responsibilities and let them know:

• The top priorities, and what can wait for now
• The project or task that should be done — a well-defined deliverable
• The quality standard expected, and how to maintain it
• The deadline!

The more detail, the better. Otherwise, don’t be surprised when you find out in a few weeks that your team is not able to deliver what you were expecting.

3. Establish structured check-ins with your team

Remote employees might feel isolated and disconnected from the rest of the company. Frequent check-ins with remote workers is a great way to help them overcome challenges that come with remote work, and it’s particularly important in the first days of you operating as a remote leader.

One good idea is scheduling daily morning online “stand-up” meetings with your team, where you check-in to make sure everyone is on track. The purpose is to set the agenda and provide the feedback and resources your team needs. It also serves as a virtual morning greeting. The duration of the stand-up meetings should not be longer than 10 -15 minutes. Separate meetings should also be scheduled on a weekly and monthly basis to track the progress of projects.

You can use video conferencing to recreate social contact. For example, the whole team can meet for a 30-minute video call during a syncronized lunch break to chat about life in general. In addition to fostering social bonds, this also helps ensure people are not interrupted during essential breaks.

4. Get the best out of technology

Luckily, modern technology solutions can help you and your team stay closely connected. Make sure everyone is well-equipped with all the needed tools for remote work: laptops, good internet, headset, and web cameras. You should prepare and train yourself and your team to use online tools such as:

• Slack a platform for instant messaging
• Zoom for video conferencing and webinars
• Google Calendar for time-management and scheduling meetings and calls
• Miro for whiteboarding to take brainstorming online

Whatever tool you pick, keep in mind that extra efforts need to be made to get familiar with it. It’s also important to be responsive on Slack as your coworkers can’t come to you in person and ping you for important and urgent issues.

5. Make time for small talk to build rapport

When managing a remote team, you will be spending more time on calls and meetings related to the tasks that need to be done to meet a deadline. That’s good in general if you’re on a tight deadline, but if that’s all you do every day, you are really missing out on a critical part of management.

Getting to know every member of your team is crucial to your business since rapport comes from getting to know them as a complete person. Always treat everyone as unique individuals, not with a one-size-fits-all leadership approach. Taking the time to do this will also make them trust your decisions — even the unpopular ones — and like working for you more.

You can learn the real approach you can take by reading the book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

“The only way to influence people is to talk in terms of what the other person wants” — Dale Carnegie

6. Build trust, and accountability

When you consider the employees working from home, you need to have full confidence in their accountability, work ethic, and skills. As a manager, it’s part of your role to hold your employees accountable for completing tasks. Showing trust is the key that will make them more accountable, and more proactive in taking action.

7. Be realistic

You should accept the fact that not all the team members might be able to function remotely at the same pace from day 1. So set realistic goals for your self and your team to get used to working from home.

After all, your role as a leader is so important in creating a positive environment for your remote team members. Hard times due to the coronavirus outbreak will not last forever but memories stay forever, so try to create good ones with your team.