What are the best practices to manage remote employees?

Beyond the Command-and-Control Culture!

The classic notion of an “office” has grown above its definition. It’s not merely a physical premise where a group of people gather for fixed time duration to work for an organisation. In fact, it has expanded to encompass the remote working culture, where work matters irrespective of the location and time. Today, employers prefer to work with a mix of individuals who are effusively capable of meeting their functional requirements. The world economy is grateful to the internet technology and connectivity that allows them to hire the best people to work for them and meet their financial terms. That’s how remote working has started to evolve like never before!

60% of the remote workers agree to leave their current job for a full-time remote opportunity at the same pay rate.
– PGI 2015 Global Telework Survey

A number of benefits have been cited while working with remote teams- cost savings, expertise, high productivity, round-the-clock availability, business expansion, and work-life balance, loyal and independent employees. But, as they say, every coin has two sides! There are various challenges as well in managing remote employees. A manager dealing with remote workers should possess specialised skills to generalise things for one and all.

Enlisting the essentials to help you in managing remote employees in a better way:

 

Barriers of Boundaries – We are one!

A global company has the responsibility to manage employees from different realms belonging to diverse cultures. There may be variance in the time zones and working hours of the teams owing to the geographies. Despite all this, the spirit of “We are One” should be reflected in their work towards fulfilling business objectives. The best practice is to identify the “golden hours” when everyone is available for a meeting. These overlapping hours combining different time zones should be utilised in an effective manner to catch up with other members and keep a track of the ongoing work. Also, it is the duty of the manager to see that nobody is forced to extend or be available at the odd hours.

Clues for Collaboration – Contribution is key!

An equal participation is highly encouraged in a remote working culture. Since you are not meeting the co-workers on a daily basis, it becomes important to understand their expertise, communication language, availability, working pattern, and match them for a smooth working. There’s probably no teacher or no subordinate mannerism, rather, a collaboration of independent experts. Hence, it matters to know what everyone thinks and how can you agree on a mutual point. Taking their feedback, suggestions and periodical reviews is necessary to comprehend and design the plans for managing remote employees.

Charter of Characters – Redefine the Cubicle!

Remote working is not meant for everyone. A global team leader should be able to identify the right people suitable for the type of job and the virtual culture. From the hiring towards the on-boarding process, every team member should be aware of the new employee and his role.  The responsibilities are not limited to a cubicle; it’s more about managing your own working and owning your duties to perform. There should be definite flow for information sharing, well-aligned decision-making processes, systematic reporting and clear lines of communication to ensure things are heading in right direction for each member. One can allow flexible working hours but ensure consistency and coordination.

The Watercooler Effect – Nurture relationships!

In the traditional office, small breaks to drink water or tea conversations are the ways to enjoy casual talks with your colleagues. A man is a social animal and it is must to develop a cordial bond between the employees. This strengthens the relations and promotes a collective growth. However, when your workplaces are dispersed, there are bare minimum chances to form these connections. Our experience of having remote staff indicates the need to have informal calls and meetings to achieve a perfect harmonisation. Connect with your team casually, revolve your conversations to know about them, use chats as a medium to interact in breaks, celebrate with little gestures and send gifts to realise the importance of co-working!

Talk the Technology – Balance with Communication!

The world has become smaller with the advancement of technology. No doubt that people are confidently engaging with and managing remote employees because of the availability of a variety of tools to pool resources and accomplish the work. The wide use of project management tools helps to track and monitor the ongoing work of individuals. Cloud platform has made data sharing and collaboration possible in a hassle free manner. Most importantly, video calls and conferencing, screen sharing in online meetings and instant chat platforms are the ways to acknowledge and update your progress on a regular basis.  Every meeting should be an opportunity to know each other in a better way & understand the impact of their work.

Do away with Distance – Gather for Get-together!

Face-to-face meetings play a crucial role to govern a seamless administration regardless of the boundaries. One can always exploit the internet tools to catch up with the team via video calls and email communication. But, there is a need to actually bump into your people at least once a while! Whether it is a client or a team of employees, occasional meetings are always obliging. Moreover, it also bridges a gap between people working in different domains to meet each other and recognise them as a person! A company-wide retreat is always a great idea whether to enjoy success or plan a major product release! Like the one we had recently to celebrate our achievement and decide a breakthrough!

A remote team can be the chief asset to accelerate a company’s growth. You have the power to contract the best talent without any limitations and the employees have fair flexibility to deliver the outcome. All that a global team leader needs to do for managing remote employees is to communicate well, guide them, focus on propagating company culture, synchronise information, use the right technology and pay attention to the evolving needs of every team member. iTouchVision is glad to have one of the greatest teams across the boundaries working progressively and sharing the success as a family!

Make your move now!

iTouchVision is one of the world’s leading cloud-based service provider with innovation & excellence at its base. The company has made its presence in all business verticals with its technical & operational capabilities to enhance the working of private & public sector organisations. Our products, ranging from Web-based software to Mobile applications have made their mark globally to transform the way work is completed.