Funmito Obafemi

This article will discuss five tips that work the best to manage employees remotely.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of working remotely has become more prominent in many industries. Employees want to work freely in a comfortable environment. However, managers find it challenging to manage remote workers effectively. 

In a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 40% of 215 managers expressed low confidence in managing workers remotely.  Some even admitted they lack the confidence to influence remote workers to perform their jobs well and coordinate the team effectively. 

As a result, issues such as micromanagement, lack of communication, low collaboration, burnout, and expectations from employees come up within the organization. In the long run, this affects employees’ productivity, motivation, and adversely affects the company’s growth.

If you experience this issue, you’re not alone. In this article, you will learn about five (5) tips that can help you manage your remote employees effectively. Let’s get started. 

5 Tips for Managing Your Employees Remotely

Managing your remote employees effectively can increase productivity in your workplace. 

Here are five tips to help you get started. 

1. Avoid Micromanaging Your Employees
2. Set Clear Goals for Team Members
3. Define Clear Working Policies for Your Employees
4. Constantly Communicate with Your Employees
5. Create Time for Non-Work Discussions

Avoid Micromanaging Your Employees

Many remote managers believe that micromanaging their employees contributes to productivity. As of 2022, a report by the New York Times revealed that managers use real monitoring tools to measure their employees’ work hours. 

They take random screenshots of webcam photos and screen or monitor their idle and active time to ensure they get the job done. A slight sign of inactivity by these monitoring tools leads to non-payment of wages and, in worse cases, getting fired which is not a good idea to manage employees remotely. 

While micromanagement largely benefits you as an employer, experts agree that its negative effects on your workers can prompt them to be less productive and ultimately make them quit. That’s not a healthy culture for any company. 

To avoid this scenario, you should delegate tasks to your employees and assign deadlines, preferably daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Your employees are adults. Give them the responsibilities, trust them to get the job done, and assess their performance when they’re done as this is one of the best ways to manage employees remotely.

In an interview with Microsoft’s CEO, Nadella says, “The only way a business is successful and productive is if employees feel a sense of empowerment, energy, and connection for the company’s mission and are doing meaningful work. It’s not about surveillance; it’s about helping employees thrive.”

The best way to encourage remote work productivity is by trusting them with their responsibilities and not constantly monitoring their every movement. Let them demonstrate their expertise. If they deliver, that’s great! If they don’t, coach them or change the plan. But, don’t micromanage them, as that could affect your employees negatively. 

Also read: 7 Tips To Boost Remote Work Productivity

Set Clear Goals for Team Members

Every company has a set of realistic goals they intend to achieve, whether long-term or short-term. Your job as a manager is to ensure that you outline these goals to your team and let them see how their role is crucial to its achievement.

For your goals to be clear, you need to stick to the SMART rules:

• Specific — You need to know what you want to achieve, who will achieve them, and how to achieve them.
• Measurable — Your goals are measurable only if you can track your progress. 
• Achievable — Even if your goal will stretch your team’s potential, you shouldn’t go overboard with it. Be sure to know what’s realistic or not. 
• Relevant — As managers, you could sometimes set goals that are not of utmost priority for the company’s needs. Ask yourself if you’re prioritizing the right goal at the right time
• Time-bound — Your goals need a deadline, whether daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. It gives your team a sense of purpose, knowing what they can achieve within a given time. 

By setting clear goals, your team members will know what to deliver, and you will be at peace knowing they are working to contribute to the company’s growth. After setting the goals, you will need to constantly check and review to see whether you’re on the right track.

Also read: 5 Tips For Onboarding Remote Employees

Define Clear Working Policies for Your Employees

Now that you’ve set your goals, you need to define some clear working policies for your employees. Defining these policies helps to prevent issues at work and you can manage employees remotely in a better way. While these policies vary by employee’s roles, your company, and industry, here are a few general policies you can put in writing:

• Availability

 Communicate the working hours to your employees. If you want them to choose their working hours, great! If that isn’t the case, let them know when they must be available for work. 

Do you want them to work online within a specific window, from 9 am to 5 pm? Must they be available for certain meetings? Make it known.

• Responsiveness

As a manager in a remote setting, you could have delayed responses. But this doesn’t mean you can’t set expectations around the response time to emails or chats. 

After you have considered the time zone and workload, you can set about 1-2 hours for their response rate or include phrases such as “reply to my message as soon as possible.”

• Remote tools and technology

Most remote jobs require a computer, internet access, a phone, and/or a headset. Other roles require additional tools like printers, company laptops, video conferencing tools, and other necessary software. 

You must communicate the tools you will provide, the ones employees must purchase, and other expenses that require additional reimbursement. 

Constantly Communicate with Your Employees

The other best way to manage employees remotely is to constantly communicate with your employees. Even after setting your goals and working policies, you would need to constantly review their progress and communicate with each other when necessary. Communication is a two-way street. As the manager, you should constantly communicate with your team members. 

Check-in on their current tasks and progress. Evaluate their performances. Offer support and guidance when they need help. Encourage them to solve problems. Praise them when they have successfully completed a project or achieved a goal. 

On the other hand, you should encourage feedback from your employees. Their voices also matter. If there is a need for a difficult conversation, be kind, open, and honest about the topic. Anyone can do a good and terrible job at the same time. Learn to provide constructive criticism that’s filled with kindness and respect. 

Create Time for Non-Work Discussions

Working physically at an office allows employees to catch up with each other. They socialize and build relationships, which could strengthen teams. Unfortunately, remote workers don’t have access to this physical privilege, making them feel isolated. 

On the bright side, you can create time for teams to discuss non-work-related issues. You can have a dedicated channel that focuses on this aspect or a face-to-face meeting, where workers can talk about whatever is bothering them, even if it’s not work-related and this way you can manage employees remotely.

If you can afford to, you can create in-person events once a year or every two years. Doing this creates bonds that can contribute to the company’s growth and is one of the best ways to manage employees remotely.

Conclusion

Managing remote employees can be a daunting task. But with the right strategies, you can encourage them to work better, boost their morale, and have them contribute positively to the company’s growth.