How do I get my team to work effectively while we work remotely?
Even the most experienced of managers is running into struggles in today’s pandemic-focused working environment.
Now that so many teams are switched to remote work, companies are scrambling to figure out how to preserve their productivity and output with everyone scattered in different locations.
As a manager, this is probably one of your top concerns. And it should be. Keeping your team running at the highest capacity possible is your job. But even though your team is working remotely now doesn’t mean that they can’t work effectively.
You can take some simple steps to keep your team running smoothly and productively no matter where they are working from.
Use an open communication platform
Communication platforms like Slack offer a lot of benefits to a company. Besides being easy to use, they provide a space for companies to engage in everyday chatter that they might enjoy while working in the office.
One of the best parts about Slack is that you can create different channels for different conversations. You can build a channel just for talking about one specific project. But you can also have a more casual channel for people to hang out in and exchange small talk. Your employees can still talk to each other about last night’s game, for example. Or you can share interesting links or funny jokes. And while you don’t want to be doing that all day long, providing the ability to do that from time to time allows your team to remain engaged with each other.
On top of that, you need an open communication platform so that expectations can still be set. You need to be sure that your team can communicate with each other throughout the day whenever they need to. Regular communication is the key to keeping a remote team engaged.
Use video (if you can)
If your team regularly participates in meetings, you’re going to have to use more streaming video. While it’s not a direct replacement for in-person meetings, having video meetings through an app like Zoom will benefit your company because everyone will be able to see each other. Just that little step of having visible faces and reactions can go a long way in strengthening your team.
We are fortunate enough to live in a day and age when video chat is standard and straightforward to do. And with cameras on everyone’s phones, it is far easier to take 10 or 15 minutes to drop into a quick video meeting where everyone can communicate where they are on their current projects.
Don’t forget to provide incentives
Providing incentives for in-house employees is often very simple. You might be able to just keep a stack of gift cards on your desk to reward employees for increased performance on occasion, or you can promise to cater lunch for the group on Friday if they meet their sales goals. These are just two examples, but you get the idea.
What do you do when you’re all remote? You can’t buy lunch for everyone and have it delivered to their individual houses. You need a system that will be flexible enough to reward those remote employees and provide an incentive for them to continue to work at a high level even if they are at home.
Boost Coinz™ offers that solution. You can build a clear rewards platform for your employees in just minutes that will reward them when they reach specific benchmarks. You’re free to customize it however you’d like. With this tool in your arsenal, the fact that your team is working remotely doesn’t get in the way of your ability to engage with them and keep them performing at a high level.
