Teleworking comes with its share of challenges, especially that of managing remotely. For some who have been “remote” for years, this is not a problem. But for the vast majority who fell into it in 2020, certain reflexes have not yet been adopted. So how do you keep a team productive and engaged remotely? Remote work is a multi-level challenge for managers. That of building a structured work environment, maintaining communication and the work collective and finally providing emotional support, particularly in times of crisis.
Step 1: Define a framework for work
Working in the office naturally imposes a framework, between the schedules, the work equipment and the processes put in place on the premises of the company. Teleworking is changing the situation and requires drawing new benchmarks to help employees work in the best conditions. Managing remotely involves setting limits for teams to define their space and working time, in relation to their personal lives. From the start, it is therefore appropriate to express expectations in terms of working hours, availability slots, tools used to communicate, time devoted to meetings or even times to respond to e-mails. The idea is to avoid employees spreading out and losing sight of work because they are too busy, or conversely, completely cut themselves off from the group by focusing on their tasks.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Give employees guidelines in terms of working time and organization
2 - Determine the work tools and the mode of use
Step 2: Pay particular attention to your communication
Communicating remotely is more complicated and not only for remote managers. As a team leader, he must be the most impeccable in terms of communication in order to avoid any misunderstandings., comprehension bias or any frustration on the part of teammates. The remote manager sets rules in relation to communication, such as devoting a specific time of the day to interactions. It guarantees the choice of tools that will allow fluid and adapted communication. For example, email alone is not enough. Video is not to be overlooked in communications because it reduces the feeling of isolation and appears to be a bit more personal than audio or written communication.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Training in distance communication
2 - Determine functionality and terms of use for each communication tool used
Step 3: Clarify work expectations
Not all employees are equal in terms of commitment to work. Some are fully committed, others are just doing what is strictly necessary. A team that works remotely can be prone to this small glitch. Also, managing remotely involves setting a schedule and precise deadlines for each expected task and sub-task (s). Without going so far as to get on everyone's back, you have to remember to do regular reminders. Some tools make it easy to visualize upcoming, ongoing and finalized tasks, or even to launch alerts on those that are behind schedule. When managing remotely, visualizing tasks can also be a moment to motivate the troops, by allowing them to see for themselves the work done and their contribution to the projects.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Establish precise and detailed schedules and clearly express expectations
2 - Use tools that make it easy to visualize the work of employees and promote it
Step 4: Create and maintain a strong company culture
When working from home, we tend to cut ourselves off from the company, to find ourselves in our bubble. Managing remotely therefore involves take up the challenge of keeping employees engaged in the corporate culture. This is an essential point if we want employees to work in the same direction, with a common goal and visible goals. Maintaining corporate culture means leading by example. The remote manager encourages team members to discuss projects, give their opinion... He regularly recalls the vision and mission of the company so that everyone works for a common goal.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Organize regular team meetings to discuss projects
2 - Regularly recall the corporate culture, and provide information on its latest news and how employees contribute to this culture
Step 5: Managing remotely also means encouraging training
Working remotely involves to acquire a certain number of skills, in particular that of learning to organize, to have a workstation adapted to the place where you are, or to improve your communication skills. Managing remotely therefore involves training yourself, but also encouraging your employees to train themselves as well. For this, solutions exist to allow everyone to train without necessarily monopolizing working time. This is particularly the case with the solutions of Mobile learning, which allow you to train on demand on skills or Soft Skills as simple as the ability to organize. These solutions make use of microlearning, which allows you to learn at your own pace, from anywhere and at any time.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Identify the training needs of employees
2 - Offer solutions adapted to distance learning
