The world has shifted towards using remote teams for the last few years. There are so many advantages to working remotely.
Team members are happier more productive, and businesses save money on rent. There are also the health benefits and legal benefits when working in person may be dangerous or regulated.
There are a lot of disadvantages as well, not being able to check progress in person, talk to your team members directly, etc. So how can you overcome these disadvantages and run a productive remote team?
Well, we asked this question to Clancey Braxton Yohman in order to see how he does it. Clancey Braxton Yohman is a business development expert who has helped countless remote teams boost their productivity and make working remotely just as viable as working in the office.
Make Communication Easy
Figure out whether your team prefers to communicate via email, text message, voice calls, etc., and go out of your way to make these channels available. You also need to make your expectations of communication clear.
How often should your team members check in? You don’t want to smother them and treat them like school children, but you also don’t want them to feel forgotten and like they’re off on an island.
Be Prepared to Change your Management Style
According to Clancey Braxton Yohman, micromanagement just doesn’t work when you’re managing a remote team. You can’t go around checking on each member and telling them what to do.
Be prepared to change your management style to a more hands-off approach. According to Clancey Braxton Yohman, this is one of the best business development tips he can share with any entrepreneur.
Learn to trust your team members and if you can’t do that, then learn how to build those members up to a place where you can trust them. Have weekly full team meetings and one-on-one meetings where you can discuss everything and determine what could be done better.
Delegation
Delegation is always an important skill to master as a manager, says Clancey Braxton Yohman. This is even more true when it comes to remote teams.
You will not be able to check in on every task and system personally, so you need to trust your team members. You will need to delegate much better with a remote team, which can be made easier with project management software.
Smart Milestones
For Clancey Braxton Yohman, one major advantage of remote work is that team members are more productive working from home. This is because they can usually work on their own time.
They can break up the work as they wish and work during times when they’re most productive. This also means you have to set very clear deadlines. Be clear about deadlines, KPIs, and milestones for your projects.
Remember your Team is Human
Not being around your team can dehumanize them. You may forget that they are people and are subject to being overworked.
Remember to let them have a life outside of work. Ensure they are keeping a healthy life/work balance. Encourage your team to exercise regularly and, if they can, set up a room for work and another for play.
If they cannot set up an entire room for work, have them consider creating an account on their computers specifically for work. If possible, maybe even buy your team members their own work computers.