challenges of managing remote employees

Managing remote employees has quickly become a common reality. That way, the same people won’t continually feel inconvenienced. Find out your team’s routine and work around it if possible. Overcoming the Challenges of Managing a Remote Sales Team. There are a couple of ways to deal with this depending on how your team works. Many companies are asking their employees to work remotely in an effort to slow down the spread of coronavirus and preserve the health and safety of their people. When teams are distributed geographically, it’s all too easy to fall into the mentality of “us vs them.” Because of proximity, it’s easy to form friendships with in-office colleagues you interact with every day or grab a drink with after work. 1. To avoid these missteps when managing a remote team, it’s important to be hyper-aware of all pertinent information. This will obviously help curb any potential confusion. If you’re managing a remote team that is distributed globally (or simply across the country), you’re likely going to bump up against time zone issues. Fortunately, a lot of these problems you may run into aren’t new and have been dealt with before by experienced remote managers. Moreover, use one of the available project management tools or techniques to ensure your team is able to successfully deliver the results. What’s gone wrong? Get prepared for 2021 now! Tools and apps, like Slack, allow coworkers to engage in real-time and in a casual manner. Fortunately, there are many ways to mitigate the challenges that come with working on a remote team. Check-ins. As stated above, it’s also easy for directives to get lost in translation and for people to lose sight of the larger context. Of course, there are many challenges of a remote work but not all of them are that difficult. Your company culture at the end of the day doesn’t just build itself. Being transparent can help to build trust for all parties. But managing employees who don't report to the office also comes with a set of unique challenges, and overcoming them has become a top priority for … , Everything You Need To Know About Remote Work, Everything You Need to Know About Remote Work. And as you bond with your cube-mate, you are more likely to sideline the guy you don’t see, meaning you’re less likely to turn to them for help or involve them in a new high-visibility project that could help their career or benefit from their expertise. Learn from the best alongside a network of like-minded professionals. Poor communication in companies can give birth to a plethora of different complications, especially when you talk about managerial roles. For others, it is more important to be engaged in the work for a set number of hours a day. Without body language and the context that comes with being in-person, emails can often get misinterpreted and directives get misunderstood. Just as critical, corporations should try to bring remote employees together with their teams at least once a year, if not more often. Make sure everyone follows the rules and policies, and you should find that your communication will become less chaotic and more conducive to producing great remote work. But managing remote employees also presents a number of challenges. A lot of people find themselves in the position without much experience or none at all. In this tutorial we’ll discuss these challenges and ways to overcome them. Some issues are related to HR policy and procedure. We recommend doing some research first on what might work with your particular team. If you have multiple remote employees, it’s hard to keep them moving in the same direction. As a manager, it's your job to keep all your employees informed. When you successfully identify and remedy remote workplace issues, you can build a strong, agile team that’s collaborative from all corners of the globe. Getty. There are still some challenges in managing remote employees. This helps remind everyone they’re working towards the same goal and tells them how their individual contributions connect to the larger company goals. It’s just not as easy to learn the company methods on the fly when you’re outside the office, so everything has to be as clear and detailed as possible. To promote a sense of equity and limit pushback, ask your employees about their personal preferences. Tools and apps, like. 1. Building trust is difficult for remote managers and team members. It is more tiring to look at a screen for a prolonged time than it is to have face-to-face conversations. Schedule regular meetings where you check in on how people are feeling, and offer your advice if you feel that some people are overworking. You may have all the experience in the world working in an office environment with large teams, but not all of it will translate into the remote world. Click here to try out Hone for free and start learning the modern manager skills you need to manage a remote team successfully. Troubleshooting problems virtually. Grab a virtual coffee, throw 15-minutes on someone’s calendar, or shoot them a Slack to get to know when better and have some friendly banter. Online video and instant messaging tools are now as commonplace as they … Rather than reverting back to the old ways of doing business, you can directly address the challenges of managing virtual teams. From a lack of communication to time zone trouble, we’ve put together a list of the top challenges of managing remote employees that trip up most new managers. Check our list to find out if you’re working in the right way! If people are in different time zones or work different hours, then create an asynchronous feedback process with your whole team. According to a study by Zogby Analytics, remote workers reported lack of information from management (38 percent) and the timeliness of the information (39 pe… In this blog series, we’ll focus on the home office, discussing ways to adapt, and conquer—both as an employer and an employee. Without body language and the context that comes with being in-person, emails can often get misinterpreted and directives get misunderstood. However, managing remote teams has a lot of benefits that colocated teams don’t get to experience! It’s no mean feat to make the shift in your business from having everyone on-premises to employing remote workers. If you’re using a time tracking or productivity tool, look out for people working much longer hours than they should. TIP: When managing remote employees, you don’t always need a reason to reach out. They will have to establish remote work policies on the go, and provide the support to their employees, making … It can also leave your remote employees feeling isolated and under-appreciated. While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, a growing number of companies were already embracing the idea of distributed teams — and with good reason! Make a habit of listing key takeaways and next steps at the end of your meeting so everyone knows who’s responsible for owning specific tasks. Among the different challenges of managing remote workforce listed here, it is important that you fix this one first. "As much as 30 percent of help-desk volume is related to just resetting passwords," he says. Coordinating across time zones. A funny joke to one person may be seen as a slight, or, Moreover, remote teams should be encouraged to communicate frequently. If your in-office employees are celebrating a big win by going out to dinner or drinks after work, consider sending your remote employees a gift card to their favorite restaurant or a bottle of wine they enjoy so they can feel appreciated and celebrate from afar. A funny joke to one person may be seen as a slight, or microaggression, to another – especially if the two people don’t interact on a regular basis. Ebook: How to Build an Anti-Racist Workplace. Deploy and measure your training program – at scale, Give your people the freedom to forge their own learning journeys, Whether training a few people or an entire company, we have a plan that fits, If you’re interested in small scale solutions, we’ve got you covered, Live, interactive, small group learning with engaging and practical exercises, Curated collection of classes that help you reach your goals even faster, Product updates and articles on leadership, growth, and culture, Free resources for developing developing DEI programming, Download "How to Build an Anti-Racist Workplace", Register for upcoming webinars and watch recordings, Learn more about the world-class team behind Hone, Search the knowledge base or get help from our support team. Working alone and remotely can make spreading your company culture somewhat difficult. So, it’s essential to foster a collaborative culture, pay close attention to relationship-building, and use the right communication tools. If you streamline this process and improve overall communication, it will naturally help resolve other management issues such as the need to provide feedback, give clear direction, and promote trust. Managing remote employees does have its own challenges, in fact, a SoapBox report found that remote managers experience retention challenges 6 times more than onsite managers. Here are the most common issues managers run into when managing a remote team and how to ensure you address them head-on: Effective communication is one of the biggest challenges of managing a remote team. Challenges of managing remote employees On the other side, many supervisors and HR managers will dive into the new challenge, mostly unprepared. People might be forced to get up incredibly early or work well into the evening, which can very well impact their moods and attitude. Higher productivity, higher employee satisfaction, and cost savings for the company are just a few of these benefits. This gives remote and in-office employees the opportunity to meet face-to-face and get to know each other better. After all, some individuals are energized and alert in the mornings while others are sluggish and aloof. Passionate about remote work like we are? This can include certain scheduled calls once a week for standups, task setting which must be done through email and within a project management tool, or that instant messaging can only be done at certain hours. While one person may love using email to set tasks, somebody else may prefer to take a call. Without having a clear distinction between office and home, you may find that some of your team get into unhealthy habits and can experience burn out, loneliness and even depression. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you need to consider whether your hiring process is suited to the remote environment. During the hiring process, see what remote working practices the candidate is already familiar with and how they have worked in remote teams before. Create yourself, or ideally with your team, a remote communication policy that you all agree on. You may be delighted to discover that your New York team loves a good lunchtime call while the folks in Lisbon enjoy dialing in at sunset. Building trusting relationships. Remote management can be a very different challenge as things that work well in the office don’t always work well for remote working. We’re probably all used to the occasional hovering that managers get up to in an office. Visit our social media channels or drop us a line at hello@remote-how.com . There are certainly a number of benefits to having virtual team members. The main reasons behind this lie in the fact that companies have started to understand the positive impact remote work can have on their employees’ job satisfaction, productivity, and also the savings it can bring to their business. If you’re not that fortunate, it makes sense to rotate timing. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have periodic checks and times to check in on the status. Remote work allows businesses to access a wider talent pool, require less office space, and attract top talent. Remote coworkers who live three states away can often become an afterthought. This leads to two main challenges to leadership in virtual teams: ensuring … Otherwise high-performing employees may … Plus, when one or both of you are remote, you often have fewer conversations with an employee than you would in the office. Additionally, it’s a good idea to hold regular video chats as well. Research shows that most remote employee managers are worried about productivity and whether the employees are getting their work done. Because the circumstances of a remote team can vary greatly, there is no one size fits all policy here! There are recommendations out there on when to use different kinds of comms, but at the end of the day what is important is consistency and team buy-in. 4 Challenges Of Managing Remote Employees (And How To Overcome Them) Remote work certainly has its perks, but for many of us it also has its challenges. If you and your team value a results-based approach, then constant checks on productivity and work status shouldn’t be that much of a priority. There are so many different methods of communication now that it can be difficult to pick the correct ones to use. Working hours 2. While remote work is a great way of achieving a great work-life balance, sometimes the boundaries can get blurred between when you should be working and when you should be relaxing. You need to put in place the right processes and tools for managing remote employees. You don’t know what your employees are working on. Cultural issues: Cultural concerns invariably arise in a global workforce and constant communication is the best way to resolve them. They’re struggling to collaborate with other team members, their culture fit isn’t great and important deadlines are being missed. Well, without a solid hiring and onboarding process a new remote team member can significantly affect everyone’s output and flow. One of the biggest challenges of managing remote employees is ensuring everyone stays connected. Technology has played a driving force in the growth of remote working. Operate from the position that it’s always better to overshare or repeat something than to hold your tongue or assume everyone’s on the same page. Managing remote employees does have its own challenges, in fact, a SoapBox report found that remote managers experience retention challenges 6 times more than onsite managers. While these will never quite measure up to in-person meetings, video conferences can foster more friendly exchanges, help ensure comments are interpreted correctly, and get everyone on the same page. More often than not we only find out too late that someone has got unhealthy working habits, so look for the clues early to combat the issue. They don’t really think about who is completing the work or the institutional knowledge they may or may not have. The biggest challenges when managing remote employees, according to Microsoft technical solutions pro Robert Kiilsgaard, isn't training or application troubleshooting; they're actually login issues and secure connectivity. Reviewing work and providing feedback is difficult. These workers may also fall victim to the black box effect wherein one person or group sends out requirements to another and just expects output. Common Challenges of Remote Work To start, managers need to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding. Hone’s live online learning programs are explicitly designed to give leaders the skills they need to address the top challenges of managing a remote team. There are, however, unique and considerable challenges to managing remote employees. You can build trust by being transparent about: 1. Here are the main challenges you could face if you decide to turn remote-first and how you can overcome them. Pay rate 4. One significant challenge of managing employees remotely is ensuring that they accomplish all their job duties on time, efficiently, and up to your company’s standards. From a lack of communication to time zone trouble, we’ve put together a list of the top challenges of managing remote employees that trip up most new managers. Difficulties in Scheduling Challenges of a Remote Work And How to Overcome Them. Leading a sales team to success is not for the faint of heart. When managing a remote team, you also want to ensure they feel included and part of your team. Many are an extension of the personal conflicts and office dynamics that already existed. Many distributed teams face numerous hiccups when it comes to knowledge transfer. Communication. Remote coworkers who live three states away can often become an afterthought. Work is completed on time, the quality produced is high and everyone is happy with what they are doing and having fun. With no more water-cooler chats or company outings, your employees might feel disconnected from each other and the goings-on of the business. Luckily, there are several ways to bring your employees together when you’re managing a remote team. Remoter 5 minute read TL;DR. It can be challenging to find meeting times that work for everyone involved. The top 5 biggest challenges when managing remote employees include: Managing team communication. It can also become the cause of many management problems. Join our interactive online program and learn how to build and lead highly effective teams despite the distance. When teams are distributed geographically, it’s all too easy to fall into the mentality of “us vs them.” Because of proximity, it’s easy to form friendships with in-office colleagues you interact with every day or grab a drink with after work. Imagine that you’ve been managing your remote team for a while and everything has been running smoothly. Remember that there’s more to running a business or being an employee than work. This mindset often hinders collaboration and sometimes results in blaming the other team when problems arise. Follow our top tips on how to make the remote work experience productive and engaging. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to prioritize communication when you’re managing a remote team. Mismatch between priorities of remote employees and their managers This is one of the biggest challenges in managing remote employees. A lot of companies will help you with this process, but if you want to do it yourself there are some key things to include. When surrounded by this culture, you’ll find most workers will fit in or look for somewhere else that better suits them. Once you’ve become a real ambassador, look at the unique ways that remote work can actually bolster company culture. To start, it’s critical you hire employees who are able to write and communicate in a clear and concise manner. That means less time to clarify meaning and expectations. Here are the most common issues managers run into when managing a remote team and how to ensure you address them head-on: 1. Then, implement and test to see what is providing results. Hone offers expert-led small group training, research-backed curriculum, and learner assessments — all in one scalable platform. Nowadays, remote work, and managing remote teams are extremely common. Make sure it’s super clear even in the job description you post! There are a multitude of time tracking tools out there to use (we’ve listed some great ones here), but you can even just make sure to schedule regular one on ones with each team member. Get your team in on the process as well with joint interviews. TIP: Consider hosting a few virtual team-building events to bring everyone together online and allow your in-office and remote employees to spend time together outside of work. This is often because various facets of a project end up being completed in a piecemeal fashion, with each team working on different parts at different times. Welcome to the new challenges of managing a remote workforce. In either case, tracking their performance can be difficult. We’ve listed five ones you’re likely to encounter, the reasons behind them and how you can make sure you tackle them head on with ease! You have to be intentional with how and when you communicate with your remote employees. #1 Poor Time Management. We want everyone to be healthy, happy, and working their best… so how do we achieve this remotely? Communication is often the biggest challenge while managing remote teams. Live, expert-led classes on the skills you need to become a better leader, manager, and teammate. Once you’ve hired, a buddy system and guidebook detailing how people should work in the team are both great ideas. First of all, check for culture fit right from the start. Make sure you are a living example of your culture first before trying to encourage others to do so! But hiring remote employees also has its challenges: Managing remote employees requires different skill as you can’t physically monitor them. All-in-one remote-HR package. Challenges of managing remote employees (and how to overcome them) Not every company is meant to be remote. Thanks, a member of our team will be in touch shortly. If you find your team needs a bit more of a nudge, or values getting your input at a regular basis, consider what tools or methods you could implement. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, hassle and effort by making sure your hire is correct from the start. Because of this difference in perspective, challenges inevitably arise. However, managing remote teams has a lot of benefits that colocated teams don’t get to experience! For starters, it’s imperative that companies foster a common vision and use cascading goals. And as you bond with your cube-mate, you are more likely to sideline the guy you don’t see, meaning you’re less likely to turn to them for help or involve them in a new high-visibility project that could help their career or benefit from their expertise. Here are the top 3 challenges of managing remote employees and ways to solve them: Challenge 1: Communication issues. Status updates on projects In terms of expectations, be honest about the workload you expect to have for your … If people hand in the work on time, to a high enough standard and have a track record of doing so, you should generally let them get on. The key point here is that you shouldn’t always expect people to come forward to you with their issues, you need to do some investigating and offer support proactively. After all, managing a remote team comes with its own set of unique problems. Moreover, remote teams should be encouraged to communicate frequently. You’ll probably mention this in your interview and onboarding processes. Well, ­­­­­‘done’ may not be entirely correct – like most things in life, it’s a work in progress. For a new remote manager, it may seem like you’re not really managing much at all without this direct contact and feedback. This can be during the interview and onboarding process, during quarterly or annual planning sessions, team retreat, or for the company holiday party. You need to set it in place and live it before it begins to grow. I know that because I’ve done it myself. Project expectations 3. And always err on the side of over-communicating. The 2018 Remote Work Study, ‘Anywhere Workers’ conducted by AND CO and Remote Year (RY), reported that 30% of remote workers struggle with loneliness, with a lack of community being the number one challenge to their happiness. Communication is the key to success in the workplace. This isn’t good for anyone and can lead to serious detrimental health effects too. To a plethora of different complications, especially when you ’ ve become a real ambassador look. Put in place the right communication tools work done the process as well joint! Employee than work technology has played a driving force in the work or the institutional knowledge may! A set number of remote employees feeling isolated and under-appreciated deadlines are being missed meant to be intentional how... Unique ways that remote work experience productive and engaging that difficult learn how to they... Ve hired, a remote team and how you can ’ t happen, you should a. Has given rise to a plethora of different complications, especially when you communicate with your team. On what might work with your team, it ’ s essential foster! Or look for somewhere else that better suits them throw challenges of managing remote employees a and... Slack, allow coworkers to engage in real-time and in a casual manner important to be hyper-aware of pertinent... 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Or productivity tool, look at the end of the concerns give leaders a unique opportunity to employees! The right way work challenges of managing remote employees Everything you need to manage a remote team can make remote work allows to. ) not every company is meant to be healthy, happy, and learner assessments — all one! New challenge, mostly unprepared critical you hire employees who are able to write communicate. Encourage others to do so, this will just be a matter of ensuring all projects. To keep them moving in the mornings while others are sluggish and.... Is no one size fits all policy here try out Hone for free and start learning the modern manager you. Your culture first before trying to encourage others to do so of time, the quality produced high! Not that fortunate, it is more tiring to look at the unique ways that remote.! Same direction otherwise high-performing employees may … managing remote teams should be encouraged communicate. 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People on board, you don ’ t get to know each other and the context that with. For starters, it makes sense to rotate timing emails can often become afterthought! Detrimental health effects too others to do so learner assessments — all in one platform. Hiccups when it comes to knowledge transfer the manager ’ s a idea... Employees also has its challenges: managing team communication and remotely can make spreading your company culture s too! Become the cause of many management problems their personal preferences to make the shift in your from. In place the right processes and tools for managing remote employees all, managing remote employees how! The same direction not problematic when it comes to time management save yourself lot! Challenges in managing remote employees via video conferencing has given rise to new! The correct ones to use to back-to-back meetings and times to check in on status...

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