Remote teams have become a common thing in most workplaces and with COVID-19 forcing many to work in their homes, working with remote employees has become a must for many businesses to adapt and survive.
Managing your own remote employees can be difficult, especially if you haven’t done it before. Below we look at some of the common challenges associated with working with remote employees and how you can overcome them.
Trust
It can be hard to build trust when you have either never met face-to-face or you have only spoken via email. It is very important to schedule some kind of face-to-face interview or meeting with your employees, so you can both see that you are real human beings and can form a better connection than a virtual one. Of course, this isn’t always the case and when employees are overseas or too far away for a visit, be sure to keep in touch via video messaging services such as Skype or Microsoft Teams.
As a manager or business owner, you should be very transparent and honest from the start about what you expect from your employees for trust to form between all parties. If you are contracting some work out to remote employees, be honest about your expectations or you may find yourself with an employee that is left overwhelmed or one that doesn’t suit your needs and expectations. Some companies may be desperate for staff and therefore promise work will be booming for months, when this may not end up being the case, which will leave remote employees untrusting of your business.
Communication
If you aren’t used to communicating over video calls or emails, it can be difficult to get used to. Especially in emails, it can be hard to come across how you really want to, so it’s important to schedule calls if you have something important to discuss. Be sure to schedule regular one-to-one meetings as this can boost morale and make sure everyone is on the same page. Sometimes remote workers may be worried to speak up and without this meeting, they may be struggling in the background without your knowledge.
As you know, communication is key in business and so setting up dedicated teams will allow your employees to communicate effectively with one another, as well as yourself. This can be done via email threads or communication apps. Some communication apps are free, whilst others charge a fee. If you are serious about clear and effective communication between employees, it may be worth investing in great software. For more information on the best remote employee apps to keep everyone communicating and working efficiently, check out this top 10 list of apps for remote working. Remember, communication starts with you, so set a good example of how you wish your employees to communicate with each other and yourself.
Distractions
Working from home can cause many distractions, which can make it more difficult to keep in touch with employees or get things done. If remote employees have their own children, pets or other family members in the household, it may be that they get distracted. Be sure to find great remote employees that have a dedicated area to work from home, or even a dedicated office, with no distractions. This is something to make clear in the job description and to bring up an interview. If you are unsure where to find remote employees, you may want to use a hiring remote team service such as New Horizons Global Partners.
If you are looking at hiring remote team overseas, New Horizons Global Partners has you covered. They specialize in hiring remote team for businesses, offering inbound investment services for any company looking to expand overseas. With regional offices in many countries, they provide human resources, legal, tax, and immigration solutions to enable your small to medium-sized enterprise to create and grow long-lasting and adaptable commercial presences. Outsourcing to a company such as this will help you to find the best talent without the stress of doing it yourself. This is great for those who don’t know where to start when it comes to finding great remote employees.
Productivity Levels
When working with remote employees it can be more difficult to see what they are doing in a day and how long they are taking to do so. From the start, it is good to provide clear expectations of what needs doing and to what time frames. Luckily, there are plenty of applications that allows you to track your remote employees, to see when they are working and how long they are spending on a job. It may be that they aren’t being clear with you about how long a task takes them, and it can be difficult to know if an employee is slacking or struggling when you can’t see them.
An employee monitoring tool means that employees are accountable for how much work they put in each day, providing motivation that can prove difficult when working from home. This also shows you how long tasks are taking each employee and who may be better suited to which tasks. Remote employee monitoring tools do all the time-tracking for you, so you can have a clear picture of what everyone is doing at any one time.
Fostering a Company Culture
A great company culture can take time to foster and build and is essential for a great working environment. When hiring remote employees, this culture is often overlooked and can lead to remote employees not feeling part of the business, leading to lower productivity rates and lower retention rates. When a remote employee doesn’t know their team members or boss, they are less likely to feel inclined to push themselves for the business and may only do what is needed to get by.
Remote employees will last longer and have more loyalty to a business if they feel part of a team and company culture. This starts with you and how you want your company culture to be. If you enjoy having a fun work ethic, then make that known from the beginning. If you have an open-door policy in your office, make sure that is known to remote employees too. Letting them know they can get in touch whenever they have a problem will already reduce anxieties and make them feel welcome. If you can, schedule a get-together annually for employees to get to know each other. If your employees are too far for meeting in-person, there’s always the option of creating your own virtual quiz or weekly online game session.
Whilst there are many difficulties when it comes to working with remote employees, when done right, there can be a great company culture, effective communication, a great level of trust and no distractions from work. Hiring remote employees has many other benefits too, such as expanding your business overseas and saving money on office space. Finding great software that enables you to manage your remote employees can help greatly when facing the challenges associated with communication and productivity. If you are still unsure of how to find the best remote employees, it may be worth hiring an agency that can help you in hiring a remote team.
