Everyone is well aware of the ongoing trend of hiring remote staff due to its incredible advantages for business professionals. In 2020, it was predicted that UK employers would see a spike in remote workers from 18% to 37% post-pandemic, and we bet it does! But before outsourcing your staff, you must look into its real-time challenges. A worker being not physically present in front of your eyes add complexity.
In comparison to the in-house workforce, remote team management is led on different principles of meticulousness, transparency, and communication.
8 Common Mistakes Made by The Companies When Managing Remote Teams
Leading remote team members is not a piece of cake for an unskilled manager. Along with improving his leadership skills, he must train himself to unite diversely distributed people, build trustworthy relationships, execute disciplined procedures, direct team-building workshops or activities, and keep a close check on their performance.
Never make the following mistakes if you want to make the most out of your remote team’s potential.
1. Biased Treatment
The company indeed tends to give more benefits, rewards, and attention to the in-office teammates. After all, it is easy to forget the workers who are out of sight and not communicated every other day. But, if you are managing remote workers, it is unjust to keep pay raises and promotions only for in-house workers.
This preferential treatment will give the outsourced employees a sense of biasness. Remember, they are equally deserving of availing similar professional growth and development opportunities.
2. Not Keeping Them Updated with Latest Goings-On
Remote workers are usually cut off. Managers don’t bother updating them about the ongoing company achievements as they find conferencing calls difficult or a waste of time. Totally unfair!
We also understand that you can sometimes forget to connect with them, but they must not be left out of the team dynamic. You must inform them about the business progress, milestones achieved, professional crisis, critical feedback or appreciation of their project, and any new member joining the team. Such micro-interactions prove valuable in improving their productivity, efficiency, and collaboration. Keep their connection alive with the company!
Transparency is the key to keeping your outsourced staff satisfied and connected. Sharing your news with employees will give them a sense of “being valued.”
3. Not Checking On Your Team
Giving your employers the freedom and independence to work in a remote office is a good tact to retain them for longer, but not checking in a remote work environment for ages to monitor their progress and work involvement is a big mistake.
The team always needs to hear from the manager, and even a simple “hi” sent in a group chat after every week will suffice. You can mark your presence through a formal meeting, informal mail, instant message, or casual calls. Always check-in and let the staff know that you are watching them closely.
4. Not Equipping Your Remote Employees with The Latest Technology
Usually, remote workers are not provided access to their in-house equipment and technology solutions, making it harder to communicate correctly and difficult to get their jobs done. If you are hiring staff to join your remote office, make sure your office has enough resources and a suitable collection of software or tools to provide to the new member for healthy business growth and development.
Most of the time, they are left to work on their own without delivering them appropriate tech stack, such as laptop, speakers, headset, camera, mic, monitors, keyboard, etc. It is a huge mistake as it hinders them from working productively.
5. All Focused on Micromanagement
Do you also prefer micromanaging your remote company? Not a good choice!
The reason for being obsessed with micromanagement is the physical unavailability of the workers. To exercise control, managers think they must get hold of every activity the employer is doing every second. According to Julian Everly, a remote team manager must utilize the skills of delegation to lead the team effectively.
Micromanaging, one of the favorite hobbies of short-sighted remote managers, suffocates the employees and bury them under piles of the stress of being continuously supervised and giving updates every minute. Yes, it helps keep track of tasks but don’t be so aggressive. Give them space to use their experience and knowledge to resolve issues independently, or else you will frustrate them. The urge of checking in on the employees after every while will sabotage their freedom and flexibility.
6. Not Being Intentional to Create a Reliable Connection
Developing trust with employers working in a workplace located miles away from you is challenging. The biggest problem is when you start relying on slack, asana, skype, teams, or any other software to keep yourself connected to the staff working in your remote office. To build loyal and lasting connections, you need to dedicate some time for one-to-one personalized interaction on a weekly or monthly basis.
As Allie Magyar said that you could take advantage of the high-functioning team by being a proactive communicator, acknowledging their presence, and hosting virtual meetings for casual chats, personal life discussions, getting feedback about work, sharing happy incidents or professional experiences, and finding their hobbies.
7. Missing Out on Occasional Performance Appraisals
Yes, micromanaging remote teams is absolutely unnecessary but forgetting to take updates about their work productivity and performance efficiency for weeks or months is also a bad practice. Remote workers are usually not subjected to monthly appraisals, which undoubtedly make them lazy, irresponsible, and unmotivated. With no supervision, you will find them behind deadlines.
It is the manager’s and HR’s job to provide frequent feedback regarding their professional responsibilities and duties. To keep your remote company functional, make sure your distant workers are getting the praise or recognition and receiving criticism where required. Maintaining regular performance reviews is difficult for remote employees but worth the effort.
8. Didn’t Realize the Difference in Time zones
If you have hired remote staff from different countries, you must keep yourself aware of their time zones. Always complete your work and discussions within their respective 8 or 9 hours of job or wait for the next day. For instance, a meeting at 4:00 p.m. will probably work for you, but it will be off-hours for the individual working from a place with a difference of 5 or even 2 hours.
Do not disturb them during “off” hours and never assume remote work equals extra hours or working 24/7. Let them maintain their work-life balance!
Smart and Flexible Remote Staffing Solutions
Winnors is ready to help you expand SMEs by hiring high-profile remote workers. Request your online zoom meeting, and let us support you today in your business expansion!
Our easy-to-use platform makes remote staffing easier and more efficient as you can get your hands on thoroughly vetted candidates and continue your journey to success.
