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Table Of Contents

5 Remote Team Management Mistakes to Avoid

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Table Of Contents

A topic everyone is talking about – are remote teams the future of work? Long ago, companies realized that the secret to a successful business is having loyal and satisfied employees. However, even though bonuses and raises are a very important part of every employee’s decision to stay loyal to the company, they are not the only thing employees today are taking into consideration. Companies had to find a different way, to offer valuable benefits which would help them decrease their turnover rate, and skyrocket their business. Many are offering free gym memberships, exclusive team-building destinations, and free lunches. However, they had to go a step further. They had to find something even better. And they did – the possibility of remote work. Of course, offering unlimited vacations and flexible working hours play an important role as well. But, it seems that more and more companies are choosing the option of remote work possibility.

“It doesn’t take strength to win. It takes the true heart of the team to win.” — Emily Voyles”

Having your employees sit in an office from 9 to 5 is no longer as important. It’s important to get the job done. By offering employees the possibility of working remotely, and creating remote teams companies have seen a huge improvement in productivity, employee loyalty, and overall success.

However, managing remote teams has proven to be more difficult than managing a team that is in an office. Obviously, a need for reliable managing tools emerged, and the companies delivered. Many valuable tools are available today, which make the entire remote team management a lot easier. And this brings us to our first remote team management mistake – not using the technology we have at our disposal.

Companies have created life-changing tools which make the entire process easier. Use them.

The most important thing in any team out there is communication. It’s the key to successful cooperation. However, even in teams that work from the office, it can become really hard to keep everyone updated and communicate the goals and tasks effectively. Luckily, today we have many tools which can assist with this.

Slack is without a doubt one of the most important tools for any team, whether they are remote or not. Slack is a collaboration hub for work, no matter what work you do. It keeps your team connected, and that’s the most important thing.

Trello is another great tool, where you can keep track of everything and create boards with daily tasks for each team member.

Vacation Tracker is a tool that helps you manage your requests and receive vacation reminders about your team’s absences directly in Slack.

These are just a few tools that can bring your remote team management game to a whole other level. By using them, your team can communicate easily, keep track of their tasks, manage leave and so much more. Each of them is created to help manage teams, so why not take advantage of them? By avoiding them, you are making one of the most common remote team management mistakes.

Please stay away from micromanaging.

Managing a remote team is necessary, but overdoing it will cause a lot of problems in the company. Micromanaging not only shows your team members that you do not trust them, but also that you don’t think they can do their jobs.

Always be there for your team, to help whenever your help is needed, but do not check up on them every single minute and ask them what they are doing. This will only irritate your team members, and you’ll end up with an unsatisfied team where everyone thinks you do not trust them.

via GIPHY

After all, you hired them for that job, so why stand over their head now? This leads us to the third remote team management mistake, and that is – hiring the wrong people.

Don’t hire just anybody.

In order to have a successful team, you need to be careful when it comes to hiring. You do not want to hire just anybody because they have a good resume. Make sure that they will fit into the team as well. It can become a huge problem if you hire a person who does not get along with the rest of the team and fails to openly communicate with them. This can cause the entire project to fail.

Also, make sure the person you’re hiring is the right option for a remote team. You need someone who will not only fit into the team but is also very organized and has great communication skills. Bringing the right person to your remote team will bring you one step closer to success, so make sure you keep that in mind.

Onboarding new employees are extremely important, don’t overlook this.

Needless to say, onboarding is very important, and you need to put some work into it. There are two types of companies. Those who realize the value of onboarding and those who do not. Those who do end up with satisfied and organized employees who are loyal to the company. And those who overlook the onboarding process end up in the hiring process six months later looking for the “right” person, not realizing they’re making the same mistake over and over again.

A study conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management revealed that employers need to spend an equivalent of six to nine months of an employee’s salary in order to find and train their replacement. By having a good onboarding process all of this can be avoided.

Not prioritizing communication can be a deal breaker.

We’ve mentioned that managing your team and having open communication with them is essential. However, we’ve also said that overdoing it can achieve the exact opposite of a successful and loyal team. You need to find the balance.

Make sure your team members know they can always come to you, whenever they need help. Also, if they have a problem they’ll feel free to openly talk to you about it. That’s the kind of communication you want in your remote team. You want to always be there for your employees, without constantly standing over their heads asking them when the job will be done. Even though your remote employees are out of sight, doesn’t mean they are out of mind. Let them know they are an important part of the team, and that you are there for them.

Luckily, as we’ve mentioned, there are many tools that can help you out with this. There’s no excuse for managing this poorly.

Another tip – make sure you share your calendar with your remote team. This way they’ll always know when they contact you or schedule a meeting with you. Transparency is important, and you need to let your team know that. Also, encourage everyone in your remote team to do the same. This way everyone will be in sync and will know when they can contact each other.

Remote teams are the future of work, and you should always try to find new ways to improve the way you manage them. This way you’ll avoid falling into a routine, while always keeping track of everything. Your team will definitely be thankful for that.

Remote team management is hard, but if done right, it’s extremely beneficial.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is a success.” — Henry Ford”

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