How to Manage a Remote Team: – With new technologies, geography is less important in the professional context. Team members no longer need to be in the same place to work together. This is also the case at Planzone, where part of the team is in Paris, the other in Barcelona and who’s CEO, Michael Benninga, is between the two countries. If like him, you manage a remote team, here are some tips that can help you, infect below this post is all about to manage a remote team effectively.
Manage a Remote Team | Remote Teams Best Practices
- Define Specific Objectives
Each quarter, physically meet your employees and set clear and realistic goals together with measurable indicators. Each collaborator must have its own objectives, but all must be shared among the members of the team.
This allows you to frame your team and ensure that actions taken in your absence are doomed to achieve these goals. You do not need to know the details, what matters are that the objectives are realized.
- Be transparent in its Calendar
Managing a team at a distance does not mean less transparency, quite the contrary. Your team needs to know when you come to visit and when you are available to hold telephone meetings. A transparency that is made of course in both directions, and to simplify remote communication, does not hesitate to use online tools like Google calendar, Google Drive, Skype or GoToMeeting.
- Recognizing the job well done
When your team does a good job, show it you are satisfied, even virtually. Take the time to respond to their requests and give your opinion even if you do not have concrete actions to achieve. Conversely, keep the remarks less positive for physical encounters. In the meantime, be tactful not to stress them at the thought of your coming: “The idea is not bad but let me think about it, we will discuss it together verbally “.
- Empower your team
Managing a remote work team also means ensuring that it is autonomous and can move forward without you. The cohesion of a team depends on a mutual trust between the employees and their hierarchy. Your team should feel useful and important to get 100% involved. Be sure to give responsibility to each member to boost team cohesion and individual involvement. Also, make sure that everyone knows their role well and that of others.
- Delegate with Precision
When managing a remote team, a manager must be even more specific in assigning tasks. You must clearly define what you expect from the person, the goals to achieve and the time frame. This avoids untimely exchanges and guarantees a better respect of the deadline. Ensure that each member understands the task and its context, including asking questions such as “Give me an example of how you will accomplish this task.” Rephrase each response to ensure you have the right interpretation.
- Using a collaborative online tool
Online collaborative work platforms facilitate exchanges between members of a team and allow for better organization. They offer valuable time savings because they have productivity tools that allow you to collaborate anywhere, anytime. Thus, tasks, documents, discussions, calendars or even planning’s centralized in a single environment accessible online; ideal for managing a remote work team. You can easily track the progress of your team’s work while having regular and transparent communication.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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