One of the reasons the question "what does remote work mean?” keeps popping up is the growing demand for work flexibility and productivity. As such, many companies are transitioning from traditional offices to virtual offices. About 16% of companies are already fully remote, and research shows that 32.6 million Americans will work remotely by 2025.
Remote jobs are here to stay, especially with the advent of new technologies allowing anyone to perform remote work from anywhere in the world. However, the big question remains: is remote work the absolute game-changer that will help your team stay productive with less supervision? The answer depends on how you and your people approach this way of working.
Let’s discuss strategies to get the best results from your remote team.
Remote work is the practice of employees doing their jobs from any location they deem fit without having to show up in a physical office. It's important to know that there are no blueprints or stipulated outlines on how remote work should run. In fact, the way remote jobs run is solely dependent on the needs of the organization.
Therefore, there can be full-time, part-time, or scheduled remote workers. The most important factor is setting up a workplace that optimizes productivity, collaboration, and teamwork.
Six Remote Work Tips for Your Team
Let's discuss in detail common remote work tips and strategies organizational leaders can adopt to get the best out of their team members.
1. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
The first step to achieving success from your work team is to set clear goals. Statistics reveal that people with goals are ten times more successful than those without goals. Hence, an organization's goals bring everyone under a unifying vision of what to do and what not to do.
In goal-setting, responsibilities and expectations should be prioritized to motivate and instill a sense of clarity and discipline in your team. Workplace goals can be long- or short-term, but applying the SMART strategy in goal-setting will serve as a compass for team members.
2. Leverage Technology
Technology is quickly setting the pace for remote jobs, especially in this digital age. As a team leader who wants to see results, be sure to research technological work tools that can optimize performance for the organization and individuals.
Online tools like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Space, Trello, Skype, Dropbox, and many more can streamline workflow, channel information, and track the work rate of your team. You can never go wrong with cloud-based software that helps store data online. Utilizing online software will prevent the risk of valuable data loss and make it accessible to anyone at any time.
3. Encourage Open Communication
Open communication can be challenging in a remote setting because you often don't get to see the person you are talking with. Thus, it may be difficult to know the personalities or unique skills of the people you work with. It should be no surprise that a team that communicates effectively will see a 25% increase in productivity. This is because they are willing to share ideas, information, and knowledge that accelerates individual and organizational growth. To encourage open communication and accountability, set up a proper feedback channel, like an open phone line or communication tools, to aid this cause.
4. Foster Team Building
One of the most helpful tips for working remotely is to practice and encourage team building. About 37% of employees say they are willing to stay longer at a job that has a great team. Therefore, organizations and team leaders are realizing that a lack of team spirit among employees may be a breeding ground for high job turnover and a decreased commitment to work.
The number of companies investing in virtual team building has increased by 2,500%. One way to encourage team building is to schedule a day every week or month for online meetings, webinars, seminars, and video conferences focused on topics and themes that encourage team building.
5. Hold Regular Check-Ins
While we appreciate the work-life balance remote jobs create, about 70% of remote workers feel left out of their workplace. This feeling of dissatisfaction stems from less communication, which can, in turn, lead to less motivation to work. Therefore, another great remote work tip to incorporate is to have personalized check-ins and conversations with team members. Be intentional to stay updated on their work progress, areas of concern, or if they are facing any work-related challenges.
6. Celebrate Successes Together
Employees love to hear the words congratulations, great job, keep up the good work, and all those alluring words that keep them motivated. In fact, 64% of employees say employee appreciation is more important for remote workers. To take it a step further, hosting a virtual celebration or award for every milestone achieved will definitely help your remote team thrive.
Whether your company is fully remote or a part-time remote company, building a remote team you can trust involves having employees who are productive, efficient, reliable, and capable of delivering high-quality results without little or no supervision. Seeking opportunities for constant learning is one powerful way to foster trust among your team members.
EO Boston is a leading entrepreneurs’ organization with some of the best-performing business owners in Boston. Here, we help members connect with other successful entrepreneurs willing to share their knowledge and experiences on practical steps for building an organization of trust. Interested in learning the ropes on how to build a trustworthy team? Get started with our EO Accelerator program.