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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 17.9% of people in the country have been working from home since September of last year. This is triple the number of people working remotely before the pandemic started.
If you are managing a team of remote workers, it can be difficult to collaborate with them on the projects or campaigns you have planned. Fortunately, several techniques can help you work more closely despite the distances.
Here are a few tips to help you and your team accomplish collaborative goals virtually:
Establish clear objectives and expectations from the start, you need to let your team members know about your expectations in this type of work arrangement. Because of the limited opportunities for real-time interactions, each member will be working with minimal oversight and supervision.
Setting clear objectives will allow them to focus on key tasks and perform within your set of standards and benchmarks. By giving a clear direction, you give your remote team a sense of purpose, encourage communication among members, and provide enough support to prevent burnout.
- Use the right collaboration tools
Working remotely is made easy by using the right software. Platforms like Slack and Trello come with a wide array of features such as file-sharing and virtual project management for tracking work progress and preventing repetitive work.
When choosing a collaboration tool, check if the features are in line with the specific needs of your team. For instance, if you’re running a small digital marketing agency, consider using Monday.com. The platform works great for virtual brainstorming sessions and workflow development.
- Organize regular meetings
Progress meetings are critical to any remote team. The best way to hold them is through video conferencing. Regular virtual meetings allow your team members to suggest new ideas in real-time and make collective decisions instantly. These interactions also provide an opportunity to motivate your team members and offer insights into issues they cannot handle on their own.
It’s only a matter of documenting your online meetings so everyone will be on the right page once they work on their respective tasks. However, you will need to limit your virtual meetings since having too many in a week could interfere with productivity. Aim to have just one major meeting per week, with smaller one-on-ones as necessary.
- Share resources
Because of the lack of real-time interactions, the members of your remote team could face a dead-end in which they are unsure what to do next. With that being said, it’s important to provide them with the knowledge and the tools they need to perform effectively without your oversight.
If you are managing a remote sales team, send them resources, including scripts and sample recordings, that let them know how to deal with difficult prospects. You can also use a zoom call transcription service that allows you to monitor how your sales representatives handle objections and understand the needs of prospects more thoroughly.
- Encourage open communication
Open communication is vital for maintaining a strong sense of collaboration among remote team members. Encourage your team members to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns freely and openly. Make sure that everyone knows that their input is valuable and that their voices will be heard.
To encourage open communication, you can use a variety of methods, such as setting up a dedicated team chat channel, sending out regular team updates, and holding virtual office hours where team members can drop in and ask questions or share feedback.
- Promote flexibility
Remote work requires a high level of flexibility. Encourage your team members to be flexible in terms of their work schedule and location. For example, some team members may prefer to work early in the morning, while others may prefer to work late at night. By promoting flexibility, you can help your team members achieve a better work-life balance and work more effectively.
Managing a remote team can be challenging, but by implementing clear objectives, using the right collaboration tools, organizing regular meetings, sharing resources, promoting open communication, fostering a sense of community, and promoting flexibility, you can improve collaboration and productivity among your team members. It will only be smooth sailing from there.
