For many companies, teams work remotely has become a great challenge.
Here are some tips on working from home and staying motivated, not overwork, staying in touch with the team, and supporting each other.
Table of contents
- 1. Clarify and Write Down Goals and Roles
- 2. Schedule Regular Meeting Calls
- 3. Make Commitments and Set Deadlines
- 4. Create an Online Group for Your Team to Stay Connected
- 5. Share Tasks and Updates Regularly
- 6. Check Access to Important Documents
- 7. Maintain Personal Contact
- 8. Follow Work Etiquette
- 9. Focus on Interaction
- 10. Create a Truly Working Atmosphere
- 11. Use Tools that Increase Efficiency
- 12. Remember Colleagues Cannot See You in the Chat
- 13. Don’t Forget About Physical Activity
- 14. Keep Up Your Routine
- 15. Be sure to set aside time for lunch and relaxation
Managing Teams Working Remotely
1. Clarify and Write Down Goals and Roles
Remote work is an amazing opportunity for each team member to make sure that he/she understands the goals of the team and their personal role in achieving those goals. In addition, it’s a great possibility for managers to see how each person contributes to the result.
2. Schedule Regular Meeting Calls
Set a time for virtual meetings. It is easier to cancel when the meeting is not needed than to get together at the last minute, creating additional problems in everyone’s busy schedule. Set up calendar events, create a discussion plan, and add related documents to the event.
3. Make Commitments and Set Deadlines
In the office, the commitments and deadlines are more easily managed. At home, though, keeping commitments and deadlines can be much more challenging. Set up a schedule for your workday, and then do your best to stick to the schedule.
4. Create an Online Group for Your Team to Stay Connected
An email group with all employees’ email addresses allows you to exchange information quickly, and setting up a chat room can be used for on-the-fly discussion.
5. Share Tasks and Updates Regularly
Through chat, share documents that everyone has access to and can update individually. Also, collect all important information and resources in one place.
6. Check Access to Important Documents
Ensure employees can edit and comment on documents if necessary (Google Drive comes in handy here). You can even create a shared drive where your team can store, search, and access files from any device.
7. Maintain Personal Contact
Instead of relying solely on email, use FaceTime, video conferencing, webchats, and finally, call. These forms of communication are more personal and allow team members to support each other. They also improve the decision-making process by empowering people to discuss ideas more fully.
Just because team members are not in the office doesn’t mean they are not busy.
8. Follow Work Etiquette
Just because your team members are not in the office does not mean that they are not busy. Check your colleagues’ calendars before scheduling appointments, and when starting a chat conversation, check first if it’s comfortable to talk right now. You can also inform your coworkers of your own availability by adjusting your working hours and calendar status.
9. Focus on Interaction
People who suddenly start working from home are more likely to feel excluded and lonely, which will reduce their productivity and engagement. In these circumstances, it is essential not to forget anyone. Please communicate with your team, asking them about their working success or feeling.
10. Create a Truly Working Atmosphere
Working from home doesn’t mean working in pajamas and from the bed. You have to work only at the table during working hours—in work clothes, not pajamas.
11. Use Tools that Increase Efficiency
Start, for example, with the Pomodoro technique for some tasks.
12. Remember Colleagues Cannot See You in the Chat
Remote work involves solving most of the issues in text format. In the chat, you only use text, and it`s impossible to read your mood by facial expressions, gestures, intonation. So choose your words carefully, use emojis that will help to understand you correctly.
13. Don’t Forget About Physical Activity
The biggest problem with remote working is the challenge of walking 10,000 steps a day when it’s only two steps from bed to workspace. Try to do morning jogging and exercise at home using a mobile application.
14. Keep Up Your Routine
The brain loves rituals, and the constant lifting time is a “triggering” ritual that will pull everything else along with it. Do everything in the same way after getting up on a workday. And take the time you used to spend on the road and replace it with activities that motivate you.
15. Be sure to set aside time for lunch and relaxation
To stay motivated and productive, it’s okay to take a 20 minutes nap or take a walk when you take a break.
Conclusion
Follow those tips, and your productivity and the productivity of your remote team will soar.
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