The COVID-19 outbreak is wreaking havoc all over the
world and changing how teams work. More people are now working from
home, and this can be challenging for managers who have never worked
with a remote team before. It becomes challenging to monitor employees’
daily work and this might cause misunderstandings that might not occur
in the office.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, team members used to
work from the office. Working remotely is a new experience for most
workers and managers in the UAE. However, working remotely is not an
entirely new strategy and it is effective and productive.
Benefits of Working Remotely during the COVID-19 Outbreak
Most
people have been forced to work remotely since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Before the outbreak, employers did not allow their staff to work from
home but now it is a necessity. Remote working has many benefits.
Working
from home saves the time you would spend commuting to work. This means
employees can use the time they spend getting to work productively.
Remote working also improves employee retention.
Working remotely
gives employees the freedom they crave at work. Employees don’t have to
start working at a particular time as long as they deliver their
projects on time. This also improves their wellness and productivity.
How to Manage a Remote Team
Although
a remote team can be a handful to manage, it allows you to venture into
new territory and make the best out of it. As your team transitions to
working from home, you can utilize these useful management strategies:
Accessibility
Design a plan
that allows every team member to collaborate and be accessible to any
stakeholder for them to do their jobs effectively. Apart from being
accessible through emails, phone, and chats, it is crucial to ensure
that every member is available during the same working hours.
Since workers are not in the office, they should inform you when they are unavailable, for instance, when they are sick. Team building Dubai
programs teach you that every team member is valuable. This emphasizes
the importance of every member being accessible throughout the business
hours.
Build Trust
As a project manager,
it is necessary to believe that your remote team will deliver
exceptional work. For team building activities to be successful, team
members need to understand that their manager will support their work.
Remind
your team that you trust them. Team members who feel appreciated and
valued tend to put in more work. It is necessary to know your team
members as individuals. This helps you to understand their weaknesses
and strengths. This way, you will assign each task according to the
members’ abilities and interests. Also, if you know that a task might be
challenging for an employee, you should be willing to help and offer
support.
Raise the Team’s Morale
Working
with a remote team can be challenging because managers still have to
create a conducive working environment. Team building games can help to
raise your staff’s morale; this happens when you reward and praise their
efforts.
Recognition and rewards are crucial to a team’s morale.
Whenever somebody delivers exceptional work, celebrate it. You can do
this by mentioning them during a video meeting or give a shout out in a
group chat.
Provide Adequate Resources
One of the challenges that most remote workers face is the lack of resources. With the COVID-19 outbreak, most people are working from home and even students are learning online. This means that everybody might not be able to access working resources like a computer.
Having
the right tools enables your team to collaborate and improve
productivity. You can do this by introducing new software to make work
easier and to reinforce your existing technology network.
Be Open-Minded
Sometimes,
managers find it difficult to accept feedback from their staff.
However, being open to feedback is beneficial for the team and it
increases productivity and job retention. It also creates a healthy
working environment where everybody strives to give their best.
To
get effective feedback, establish a fair assessment for your workers.
Also, show concern whenever any member leaves a comment or a suggestion
on group chats or video meetings. Show the individual providing feedback
that you understand and show appreciation for the openness.
Keep Time
Most
people don’t like meetings and will do anything to skip them. It is
crucial to always start meetings on time and to encourage every team
member to be present. The good thing is nobody will be late because the
meetings are also held remotely. Starting meetings on time also improves
productivity.
COVID-19 outbreak has changed how we work and it
can be challenging to transition from working at the office to working
remotely. This can be hard for managers, especially those who have never
worked with remote teams before. Although it is challenging, it’s not
impossible!
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