November 23, 2020

5 tips to keep your remote teams productive

Learn some simple strategies to prevent work from home fatigue impacting your employees

These are continuing to be unprecedented times. As businesses have devised new strategies to keep their teams functioning from home, most of us didn’t expect this period of remote working to last quite this long. 

For many companies, “work from home fatigue” is a very real and very challenging issue. To lend a helping hand, we’ve compiled 5 tips to keep your remote teams productive after upwards of six months working from home.

Keep reading to learn more!

Tip #1: Acknowledge achievements 

You may be surprised to learn that it’s showing appreciation for hard work that motivates employees the most—even more than money or vacation time! [2]

If you’re looking to keep your remote teams productive, be sure to acknowledge and reward their achievements.

It can be something simple like sending a message to the team to share an employee’s recent achievement or setting up a one-on-one call with an employee to show you appreciate their hard work. 

Bonus tip: If the company as a whole reaches an important milestone or success, celebrate it with the whole team on a video chat or conference call!

Tip #2: Focus on outcomes 

If you’re a natural micromanager, it can be easy to lean in to those tendencies when work moves online and you feel farther than ever from your usual managerial capabilities. However, over-managing your remote teams can cause them to feel more isolated and stressed than ever before.

To keep your remote teams productive, focus more on the overall outcomes of their work—meeting deadlines, reaching goals, and staying on track with deliverables.

This managerial method also increases trust between you and your employees—when you trust them to work independently, it shows you trust in their abilities to do their job. You’ll find that this method keeps both you and your remote teams as productive as possible. 

Tip #3: Streamline processes

The transition to working remotely can often lead to many bumps in the road, both for you and your employees. 

It’s important to acknowledge that many of your company’s usual processes have to be reimagined and simplified to keep your remote teams productive.

Ensure the communication and project management tools you are utilizing are as effective and simple as they can be to cater to your business and your employee’s needs.

There is no need to overcomplicate processes and use too many different tools—just choose a few that work best for you. Some of our favorite, user-friendly platforms include Microsoft Teams, Asana, and Slack.

Read more:

How team chat technology can boost your internal communication

Tip #4: Maintain the same company culture 

While it can often feel like a whole new workplace, it’s vital to remember that, even though they’re remote, your team is still your team.

Working to maintain the same company culture online as in-person is key to keeping your remote teams engaged and encouraged in their roles. 

Take the time to remind your team of your company’s values and explain that it’s important to you to keep those in place while online. If your team usually socializes at lunch time, coordinate a virtual team happy hour or game night to keep everyone connected while at home!   

Tip #5: Address security concerns

When transitioning to remote work, your employees may feel nervous about the threat of cyber security issues with an increased reliance on technology for their job. 

As their leader, it’s essential for you to address these concerns and explain to your team how you will keep them and the company as safe as possible. 

There are some basic cyber security measures you can take to keep your employees safe, but if you’re unsure what to do, it’s best to consult with a reliable IT service provider about the best cyber security measures you can take to protect your business and your team. 

Learn more:

How to manage technology with remote employees

The bottom line: Increased transparency will make your remote teams feel the most safe. Explain to them all of the security measures you’re taking and educate them with the steps they can take to protect themselves as well.  

Looking for IT support? 

If you’ve done all you can on your own to support your remote teams, it might be time to bolster your resources with InterNetwork IT.

With over eight years of experience, we work to take the time to understand your business’ individual needs and provide the most effective solutions to your problems. We offer a variety of services including IT security packages, managed IT services, and more.

Contact us today to learn more.

Sources:

1: PR Newswire

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