Remote working is one of the most popular and efficient ways to work. For many businesses, it’s a way to save money on office space, reduce commuting time and reduce employee absenteeism. However, one of the challenges with remote working is that remote employees may not feel as connected or motivated as their co-workers who are in the office every day.
This post will discuss eight ways to promote team efficiency for your remote workers so they can be more productive while still enjoying all the benefits of working remotely.
Have Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
Goals are the first step to promoting remote team efficiency. Have short-term and long-term goals that are communicated to all your employees at least once per quarter. As a result, they will know what they’re working towards to increase their productivity levels, which should then trickle through to better efficiencies for the overall company or organization.
Work with your team to create short-term and long-term goals for remote workers. These should be challenging but achievable so that everyone has a sense of accomplishment, which means they’ll work harder to meet those goals. It’s also important to measure the success of these tasks using metrics such as hours worked or the number of projects completed.
Have A Mentor Promote New Remote Employees
A mentor is an experienced person who guides or supports less experienced people. Mentors can provide new members of a remote team with support and advice on making the most out of their job. A coach may also answer questions about what it means to work remotely and any other related topics.
Mentors can help new remote workers by providing advice and guidance. For example, they might provide tips on how to succeed in this type of work environment or share their experience with its culture. This arrangement will be helpful for both parties: mentors get a chance to give back while helping recruits and make connections that could lead to future opportunities for mentees.
Set Flexible Working Hours
Flexible hours allow remote workers to balance their work and social life. Of course, the company shouldn’t take away from worker’s social commitments, setting flexible working hours also makes telecommuting an option. In addition, telecommunication simplifies work for some employees with children or those who have caregiving responsibilities or need to find childcare providers outside of regular business hours.
Flexible hours can also make a significant difference in how well people feel about their jobs; studies show that happier employees get better results from their work because they are less stressed out. Finally, employees will feel more connected to the organization if they know scheduling is flexible so that they don’t have any worries about getting to work on time or getting their job done while at home.
Give Performances Reviews
Performance reviews are a vital part of telling workers if they’re doing poorly or well. However, when done remotely, it is not easy to know how employees feel about their job and whether they need guidance to improve performance. A way around this problem would be for the manager to make time after work hours and give feedback on the phone, as long as both parties agree on maintaining professionalism.
Performance analysis also helps set up future goals, which remote employees may have difficulty discussing via email- due to the lack of physical eye contact. Alternatively, performance reviews should happen over the phone after hours so that managers can see what aspects need improvement and which ones are going well.
Provide High-Quality Electronic Hardware and Software
One of the most critical aspects of remote working life is having high-quality electronic hardware and software. Whether it’s a laptop, tablet, or phone–you need to have reliable devices for your employees to use when they are not in the office. The last thing you want is an employee complaining that their device isn’t working because there is not enough storage space.
For example, an important file can get lost in transit because you have no way to manage your storage. Ultimately, you would waste time figuring out the problem instead of just getting things done as fast as needed.
Have Regular Video Conferences
Regular video conferences will help employees from different countries connect on a personal level. One of the main benefits is that you can see facial expressions and body language, which helps create more empathy with co-workers.
When planning these conference meetings, the most important thing is being aware of time differences, so people don’t have to stay up late or get up early for an international call. You can do this by setting your meeting at an optimal time in each country’s day without bothering anyone too much.
For example, in New York City, lunchtime would work well because no one needs to take off work before taking care of their children during school hours like they might do later in the afternoon or evening if scheduling a daytime call.
Give Incentives and Reward High Productivity
To promote remote team efficiency, managers should reward high productivity. There are several ways that an employer can do this, including offering flexible hours or working from home when needed. This recognition will give employees more freedom in their work-life, which leads to higher motivation levels, increased creativity and innovation, and improved focus on the job itself.
The other benefit for employers is that it could reduce absenteeism among staff members who may otherwise feel they have undertaken unrecognized work. Furthermore, because there’s flexibility concerning starting early or finishing late, they can get things done uninterrupted by children if they’re parents or elderly care providers.
Use Virtual Phone Systems
Remote phone systems are a great way to communicate with remote employees. Some of the best ones include RingCentral and Vonage. These types of virtual platforms provide all your office needs- from voice mail to voicemail handling, conference calling, call routing, and much more. Virtual phone systems will help you reduce overhead costs while still providing quality service for your team members who work remotely.
Conclusion
If you want your remote team members to feel more connected, find ways for them to do so! You should also have someone mentor new employees because this is beneficial for all involved – either way, it’ll only help the group grow more robust and more capable of working remotely.
