More individuals are working from home than ever before, and this trend will continue. Covid-19 accelerated the growth of remote work, which had been slowly increasing even before the pandemic. Most businesses were forced to adapt this new manner of working in order to flatten the curve. The world has had to accept both the benefits and the drawbacks of remote work. Businesses and employees have come to rely on these advantages over time, looking for ways to alleviate, if not remove, the obstacles. Because remote work is here to stay, it’s critical to address the fundamental difficulties of managing a remote workforce.

Top Challenges When Managing Remote Employees

1. Communication​

When working with remote teams, communication is important to success. It’s crucial to get everyone’s feedback and to know what each person is working on. It’s not always simple to foster open communication when teams operate remotely. Email is typically perceived as a formal technique that does not result in rapid conversations. The best way to communicate with remote employees is through technology. Some common apps remote workers use to communicate with co-workers are text messages, Skype, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Google Hangouts and so on.

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2. Tracking Work & Productivity

It’s difficult to keep track of how much work your employees perform each day when you can’t see them every day. While many telecommuters are driven self-starters, others will take advantage of the fact that they don’t have a boss to report to. You may track a remote worker’s productivity in the same way you track the productivity of the rest of your team, including in-office employees. It’s critical to define benchmarks and goals with anyone, whether they’re remote or not. You should judge someone’s effectiveness by their output, not by how long they’re at their desk or how hard it looks like they’re working.

3. Employee Trust

While you should check in with your employees to make sure they’re completing their jobs, the key to a successful flexible work arrangement is trust. Trust that your employees are doing the job you hired them to do, even if you aren’t always around to supervise them. Trust is earned, and it is earned through time, and it is a two-way street. Your team must have trust in you if you want to be an effective virtual manager. Let them know you’re available to assist them in resolving issues, removing roadblocks in their process, and providing direction as needed.

4. A Unified Company Culture

Mobile workers frequently express their appreciation for their job’s flexibility, but this does not necessarily imply that they like losing out on office culture. If at all possible, have your remote staff schedule a visit to the office once in a while. If your team is unable to organise a quarterly in-person meeting, frequent virtual meetings are the next best thing to ensure that everyone feels engaged. When employees develop personal connections with one another, they are more likely to collaborate. Small teams should have a daily conference call to discuss hot topics and unanswered questions, and use video chat for team meetings to retain this connection while working remotely.

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