Remote Communication Methods: How to Effectively Manage Remote Employees?

Updated on Feb. 07, 2020:  We’ve stopped support of Roadmap Planner but the Roadmap feature is now available in our new goal-oriented platform – Goals by KeepSolid. This business solution provides the same opportunities to plan and execute your strategies and even more. Check out Goals by KeepSolid and stay tuned for its updates!

Remote working solutions offer companies new opportunities, which makes its implementation essential for almost any business. Among the key benefits of remote work are the ability to hire innovators from anywhere in the world, the ability to work during business trips or sick leaves, and a number of reduced costs. Dell Technologies can serve as a bright example of a company that saved about $12 million thanks to teleworking in 2016. As a result, Dell’s top management plans to further expand its remote working. And so do many other companies.

For better or worse, telecommuting is quite a new work arrangement and there is still no detailed guide on how to manage remote workers. As you physically can’t see your remote workers, you can’t be sure about how they react to your words and understand them. Today Roadmap Planner team figures out how to effectively manage remote workers and what the best remote communication methods are. Keep reading and get the answers!  

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6 Tips on How to Effectively Manage Remote Workers

In order to manage your remote team effectively, you should follow our tips. They are as follows:

1. Ascertain that your remote workers clearly understand your strategy

By this we mean that your goals, objectives, and strategic plan in general have to be clear and available in the electronic form for every member of your remote team. Understanding the key goal from the very beginning will help your employees to fulfil tasks properly. In order to avoid misunderstanding, we highly recommend to create your strategic plan in a top-notch tool for business, like Roadmap Planner.

This software is a perfect solution for creating and editing your strategic plan, setting milestones, and collaborating with your teams in real time. Just invite your remote employees and they will be able to view the whole project, edit it, and monitor the goals and deadlines. In our app you can also maintain up-to-date tasks and track their progress. Thanks to Roadmap Planner, you will set clear expectations and connect your remote workers’ goals with yours.

2. Create your communication strategy

This is indispensable for effective management of your remote workers. To create your own communication strategy, you should choose the appropriate communication tools and decide what types of conversations you will use them for. For instance, you can use Gmail for official announcements, short guides, and other important information that might otherwise get lost in chat. In a corporate messenger, like Slack, you can have group discussions and informal talks. And don’t forget about Skype. You should use it for in-depth discussions and providing feedback to your workers.

Also, you should schedule regular video-based meetings and establish hours when you are always ready to speak with your remote employees. It can be weekly stocktaking or even coffee hour or spend some time together and maintain team spirit.

3. Always give your remote employees honest feedback

Let your remote workers know for sure if they do everything right or mess up. Make them aware of their strengths and point their weaknesses. And, again, do it face-to-face. This will help to avoid misunderstanding and dressing down your employee in front of others. Be polite and considerate. Ensure your remote workers understand that you judge their work, not their personality.

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4. Treat your remote workers similarly to your local ones

You hired these people. That’s why you should show them that you trust them. Give your remote employees whole access to the information they need and respond to them as quickly as possible. It will be much easier to manage remote employees when they feel comfortable and are not afraid to ask you questions.

Summary

That’s it for today! We hope that our tips will help you to effectively manage your remote teams. The key point is that you understand how important remote team communication is. Follow our tips and see for yourself. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below.