To add to the demanding task of managing the employees, the ongoing pandemic situation has pushed the organizations to adopt the work-from-home culture. This has made it even more challenging for the managers to manage their teams.
If team management is one of your biggest headaches as a manager, this article is for you. We have mentioned actionable tips for better employee management during the work-from-home environment.
Have a look.
The Importance of Daily Check-Ins
If you’re one of the thousands of people who work from home, you’ll agree that the communication gap between team members has widened. Even if everyone is in the same building, it still takes a lot of time to meet everyone and share ideas.
Sometimes it isn’t easy to connect and discuss strategies with remote team members. For this reason, remote teams need to use innovative ways to communicate and collaborate easily and on time to meet their deadlines.
One of the easiest ways to stay on the same page is through daily video calls. As a team leader, it would help schedule a daily phone or video call to discuss goals for the day and address team member issues, if any.
Most importantly, trust your team members. This goes a long way in increasing their productivity. They know they aren’t under the radar all the time and can work to their full potential.
Leverage Communication Tools
No business can thrive without proper communication. However, since you and your remote team aren’t under the same roof, you need to ensure that the communication is on point to avoid any work delays or confusion.
Video conferencing tools like Zoom meetings and Microsoft teams can help you schedule and conduct team meetings effectively. You can also use Asana for managing your employees’ workflow.
You can also use other tools for specific purposes like:
- Chat apps
- Project Management Tools
- File Storage Tools
- Digital Recognition Tools
The only downside of using these tools is that they are costly and may require time to get used to. Alternatively, you can also consider managed IT service plans to manage various IT aspects of your business under one software.
State Your Expectations Clearly
The abrupt shift in the work environment (from office to WFH) can confuse the employees. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to let your team know what you expect.
Timely emails with detailed expectations and weekly goals will help in this regard. It will also help the team members to work more efficiently.
Avoid Micromanagement
Sometimes, you may tend to micromanage your employees as there is a physical distance between you and your employees. This is because you may feel less in control and more vulnerable. For the work-from-home culture, this may not be the best approach.
This may lead to some of your employees feeling undermined, which can hamper their performance.
Ensure The Employees Are Happy
The key objective of any company is high productivity. However, the work-from-home culture can tend to be mentally taxing for employees, leading to anxiety and stress.
Anxiety is a psychological response or physical symptom of distress. It can be triggered due to various factors such as workload, deadlines, and performance pressure. It comes in different forms such as panic, phobia, stress, worry, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety.
Such conditions mainly affect a person’s mental health, which in turn affects his/her professional life.
Moreover, in case of a crisis, employees usually wonder how the team lead might react. What steps will he/she take? How will they handle the situation?
The truth is the initial reaction of the manager matters. If employees see the manager being stressed or anxious, it transfers to the employees as well.
So, as a manager, you must maintain a cool head at all times and maintain effective communication to avoid any panic.
Final Word
Managing remote employees can be challenging, but it can be easy with the right approach and tools. Take cues from the tips mentioned in this article to ensure better employee management, productivity, and retention.
Good luck!
