Managing a remote team might be a new experience for you, and could translate into altering your managerial style. It also involves taking various measures to ensure that your employees are well provided for, in terms of both technical equipment and morale. Here are a few ways in which you, as a business or department leader, can manage your remote team in an effective manner.

Ensure your colleagues are properly equipped

It’s important that each member of your team is properly equipped with the best possible technological devices and office accessories. This is so they can perform their work to the best of their ability without any hassles. These tools could include laptops that your employees can carry around with ease, noise-cancelling headsets that ensure video conferences aren’t interrupted by background noise, and UPS devices that’ll keep laptops up and running in case of a power outage. You want all your employees to be operating at the same pace, and supplying them with up-to-date technology will help with that. 

Keep colleagues connected as well

It’s likely that most of your colleagues have their own internet connections at home. Some, however, might not, in which case you might have to help them out with connectivity solutions so that they can work online at home without any hassle. Look to the deployment of fixed LTE solutions or the creation of wireless or fibre networks to help your team members out.

Create a centralised repository for company data

Whether your team is working together in an office space or remotely, it’s vital that you set up a single cloud-based repository in which all company data is stored and can be easily accessed. There’ll be no worry about where to find specific information or who to ask when a certain document is needed. If it’s all located within one place, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, then there should be less panic and more streamlined business activity. Of course, there might be information which involves only a specific department or group of co-workers and not the company as a whole, in which case you should make sure that only those people have access to that information.

Keep communication strong

Communication is important if your team is working remotely. You’re not all in the same space and within earshot of another, and your daily schedules might not synchronise the way they might if you were sharing an office. Thanks to applications such as Microsoft Teams, it’s easy for teams to communicate quickly if and when the need arises, but it’s important to go beyond mere infrequent messaging.

It’s also a good idea to schedule regular video meetings. This way you can check in on your team members and get to understand how they are handling remote work. You can even organise relaxed company updates at the end of every week, just to fill your colleagues in on your company’s progress. Meetings like these will create a better sense of community and boost morale amongst your team members.

Rethink your managerial style

Depending on the type of manager you are, you may have to adjust your way of doing things with the lack of everyday contact. Try switching to a task management application that can help you oversee business operations, like Asana. Also schedule regular check-in calls with your team members to talk about their progress. Remember as well that when you shift to remote work, you’ll need to invest more trust in your team, and depend on them to get their work done within a different environment. It’s a good idea to recommend courses centred on working from home so that your colleagues have a means of shifting more easily into the mindset of the remote employee. 

There are various means of ensuring that your team operates efficiently while working remotely. Just remember to equip your team with all the essential tools they’ll need, keep in close contact with everyone, and adjust your style of management to suit the new working conditions. If you’re looking for ways to keep your remote team going, then Nashua can help you out with a variety of efficient devices, accessories and connectivity solutions available in several packages that include laptops, headsets and UPS devices. Contact us via our Remote Working Solutions page for more information on our ICT solutions.