How To Manage Employees Working From Home

Remote work is now quite common locally and globally, but maintaining this remote employee is a challenge. For that, we need to know how to manage employees working from home.

In the modern-day managing remote workforce teams properly can lead to many possibilities for companies as well as organizations. Better management can lead to better business outcomes, improve employee satisfaction, Boost productivity, team retention and achieve company goals.

Managing employees in-house or remotely is quite a task. A proper strategy and creative plan are essential for better outcomes. But no worries. We are here to help. In this blog, we will cover all of the tactics and tips on how to manage employees working from home so easily.

So why wait!!!! let's start the discussion sessions.

What Is Remote Management?

Remote management means managing the company all resources like installing productive software and monitoring remote employees from a remote location using advanced tools. Research consistently shows that remote workers are more productive than in-house employees. They are supposed to be more dedicated to work because there are no distractions from a bustling office environment. All the remote work is done flawlessly with proper output when remote management is in your office or organization. Proper remote management plays a big part in maintaining a proper remote working environment.

Proper remote employee management is necessary for getting better results in their project. What exactly is remote employee management? Let's discuss it in the following sections to get a better answer.

Remote Employee Management - learn Basic 

Remote employee management is a process that helps monitor remote employees and oversee and assess performance and productivity through remote software.

These tools systematically observe and analyse employee work activities, engagement, and security compliance. Leaders of any remote team try to implement unique management techniques, software solutions, and organisational processes to achieve the project goal.

For companies that have employees working remotely, remote worker management is necessary.

Remote Work Management Challenges

Indeed there are so many fringe benefits to maintaining a remote workforce. Includes 

• Happier employees 
• Reduced overall costs 
• Reduce employee retention & more

But there are some challenges as well. We gather some of the big problems when you maintain remote work management. 

Communication is one of the variety of obstacles to remote work. Sometimes, proper communication creates problems that can impact the running project. All we know is that proper communication is the key to success in any industry. Sometimes, remote employees feel a certain degree of distraction and loneliness. In the long run, a lack of communication can lead to a troubling loss in productivity.

Another important thing is to maintain the team culture. In remote jobs, informal interactions and social bonding activities are absent. As a result, it can bridge disconnections among the team members. Some team members belong to different countries and their culture and religions might vary from others. So mentality thinking and work of pattern are different as well.

Let's talk about the third limitation of remote work management. From the human resource(HR) department, it's challenging to fix any meeting because sometimes the time zone is a fact for everyone. Indeed, team leaders also spend a lot of time checking all the employees and how they effectively manage their time.

We can agree that remote work management 80-90% relies on technologies. Remote worker mainly depends on technology. They are from different countries, so they update their project daily through different technology. Sometimes, it also increases the level of security issues for the company. For that, a cyber security service is always needed and continuously monitoring any cyber threats from others.

Project submission by the deadline is a big concern for any team without any doubt. With a proper working period, a team manager can complete the project within the deadline. In the long run, it will affect overall productivity and cost.

In a remote environment building trust and maintaining it properly its big challenges. Sometimes managers might struggle with trust issues because the remote employee might not done the day-to-day work properly and effectively. From the employee side employees might need to prove that they are working. In that circumstance,e they need to do more work to prove themselves. So it is a dilemma for both sides.

But all of those dilemmas and challenges are easily manageable and controlled if you have a strategy and proper remote employee management plan. There are some principles to proper remote work management. Let's take a look then in our next blog sections.

Core Principles of Remote Work Management

Remote work management also has some employee benefits as well. According to Upwork, 36.2 million workers will fully prioritize remote jobs by 2025.

Doing remote work management perfectly, there are some core principles around it. Following this principle can bring a better outcome and increase the company's and the employee's productivity levels. Includes 

• Set expectations goals
• A powerful and user-friendly communications channel system 
• Advanced tools that can remove the hassle of remote workers 
• Collaboration and reduce the cultural gap
• Focus on employees' health and facilities 
• Regular training and career development 

These are the key principles from the company's side that should be maintained to get better remote management. Employees also have some duties to follow in their hybrid or remote jobs. Remote workers need to follow some principles to be the best remote colleagues.

• When you're busy or on a break, specify the time zone.
• Remember the time zone barriers and be considerate.
• Respect your team member and wait for their responses. 
• Communicate clearly. Sometimes, short replies are passive-aggressive.
• Separate the personal life and working life.
• Always use the same tools or software that your team uses.
• During meetings, time doesn't do other work. Sometimes, multitasking can cause you to lose your concentration on running meetings.
• Mute the microphone if not necessary, turn on the camera, be presentable, and turn off other downloads.
• When you present your computer screen, double-check the screen.
• And last of all, be polite, humble, and respectful among others.

If we want to keep getting the benefits from both sides, we need to ensure that the work environment we create is sustainable, friendly, and productive. Best strategies for how to manage employees working from home.

How to Manage Employees Working From Home - Best Strategies

Effectively and perfectly managing a remote team with the employee requires a combination of many different things. In this section, we will discuss managing a remote workforce easily with some strategies and tips. With this tactic, you can also get help on how to manage staff working remotely.

1. A Proper Plan 

Before managing a team, whether remote or in the office, a team leader needs to prepare a proper plan for them. With a proper plan, it will be easier to get an appropriate output. As a result, it might bring a wrong and unexpected result for the team and the company. Before maintaining any remote team, make a proper plan. Every remote team employee needs to know their objective and how they work through this week or coming next week. They must understand how they align with the company's goals and roadmap. In this plan, the topics that can be focused on by the team leader managing a global team.

• A proper outline for remote employee 
• A mission and set clear expectations 
• Working hours 
• A clear deadline for the project
• Company policy guideline
• Maintain spreadsheets for everyday work 
• Take Regular updates on the project

We found that getting regular feedback from the company or team leader makes them 3.2 times more likely to be motivated in their work. (Source-Gallup)

When all of those things are well-managed and unified then it will save time for your remote team and also reduce the overall cost and improve productivity.

2. Focus on Collaborations Tools And Technology 

Technology plays a big part in managing your remote employees. Without technology, it will be hard and impossible to do these remote jobs. These tools help increase productivity, collaboration, and overall employee experience.

But invest in the right tools to do this job easily. Now, you can find a lot of software and collaboration tools that can do your job. But the question is, is your selected software secure to use? Before selecting any tools, research and check those tools' features.

Many global software development companies use collaboration tools for their daily work. Take a look at the tool's suggestions below for managing remote employees.

• Chat and collaboration software 
• Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides)
• Project management software 
• Onboarding software 
• Choose advance HR software 
• Video calling software (Zoom, Skype, Google Meet)
• Collaborative software development tool (GitHub)
• Team chat platform for business (slack, Google chat, Discord, Element)

With the right and secure collaboration tools, you are one step ahead in managing remote work systems. Check out how our HRMS software automates all HR processes and helps HR managers focus on other employee monitoring tasks.

3. A Solid And Clear Communications Channel 

Effective communication and collaboration can change a lot of things in any sector. When it comes to managing employees working from home, solid and clear communication is the key factor, among other strategies. Try to maintain a proper communication channel with your remote workers. But why does communication matter when it comes to your overall company performance?

Yeah!! It matters, mate. Good communication undoubtedly impacts company performance and employee retention rates. Clear communications help your team stay connected all the time. As a result, they can brainstorm with each other and sometimes come up with the best ideas that can come from only a few online meetings. 

Remember 

Clear communication can bridge the gap that physical distance might have created for your team.

When proper communication occurs, each team member gets to know one another, which builds trust and leads to the best decisions. Communication strategies make discussing programs easier, figuring out solutions, and making informed decisions. Here we suggest some of the methods that can improve communications.

• Maintain a meeting agenda 
• Daily team meetings can be a good solution for getting remote worker update 
• Real-time communication through apps 
• Communications policy 
• Being flexible in communication approach can help each employee be most effective in their work
• Record important video calls and sms.
• Always ask for feedback 

4. Improve Company Culture & Trust 

If you want to improve company culture with remote employees, the first step is to improve trust issues. So now the question arises: How can we improve the atmosphere of trust?

As a team leader, you should always motivate your team and tell them you trust them completely and are confident about their work. Remember, it will work when you trust them and they trust you. When your boss says they are confident about your project and your work, instantly, it boosts your mental health and motivates you. Sometimes, a few words from a boss can motivate any employee and boost their working speed.

Celebrate their successes, both small and big. It's not a tip, mate; it's a strategy that can change any employee's mind. Sometimes send some best gifts for remote workers for their achievements . Discuss with them the company policy, mission, and vision so that they know about the company culture.

Try to maintain 1:1 meetings with team members occasionally to build a connection based on trust and open communication. This will help you understand your company culture and overall trust issues.

5. Avoid Phishing Attack

Cyber attacks are now well-known in the world. If you maintain a remote or hybrid team, you and your company are also at risk of cyber attack. In that sense, remote employees are typically the first to face security threats. They are often the source of network security incidents affecting the rest of the company or organizations. Remote workers have access to the company's different and confidential projects. 

They have access to the company server through different wifi and IP numbers. As a result, it's easy to hack their laptop, PC or phone easily. Therefore, we must maintain strong cybersecurity defences, including firewalls and antivirus software. You can also get help from different agencies' best cyber security services.

Here, we share some important tactics employees can follow for the best possible output.

• Migrate your business applications to the cloud 
• To protect laptop data, use VPN or secure wifi connections 
• Install a multi-factor authentication system
• Use password manager 
• Share some guidelines with employees.

6. Continues to Learn And Development Opportunities 

If your remote team works on a custom software development project, they must continue developing their soft or coding skills. They regularly watch or learn and get training from different sites or organizations. If the company allows them to learn or develop their skills in this particular company, it's easy for them to mind workhouse time. It will help them to be more dedicated to their work. 

The LinkedIn report found that 94 % of employee stay in the company if the company invest in their career development. This not only benefits the employees but also the overall growth of the company.

End note

Managing a remote workforce is a challenge. But this blog on how to manage employees working from home helps you overcome them. By implementing tips for managing a remote team properly, you'll unlock the real potential of your distributed team. With our most advanced HRMS software, you can manage the entire company employee workforce, and with the help of this blog, you can manage the remote employees.

Best of luck leading a remote team