While it’s been almost a year since the coronavirus first shut down our offices, many of us are still working from home. What’s more, this trend may continue as more and more businesses realize the benefits of remote working. If you’re a manager, though, you may have found that managing your remote workers is more complicated than it was when everyone was in the office.
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way. Below are some tips and tricks you can use to effectively manage your remote workers:
Establish Check-Ins
Since you’re unable to see and talk with your employees every day, it’s a good idea that you check-in with them regularly. This will give them a chance to ask you any questions, and it’ll give you a chance to see how they’re handling their workload. How often you should have these check-ins should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Some employees may need more supervision than others. However, even if you have very independent and self-sufficient workers, you should still check-in at least once a week.
Provide Multiple Ways to Communicate
Problems may arise sometime throughout the work week that can’t wait until your scheduled check-ins. Since workers can’t pop by your office to ask a question, you’ll need to make yourself available in multiple ways. Phone, emails, video chat, and messaging systems should all be made available to your employees. Nevertheless, you should also set expectations. You don’t have to be constantly available, so tell your employees what your work hours will be so that you’re not constantly on-call.
Be Lenient
Everyone is going through a tough time right now, and we all have our own challenges. Mental health has become a serious problem during the COVID-19 Pandemic, not to mention many of us are raising kids who are also staying at home. As such, employees may need more help or leniency from their bosses. Always check in on your employees’ emotional and mental health, and try to help out as much as you can if they’re going through a tough time.
At Vaspian, our remote office features can help your business stay connected as more of us work from home. Give us a call at 1-855-827-7426 to learn more.
