How to manage staff working from home
Uncover advice on managing a remote workforce to ensure staff are working effectively, being productive, and maintaining a good work-life balance.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people in the UK who spend at least a part of their workweek at home has sky-rocketed. A recent survey from Forbes Advisor found that 63% of the more than 1,000 people surveyed worked remotely either all or some of the time.
This creates new challenges, as managing employees who are working from home often requires a different approach to leading an in-office team.
A Harvard study found that around 40% of supervisors and managers have low confidence in their ability to manage workers remotely, while 23% disagreed with the statement “I am confident I can manage a team of remote workers”.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the top strategies for managing remote workers.
Supporting staff in creating a comfortable home set-up
Setting employees up with everything they need to work remotely is essential to maintaining productivity and wellbeing. Doing so can ensure the whole team is working efficiently.
Here are a few points to consider when supporting remote staff.
- Give remote workers the right tools: Remote work tools such as a laptop, keyboard, monitor and mouse are fundamental, so ensure every remote employee has access to all necessary equipment. Some staff may also need a phone, headset and webcam if they regularly make phone calls or engage in video meetings.
- Promote physical health: To ensure employees are comfortable in their home office, they will need a good desk and chair, so check staff are set up correctly to help avoid any postural problems. If necessary, conduct a workstation risk assessment.
Train staff on new digital tools
Some employees may initially struggle with remote work tools, so make sure everyone is familiar with any new tech or equipment.
There are several digital remote work tools that can help employees work efficiently from home, such as:
- Video conferencing apps
- Project management tools
- Screen sharing software
- Digital brainstorming apps
- Whiteboard tools
- Team chat apps
Some staff may already be familiar with a few of these, yet others will at the very least need some basic training on any new digital tools to ensure they understand the technology they are using.
To try and minimise frustration among employees, opt for a simple package of digital tools that meets the needs of remote teams without going overboard, ensuring that training is quick and straightforward.
Set expectations for different communication channels
Set clear expectations from the beginning, in terms of what, how and when certain remote work tools will be used.
For instance, video calls for scheduled meetings and instant chat tools for impromptu or less formal conversations.
Replace office-based activities for virtual teams
There will inevitably be some in-office activities that can be difficult to replicate remotely, such as:
- Mentoring or onboarding new hires
- Business development activities
- Creative opportunities or activities, such as brainstorming sessions
It can therefore be useful to make a list of these and try to understand what can be replaced whilst everyone is working remotely. It may be worth implementing a company-wide agreement for all staff to be in the office on a given day per week, to enable these face-to-face interactions.
Improve focus time for remote workers
Working from home can make it challenging for employees to remain productive and engaged, with the temptation of distractions or interruptions pulling them away from the task at hand.
Here are some measures employers can put in place to enhance staff focus and ensure they are working efficiently.
Power hours with no distractions
Encourage employees to set ‘focus’ or ‘power’ hours during the day when they turn off notifications, silence mobile phones, avoid distractions, and concentrate on a specific task.
Ensure colleagues are aware of when focus hours are taking place for each employee, so they know not to disturb.
Effective time management
Suggest staff try the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method that can help people focus solely on the task at hand by breaking up large projects into smaller chunks or bursts of intense activity.
Alongside this, provide employees with support to keep to a structured work schedule throughout the day, including when to take breaks.
Prioritisation of tasks
Help staff to prioritise workload or key projects by keeping lines of communication open, monitoring their output, removing non-essential tasks and being clear on expectations.
Digital project or time management tools can also be useful in helping employees to prioritise tasks and you can also promote the sharing of to-do-lists, using tools such as Asana, so staff are accountable for completing specific tasks.
Manage email distractions
Emails are one of the biggest distractions at work, so try to encourage employees to set a specific time to deal with their inbox.
This may be at the start or end of the day, so they can avoid the distraction of checking emails during key working hours.
Maximise productivity of virtual teams
Remote working is a fairly new phenomenon for many organisations. Productivity can therefore be impacted as teams try to adapt to this new way of working.
Let’s look at some of the strategies employers can implement to boost productivity amongst remote workers.
Set clear goals
Set clear goals and expectations with each member of the team so they can work towards a particular target within a given timeframe and know exactly what is expected of them.
This can help staff to stay on track and remain productive. Check-in regularly on their progress and help resolve any issues quickly so they don’t escalate.
Assess effectiveness of video calls and meetings
Working remotely often requires an increase in the number of meetings and calls, which can hamper productivity. If this happens, track how much time is spent on meetings in any given week or month and reduce time as needed, focusing only on essential meetings.
To help build trust with remote workers, it’s important to avoid micromanaging; however, people can often feel isolated or ignored when they’re working from home, which in turn can impact productivity. Schedule regular check-ins with video calls, to stay in touch and keep an eye on their progress and wellbeing.
Allow for flexible working
Allowing flexibility on when people work and enabling them to work at the times that are most productive to them helps ensure teams are working effectively.
It doesn’t always matter what time of the day staff choose to work, as long as the quality of their work is of a high standard – so focus on output rather than being too prescriptive about how they should achieve this. Just make sure any flexible working arrangements are implemented and monitored correctly.
Encourage employees to take regular breaks from their screens, especially after they have ticked off specific tasks from their to-do list. This will help them return to their workspace with a clear head and hopefully more motivation to complete the next task.
Maintaining working relationships
Encouraging meaningful working relationships when people aren’t together in the same physical space can be challenging, however, it is key to ensuring morale, employee engagement and productivity are kept high.
There are a few steps employers can take to ensure remote teams stay connected.
Strike the right balance with communication and team check-ins
Provide plenty of opportunities for communication, as this is vital to a successful remote working relationship. The first step is deciding what communication tools are best for the team, whether that’s:
- Video chat
- Phone calls
- Instant message
Furthermore, most remote teams work best with brief, check-ins on either a daily or weekly biases. Either way, ensure they are kept consistent. Remember to also schedule in regular one-to-ones, to provide structured, individual support for each employee.
Factor in the working day to socialise remotely
Allow time for socialising, as well as work, to increase the rapport between the team and avoid any feelings of loneliness or isolation.
This could take the form of a virtual lunch or virtual social event, such as a team quiz. Managers could also make time for brief, ‘non-work’ conversations at the beginning or end of an online meeting, so colleagues can catch up with each other informally.
Be conscious of staff wellbeing
Be acutely aware of staff wellbeing, as it may not always be obvious that someone is struggling when they’re working remotely.
Set aside specific time to listen to any concerns or worries employees may have and try to find solutions together, help them set clear boundaries between their work and personal life to avoid increased stress or burnout, and point them towards any existing support, such as employee assistance programmes.
As part of this, operate a virtual ‘open-door’ policy so that managers are available to all team members to provide support and employees feel comfortable asking for help when needed, whether with workload, wellbeing or managing working from home in general.
Successful management of remote workers
Remote work isn’t going away, and as more of us get accustomed to the intricacies of managing a remote workforce, everything from productivity to team building should continue to improve. This requires managers to adapt their strategies to effectively lead their virtual teams.
Make sure you’re providing staff who are working from home with the tools they need to succeed, give them the focus time required, and allow opportunities to form vital connections that can turn into strong working relationships. With the right approach, managing a remote workforce can lead to increased productivity, improved work-life balance, and higher employee satisfaction.