Tips for being a remote team leader 

Before the covid-19 pandemic remote work was already a reality, however during the confinement this reality did not overtake and from one moment to another we all had to learn to work remotely, while having virtual meetings and meetings. 

Although technology can make remote work something more natural and similar to face-to-face work, the truth is that to organize a team that is working in this way we require special tools and skills, today we are going to give you the best tips for you to organize your remote work team and together have the best results. 

Keys to remote equipment management 

Organizing and managing a work team either in person or online requires certain virtues to do it in the best way and get the best results. Remember to always keep in mind that the goal of your work team is to do the work that was entrusted to them in the best way and in the shortest time possible to achieve this can help you the following keys: 

• Set a good example: although it sounds very trite, it is true that a good leader sets an example for his team. It will be easier for you to ask your team to be punctual or have good communication if you do it. 
• Show yourself close: remember that even at a distance you are working with people who may have problems or doubts to do the job, for them it will be easier to trust you and ask you if you show yourself close and in communication. 
• Give creative freedom: it is important that you are not too rigid with your employees, especially when it comes to problem solving, allowing them to be creative will give you impressive results, as they will identify better with the work and will be able to find solutions to the problems that arise. 

• Give regular feedback: it is easy for most leaders or people who are in charge of a team to point out mistakes or deficiencies in their employees but many forget to point out and recognize their work and successes, this is the best way to give feedback and above all the best way to motivate them.  
• Train your employees: your work team must always be at the forefront but this task is not only up to them, as a leader you can give them the tools to specialize, you can see it as an investment in human capital formation, in the end having a specialized team doing the job will be much more profitable. 

Strategies for managing remote work teams 

Without a doubt, remote work can be one of the best experiences for you and your company or one of the worst if you don’t know how to manage it, so today we are going to give you some strategies that will help you to better manage your work team. 

Encourages communication 

The most difficult thing in any work team is to establish good communication, of course everything becomes more complicated when we work remotely. Having the best specialists will not help you if there is no communication between them or from them to you, this will cause problems to optimize time and to improve the work. 

The suggestion is to have open channels of communication for this you can help you with technology, with applications such as WhastApp, Telegram or Slack, because they allow you to have instant communication, unlike other means such as email.       

Delegates tasks 

As a team leader we regularly want to be in control of everything, however you can have better results if you start delegating some of your tasks to your collaborators or even delegate tasks to other leaders. The advantage of this is that in addition to having more time for priority tasks, you will begin to train qualified personnel to do all kinds of tasks. 

Keeps a logbook 

One of the best things you can do while leading a team is to keep a logbook, this way you can document the internal processes within your work team, so you can study what are the most common mistakes and how to correct them and identify them in time. 

Define objectives 

As in everything, starting by defining objectives is one of the keys to success because this will give your team a sense of purpose and a spirit of competition. Remember that the objectives you are going to define must be achievable and measurable for your team, otherwise you will only create frustration. Of course, your employees must know these objectives so that their work is focused on achieving them. 

Encourages collaboration 

One of the most important problems when working in a remote team is that there is no cohesion among employees, most do their work and that’s it, however collaboration is a fundamental part for the team to work. Encouraging the collaboration of a team that collaborates remotely can better solve the problems that arise, plus there is greater motivation to do their work better. 

A good way to make your remote team collaborate is to encourage teamwork, let two or three people do the tasks, so that even at a distance they will have to talk and collaborate with each other.  

 

Use technology 

If you have to manage a remote team the most difficult thing could be to check the progress of the work or the assignment of tasks, however today there are different applications or pages that can help you with this. 

When talking about remote work and the technology to do it, tools such as Skype, Zoom or Microsoft teams probably come to mind, but we are talking about applications that help you organize your work and assign tasks to each member of your team. 

Applications such as Trello, Slack or Asana will help you assign and measure the progress of each task, make feedback and corrections, without the need for a Zoom meeting. These tools also encourage team collaboration as you can see the progress and tasks between colleagues.  

Regular meetings 

Although most of us don’t like it because we see it as a waste of time, virtual meetings and meetings can be necessary, especially to give feedback to your team. Try to respect their work time and don’t do this kind of meetings out of working hours and most importantly planned to be short and efficient. 

For many people, working at home can be more tiring than working in person, if you also add meetings of more than 30 minutes, the only thing that will happen is that your work team will not perform as well. 

Something we saw during the confinement was the excess of video calls and video meetings, this in the end screwed the work at home of most, but now that we have more experience and you know what you need and what not, ask yourself if the issues you are going to address in that meeting you are scheduling can be resolved in an email or in a message through an application, if the answer is yes, definitely do not make the meeting. 

Prepare for face-to-face meetings 

Working remotely can ruin or not promote the sense of belonging to the company, so it is a good idea to organize from time to time periodic meetings not necessarily for work, you can organize get-togethers or small parties among your employees in person, this will be a way to foster bonds of companionship among them and create a sense of identity and belonging to the company. 

Trust your collaborators and give a little bit of freedom 

For many people working at home may result in working longer hours than usual or working more intensely than working in the traditional way. Remember that as a leader what you are interested in is that they deliver results in a timely manner, so be flexible with work schedules, remind them that they also need time off and just because they have a home office does not mean they have to work all day every day. 

 

Managing a remote work team has its challenges, but it can be more interesting and meaningful than face-to-face work, especially because you can work with specialists who otherwise would not be able to collaborate. Tell us what other advice you would give for organizing this type of team.