The gig economy has spread across the globe. Both large and small businesses use remote workers and virtual assistants in different capacities.
Virtual workforces are a great way to increase productivity and boost employee satisfaction. According to a Global Workplace Analytics statistical analysis, virtual teams boost employee satisfaction, productivity, and motivation. Remote workers can save companies over $10,000 a year.
How to Manage an Agency Effectively?
It is important to recognize that as hiring remote workers becomes a more common practice, businesses face a number of complications and challenges. Here are some of the unique challenges that virtual teams face and how to solve them. Solving these issues will also motivate your employees, and you can then enjoy the benefits of remote workers.
Communication problems – important to remote team building
It would be best if you addressed this first among the many challenges associated with managing remote workers. Communication problems in the workplace can lead to many complications, particularly when it comes to managerial roles.
It is the responsibility of business managers to give their teams a clear and concise sense of direction in relation to any project or task. They must be adept at communicating and explaining strategies.
Communication is key to a high-functioning, transparent, and tight-knit team. This is especially important for remote workers. If you’re not prepared, it can be not easy to coordinate different strategies, goals, and milestones with virtual teams.
It can negatively impact employee motivation, in addition to affecting your overall performance. Remote employees will begin to feel cut off and isolated from the team. Morale can suffer as a result.
You can use the following solutions:
- It would be best if you first integrated top-notch corporate communication tools and software. Open a two-way communication channel via an instant messaging app.
- Respond to your remote employees’ communication style. It is important to respond promptly and professionally to any employee questions, concerns, grievances, or problems. It would be best if you treated your remote employees the same way you would an employee in-house.
- It would be best if you also clarified the KPIs of each remote worker, their job descriptions, any resources to be used, and what they are expected to do. It is important to explain these details because remote workers have no other source of information. Remember that they won’t be working in your office.
The best tips to manage remote teams
Virtual employees can increase productivity and potential. To mitigate the negative effects of their virtual workforce, managers must be proactive. It can be not easy to manage remote workers in different time zones around the world.
If you hire virtual employees who are from the same demographic or area, you can easily set the standard for the hours that they must work.
If you have remote workers all over the globe, it can be a completely different game. If you’re not prepared, coordinating tasks and obtaining timely reports and updates could be a nightmare.
You can use the following solutions:
- When you schedule a virtual meeting with employees, make sure that the time is convenient for everyone. It could mean that the virtual employees are meeting at the beginning of their day, while others may be meeting at the end.
- You can get creative if the time zone difference is a problem when scheduling tasks. Instead of calling for meetings, pre-recording videos can be used for employees who cannot attend. It is an effective way to communicate important information, such as tasks, milestones, and business reviews.
- Ask for feedback from remote employees via email. This gives workers the same opportunity as those who were unable to attend your virtual meeting.
Team-building ideas to overcome language and cultural barriers
The management of a small, global network of remote workers can be a complex and challenging task. Problems are not limited to work but also include language and cultural differences.
When ethnically diverse workers interact, categorize tasks, and define success, even the slightest differences in culture can spark a conflict.
It is, therefore, important that business managers navigate these waters transparently to ensure they can effectively and fairly exploit the benefits remote workers provide.
You can use the following solutions:
- You must schedule activities that promote equal opportunity for remote employees. This will allow them to express their opinions and share their insights, particularly when it comes to their ethnicity and culture. It can be a great way to mitigate misunderstandings based on cultural differences.
- Invest time in building relationships and forming bonds with remote employees. Make them feel like they’re a part of the company.
Remote team management tools are the best way to monitor and evaluate the performance of virtual workers.
Monitoring and tracking the performance of virtual employees is another complex issue. It is important to make sure that remote employees manage their work efficiently and effectively. It is important to monitor whether people are completing tasks in a timely manner and according to company standards.
Remote workers are divided into two types of job performance: those who must complete their work in a timely manner and those who need to manage and work according to the hours that the company has set.
If you’re not prepared, tracking the virtual employee’s performance in either case can be frustrating and difficult.
You can use the following solutions:
- Transparent communication between employees, customers, and you is the best way to ensure that your remote workers perform as per the schedule. Virtual employees who are responsible for maintaining customer relationships should be aware of this. You will know if a customer is happy with the service they receive if you have good communication channels.
- Virtual teams come with a major drawback: you’ll never know exactly how your team gets their work done. The best way to avoid this problem is by being very transparent and clear about your expectations. It is important to communicate clearly what each employee should be doing, including their schedule, etc.
- Use the best virtual team management tools and the most useful remote collaborative tools for a simple and easy-to-track process.