Tips for Successfully Leading a Remote Workforce (Without Micromanaging)

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations are scrambling to find effective ways to manage their remote workforces on a scale never seen before. Unfortunately, there isn’t much time to plan remote work strategies or acquire hardware and software solutions to ease the pain. The shift to telecommuting is bound to cause some disruption. That being said, these tips will organize your team without making you seem like a micromanager, which would only undermine employee performance: 

Ensure all employees have the right computing device.

Workers can use an iPad, a laptop, a tablet, or a desktop to access MS Office applications, email, and collaboration software. They also need to send email and open various file types. Before everyone gets a device for home use, keep in mind there are lighter versions of many applications available for smartphones, but they could come with a small cost. 

Provide opportunities for remote access.

It could take a few days for employees to ensure they have satellite or hi-speed Internet access to use remote server tools. If an employee only has a wifi hotspot on a smartphone, it will be possible to use some applications, but it won’t be helpful for streaming video meetings or working on complex projects. The availability of Internet services will depend on where each employee lives. Here are some online tools that promote collaboration:  

• Make a spreadsheet of employee telephone numbers and email addresses and share it with each team so they can access others offline.
• Recommend that team members sign up for Slack or Zoom, both of which have free or paid versions online. These collaboration platforms include collaboration tools (i.e. instant messaging, file sharing, and video conferencing). The team can organize work around topics or project channels. Also, you can create a channel to manage communications with each workgroup, such as individuals servicing the same account. 
• Ensure employees connect to software applications through a Remote Desktop login, which includes a firewall between the company’s virtual private network (VPN) or its cloud-based network. Secure access reduces the risk of hacking, phishing, malware, and other cyber threats.

Revise job descriptions and connect them to work schedules.

There is a good chance your employees performed a variety of duties that took them away from their computers, including meeting with clients, managing inventory, and attending staff meetings. It’s important for you, the manager, to review each employee’s job description and identify the core duties he or she is expected to complete at home. So you don’t micromanage, let the employees figure out how to organize their workday around their home life so they will meet all requirements. On the other hand, it’s okay to schedule a virtual meeting when you check in with the team and with individuals and create deadlines for tasks. 

Synchronize everyone on a shared calendar. 

If you are using MS Office, Outlook is the best bet because everyone’s connected to calendars and emails. There are other free calendar solutions offered in the cloud and for download on Android and iOS platforms. Calendar solutions will only assist with organizing work and tracking productivity if your team members keep up with their appointments, tasks, and deadlines. 

• Google Calendar –  Get the free version and share calendars with other employees. This tool allows users to create meetings and send invites to participants. It may be necessary to ask clients or vendors to share a calendar as well. Workers should not store confidential information about clients or patients on calendar tools.
• Calendly – This tool simplifies scheduling because you don’t have to worry about emailing meeting invites.
• Asana – If you want a scheduling software including calendar tools, task coordination, and progress monitoring, this work management platform will suffice. The “Board” feature is similar to channels on Zoom and Slack, but Asana is not primarily a communication tool.  

Look for ways to enhance productivity.

While you can point the team to numerous project management, scheduling, and collaboration tools, be sure to consider your product or service delivery model. Many therapists, accountants, and lawyers are now shifting to video meetings with clients because they are shutting down their offices. Identify the key ways employees can work from home and still provide products or services. For example, clients used to come into the store to have a problem fixed, such as shattered glass on their iPhone. Empower employees to coordinate customer requests via phone, online chat, video, or email. Then, have them deliver the product or service to the customer’s home. Another option would be offering curbside service outside a business location. Your choice of productivity tools depends on how you will keep serving each customer base.

Here are some additional free and economical options for creating a shared workspace:

• For a free solution, try HeySpace as a collaboration tool, which includes file sharing, chat, and generating new work tasks from messages.
• Employees can copy tasks from any calendar, task management tool, or shared workspace to their personalized to-do list. They might have Microsoft Sticky Notes, which stays visible on the computer screen, or they could create custom checklists and share them using a free tool like Canva.

Be explicit about policies, procedures, and expectations for home security.

Your company may have security tools built into their remote access technology. However, if your employees handle confidential information, including protected health data, financial data, social security numbers, etc., they are responsible for safeguarding it while at home. They cannot archive this kind of information on their home computer, allow others to access their log-in credentials, or view their work. While you can provide laptops and monitor employee work using the same tools as you did at the office, workers must also revisit their security obligations at home. Otherwise, the company could become liable for compromised data, fraud, or other illicit activities. You could write a new terms of use policy to inform all personnel of their security expectations. It doesn’t hurt to make expectations more explicit when the goal is to protect each employee’s job.  

Make time for virtual team-building. 

It’s challenging to be a manager in 2020. You must keep yourself organized and focused during the pandemic and find new ways to motivate your team for an indefinite period of time. You need to plan activities to benefit the entire team and to support individuals. Here are some ideas: 

• Ask employees to share concerns with you privately, address them, and keep notes about them.
• Encourage employees to post ideas that save time or eliminate steps in a process on the shared workspace.
• Schedule one-on-one video chats with team members at least once a week.
• Provide extra support to new employees, especially by responding promptly to emails and instant messages. 
• Create new training tools, such as workflow documents, PowerPoint presentations, and checklists that streamline work.
• Conduct virtual team meetings. Create expectations for conduct during virtual meetings. Remind employees that they receive limited nonverbal feedback in this format. 
• Monitor the team culture.
• Watch to see if individuals become isolated or depressed because they fall behind in their work productivity or stop communicating with the team.

Keep your team focused on shared goals. 

There is no way to know how long the team will collaborate through remote communications technologies. Expect there will be obstacles to solve until you find an equilibrium for your remote team including the following:

• Customer complaints
• Lost accounts
• Reduced revenue
• Employee misconduct
• Missed deadlines
• Employees with more stress at home
• Employees face personal or family illness
• Attrition

Be a strong and compassionate leader.

Employees need a strong leader who provides the right mix of direction, compassion, and positivity each day. If you create expectations and enforce them without being overbearing, most of the team should measure up. Be reasonable about what you can accomplish at home and what kind of pressure you can place on your team without stressing them out. Don’t expect to anticipate every obstacle that affects the team or undermines morale. Do try to solve each problem by taking one day at a time. If the team stays focused on their revised job descriptions and achieves most deadlines, the business will keep going.

Support the entire organization.

Managers are also vital to the survival of the entire company. For example, there will be tons of pressure on the marketing side of the organization to keep new business flowing in so employees still have work. Keep yourself accessible to the senior leadership and help them adjust the business strategy to fluctuating market conditions. Update executives about your team’s challenges because they could be impacting other teams more. Give yourself a time out to relax before resuming work each day (because the workplace is also home). Make time for your family. Remember, your employees will be socially isolated, bombarded with frantic media coverage, worried about layouts or reduced hours, and many other issues. However, there is no way to forecast how this crisis will play out. Your job is keeping the ship afloat and tracking which projects get postponed until everyone returns to the office.

The Applied Innovations team is here to help your company succeed during the pandemic. Contact us for more information at your convenience.