Remote Team Management Productivity Tips
For seasoned business travelers, a full week in the office can sometimes be a rare occurrence. Between back to back travel itineraries on top of work responsibilities, it’s hard to balance time managing your team while you’re on the road. If you’re management level staff, remote team management can be particularly challenging to not only supervise, but develop and direct a team you’re often not with in person to manage. Thankfully, because it’s a hot topic at the moment, remote team management is made easier with technology and a little bit of dedication. Here are four tips to help you manage your team while on the road:
Practice Good Communication
When you’re all in the same office at the same time, the chances of a misunderstood email is not as common as when you are on the road. It’s much easier to clarify what someone intended when they sent an email in person, than from afar. With remote team management, when you’re on the road, it’s critical for you to clearly know your intention in what you want to say in the email. Be sure to fully explain the critical points and avoid ambiguous titles altogether. Avoid the over-use of emoticons and abbreviations – you don’t want your email to read as a text message to your team. Be specific in your directions and clear in your expectation on deliverables, and avoid just forwarding threads without explanation and unexplained attachments.
Use Reliable Technology Tools
Thanks to the innovation of technology, remote ream management is easier today than even a few years ago. Although there is no one-stop solution for all your technology challenges, there are a few tools which we recommend to help you better manage your team remotely:
- The second best way to still have face to face communication is by Video Conferencing. Whether you use Google Hangouts, Skype, WebEx or Go-To Meeting, using video conferencing allows all participants to see non-verbal communication elements that are missing from email communication and even phone communication.
- Use Project Management Software to keep team members on task. Software such as Zoho and Basecamp can allow transparency in tasks and projects, and allows for good organization practices and less missed deadlines.
- Internal Wiki, a modern day encyclopedia. Popular especially with tech companies, an internal wiki has been catching on with non-tech companies too. An Internal wiki allows employees to quickly search to find consistent answers to their questions, without having to ask their supervisor or manager. It also reduces multiple interpretations of answers of common questions. Putting directed answers in an internal wiki reduces inconsistency and increases comprehension of solutions.
Be Transparent
Whether your team is together with you in person or remote, one of the biggest challenges in business is having a disconnect, although the risk is greater with remote teams. One of the best ways to combat a disconnection with your team is transparency. Clearly communicating company and team goals and visions and open communication about performance and expectations produces a cohesiveness that is integral to high performing and connected remote teams. It also sets a good example of leadership that you want your team to display when you’re not in the office.
In Remote Management Teams We Trust
It goes without saying that you need to be able to trust your team to meet their goals while you are not in the office. Without trust, there is tension and negative energy that can eat away at all that is good with healthy, functioning teams. Micromanagement and over-supervision can not only be stressful to managers but to every team member. Take time to build trust and learn to let your employee’s strengths be best used to create a high performance team, whether you’re in the office or not.
As a ground transportation company, we know, first-hand some of the challenges traveling executives face. We hope that these short tips gave you some encouragement and inspiration on remote management. One thing we know is that while you are traveling, let us ensure that your ground transportation is comfortable and relaxed. Call us today to make at least one thing simpler.