Five hacks to help you get the most out of your team while working remotely

Under the current social distancing, you and your team are probably scattered across different locations. And even after the restrictions lift you might choose to keep working like that.

So, how do you keep your team happy and productive when you are not all in the same place?

Here are five tools to get the most out of your team when you’re all apart.

1.       Keep up communication

A 2019 study showed that lack of communication leads to employees becoming disconnected and isolated. Not feeling part of the team can quickly turn to apathy about their work. And that is tough to monitor when you can’t see them.

So, what can you do?

In addition to work-related messages, set up the opportunity for daily social communication. Zoom coffee chats, dedicated social chat rooms in tools like Slack and Workplace from Facebook can all help.

It doesn’t matter how you do it; the important thing is to give everyone a chance to connect with the team around the digital “water cooler”.

2.       Celebrate achievements

Everyone likes to feel valued, and to know that they’re more than just an employee. A Gallup survey showed that employees valued public and private recognition more than a bonus or pay increase.

It’s even more important to celebrate achievements while your team is working remotely. It helps bring us all together and bind your people to you.

And recognition doesn’t just need to come from the top – encourage a culture of positive peer feedback.

There are many opportunities to celebrate:

·         project completion

·         hitting milestones

·         rewarding a display of company values

·         birthdays

·         personal achievements

·         or even just that it’s Friday!

Make your team feel you see them and recognize their achievements.

3.       Trust your team

If you’re used to over-seeing your team’s work, it can be challenging to let go of the urge to check up on them continually. But don’t micro-manage, it can lead to low morale. Trust your team to do the right thing, and they will deliver.

It can help to take the focus away from checking on daily tasks and focus on the results, not how long they were sitting in their seat.

4.       Encourage a healthy work/life balance.

When working from home, it’s hard to switch off, and too easy to work longer hours. A British study showed that 48% of employees increased their work hours. So, it's essential that you adopt healthy habits and encourage your team to do the same.

· If possible, have a dedicated work-space that you can walk away from.

· Stick to a finish time and don’t check your emails out of those hours.

· Have a break for lunch. Ideally, try to get outside for some fresh air and exercise.  

5.       Be understanding and flexible.

It's important to remember that now is a super-weird time for everyone. Your team are probably stressed about several things from health concerns to finances. They’re possibly juggling many extra responsibilities in their life like supervising their kids or schoolwork.

Where possible, the best thing you can do is to be flexible about the quantity and times of work. Your support and understanding will pay off with loyalty in the longer term.

A recent survey showed that 80% of people would be more loyal to their employee if they were allowed flexible work options. Something to consider for the longer term once the crisis is over.

The current situation won’t last forever, but how you handle your team now can have long-lasting effects on the future of your business.