Remote work is becoming more and more common for companies today, and if you want your remote employees to be as beneficial as your on-site employees, you need to learn how to manage employees remotely. Here are seven mistakes you have to avoid when managing your remote workers.
1. Not Providing Appropriate Feedback
When you provide feedback, you need to make sure that feedback is helpful. With two-thirds of employees reporting they haven’t received constructive feedback within the past 30 days, it can be immensely helpful to implement a feedback process for on-site and remote workers.
2. Assuming Your Remote Workers Will Be Less Effective
If you assume your remote workers will be less effective, it’s likely to create a feedback loop where they actually become less effective. Instead of assuming they’ll be less effective, try to change how you measure productivity for remote workers.
3. Not Giving Your Workers the Productivity Tools They Need
Productivity tools can be incredibly helpful, and they’re often overlooked for remote workers. Make sure you tailor your productivity tool choices to your workers’ needs; tools that help with meeting deadlines, managing workflows, and contacting team members can be most helpful.
4. Not Putting in the Work to Learn Communication Tools
Learning tools is a skill that you have to actively develop. If you don’t automatically understand a specific communication tool, don’t worry; that’s extremely common and even expected. Set aside time for yourself and your employees to learn communication tools.
5. Offering Fewer Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development opportunities are a big part of the reason many employees feel connected to their jobs. However, many development opportunities aren’t extended equally to remote workers. If you offer remote workers professional development opportunities, they’re more likely to remain engaged.
6. Setting Unclear Expectations Regarding Working Hours
One problem that may arise with working from home is that employees feel more pressured to work when they wouldn’t typically on location. You need to encourage your employees to work during the hours you set. Make sure you draw on them as little as possible when it’s not working hours – they deserve rest and relaxation, too.
7. Managing Mental and Physical Well-Being Only for Local Workers
Mental and physical well-being is part of being able to work effectively, and remote workers are less likely to be able to take part in the same events that bring this to your on-site workers. Make sure you think about how you can keep remote workers feeling like part of your team and keep their health at the forefront.
Conclusion
More and more, remote work is becoming a crucial part of many industries. If you have an industry where remote work is even a possibility, chances are that it’s going to become part of your job process soon. Whether you currently have remote workers, you’re gearing up to have some people move remote soon, or you just want to be prepared, keep these seven important mistakes in mind.
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