6 Challenges of Remote Team Management

Businesses are embracing the remote trend and there is a very good reason for it. According to statistics, remote work has grown by more than 100% in the last decade only in US. In addition to this, studies have concluded that remote workers are more productive, have higher employee satisfaction level and results in annual cost savings of more than $10,000 for businesses.

Unfortunately, that is only one side of the coin. There is a dark side to remote work as well. Managing remote teams is not easy. There are many challenges that will come your way when you will start managing remote teams. In this article, we will be shedding light on these challenges. Read on to find out more.

• Different Time zones

If you are managing a remote team with team members located in different parts of the world, then you will have to adjust according to different time zones. Managers will have to pay that price to get the benefits I was referring to in the beginning of this article. Scheduling team meetings can be tough because you will have to select a time that is convenient for all team members including yourself, otherwise a sizeable number of your team members will not be able to attend meetings. Another way to resolve this issue is through sending an

email containing all the questions and ask your team members to answer them.

• Poor Communication

“Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success.”—Paul J Meyer

The challenge of poor communication stems from varying time zones issue. When all your team members are located in different parts of the world, communicating with them is challenging. Thanks to task management software for teams like TaskQue, you can easily stay in touch with your team members and get frequent feedback from your remote team. Tracking progress is not an issue with useful communication features of digital tools. Establish a two-way communication channel and encourage team members to share their problems with you.

• Collaborating on Projects

“Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”—Mattie Stepanek

Another issue with remote teams is lack of coordination and collaboration among team members. This is obvious because they are sitting thousands of miles away from one another. There are many ways to improve teamwork and one of them is to use digital technology. Task management tool for group collaboration has resolved this issue by eliminating distances and enabling remote team managers to keep all the team members on the same page.

• Building Strong Relationships

Whether you are managing a remote team or an in house team, you will have to build stronger relationships with your team members and nurture them. Building a long-term relationship is even more difficult in a remote team setup because you communicate with your team members less frequently. Be open and accessible so that your remote team members can share their problems with you. Find a solution to their problems and help them to perform well. When your team members trust you, they will not only give it their best shot but never hide anything from you.

• Finding Balance and Structure

Whether you are the manager or an employee, it is important that you find a perfect work-life balance to save yourself from work related stress and employee burnout. Remote team manager will have to make sure that remote workers are doing enough to complete tasks while employees ensures that their working hour does not drag too much so they could spend quality time with their friends and family members. It usually comes down to the expectations at both individual level and company level.

• Embrace the Company Culture

One of the biggest challenges for remote team managers is to ensure that their remote team members embrace the company culture. As remote workers usually do not abide by the company rules and policies, keeping strict check on remote employee activities and behavior is important to achieve success with remote teams. You could even consider paying your remote workers a visit once in every few months. Face-to-face interaction with remote workers can go a long way in getting them aligned to company culture.

• Conclusion

You can easily overcome some of the aforementioned challenges by hiring experienced remote workers who knows the trick of the trade and by using digital communication and collaboration tools to stay in touch with your remote workers. Paying your remote workers a visit after few months and making sure that they abide by the rules is important. Striking a perfect work-life balance is key for both remote workers and companies. If you are facing any other remote team management challenge or know about one, then feel free to share it with us in comments section below.

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