Conquering the challenges of managing remote employees

Businesses are waking up to remote working. Few have gone ‘all-remote’ like GitLab or adopted distributed teams like Atlassian, but finding and retaining talent increasingly requires accommodating relocation and hiring new remote workers.

It’s not easy to make the shift. I know because I’ve done it myself. Well, ­­­­­‘done’ isn’t quite correct – like many things, it’s a work in progress. There are always new learnings and improvements. I’d like to share what I’ve learned.

Closing the distances

Fifty Five and Five has expanded greatly since we began, adding a US office, plus full-time, part-time and freelance team members across many locations. We overcome remote working challenges through culture, communication, and today’s digital workplace tools. So let’s look at our first remote worker.

Our woman in Oslo

Enrika is integral to our team. She knows our business inside out and is a big part of our marketing, SEO, PPC work and more. When she wanted to move to Norway, we were determined to accommodate that. If you find talent of Enrika’s calibre, you hold on to it. 

We use cloud storage, so Enrika can always access information. And we’ve given her and everyone else Office 365, including Teams video, voice and messaging functionality. Enrika’s success story spurred us on to wider remote working – including our first remote hire.

The Seattle connection

When we opened our Seattle office, I knew Liz was the perfect Account Director. She maintains close contact with clients in the USA and elsewhere, as well as colleagues in London. We had to give US colleagues the same foundation as Enrika. But Oslo is only one hour ahead of London, whereas Seattle is eight hours behind.

Time-zone struggles hinder teamwork. We needed to prevent US staff from feeling isolated and disconnected from our business and culture. 

So, we developed a set of principles. Let's look at them.

Managing remote teams: best practices

1.   Automatic sharing

So nobody misses anything or gets left out, everything must be shared with everyone, all the time. Internal and client meetings are captured on video in Teams and stored in the cloud, with notes.

That includes our weekly ‘Learn and Share’. Enrika and Liz have already presented sessions via video. As well as knowledge-sharing, they bring everyone together.

We also share useful links in dedicated Teams channels. And our Thank You channel fosters encouragement and unity. Everyone appreciates getting a shoutout at a project’s end.

It’s fundamental this all happens automatically, and we can all benefit – not just those within earshot.

2.   Document everything

With our content marketing roots, we’ve always known the power of written communication. Remote working means doubling down on this.

Written and recorded knowledge can be shared, checked and not simply forgotten like verbal explanations. Instead of relying on on-the-job-training, we document processes and make them available.

Useful information isn’t siloed. Documents are open for access and editing, so we can all understand projects and clients better and work more effectively.  

We publish meeting notes in Notion, with a central index, so employees everywhere can find answers and get to grips with new projects and accounts.

3.   Asynchronous and synchronous comms

All this is asynchronous communication: more inclusive and multi-directional than real-time communication such as face to face.

Asana helps us to stay on top of tasks, priorities and projects asynchronously. I can’t recommend it enough. Our project manager and Asana evangelist/superfan Alessandra agrees.

We’ve introduced ‘employee user manuals’. Everyone writes one, explaining how they like to work and communicate (Teams chat or phone call?) so we understand how to collaborate most effectively.

4.   Think about how you speak

Written communication has its weaknesses. Lacking visual cues such as expression or tone of voice, nuance can be lost, and responses misinterpreted.

Luckily, Microsoft Teams includes emojis to bring the smiles back. We also promote positive communication.

We always assume positive intent: a lack of knowledge, not negativity. ‘Ignorance before malice’. If misunderstandings occur, a quick Teams call clears them up.

Tools, strategy, mindset

Managing remote employees needs the right tools, the right approach and the right attitude. The last makes the biggest difference. It’s what makes remote working really work.

Need help making your communications more effective? Get in touch with Fifty Five and Five