Earlier in the year, companies of all shapes and sizes were hit with the devastating impact of Coronavirus, forcing the shutdown of thousands of businesses, and sending critical members of staff home to work. The recent pandemic as had such an effect, it’s urged around two-thirds of companies to send their staff home in Australia. The new remote working dynamic shook many businesses to the core – it was and still is, a new way of running a business.

But many businesses have been successfully managing remote teams for years. Particularly for global companies, with employees spanned across the world, including Australia, they’ve had to adapt to managing remote teams long before COVID-19 knocked on their doors.

The hard fact is, the trend in remote working started long before Coronavirus. It’s quickly growing and changing how businesses operate daily. A recent study showed the number of professionals who work remotely at least one day a week has jumped by an incredible 400% since 2010.

Remote working is a trend many businesses have had to adapt to and quickly. But the new “norm” has presented itself with several challenges for managers and higher-level executives – leaders have had to learn new ways to ensure ongoing communication, encourage and motivate their remote teams from a distance.

How have some thrived and others failed? Here are our tips on how to manage remote teams effectively not only during Coronavirus but beyond.

Make your expectations known

Studies have found only half of all professionals know what’s expected of them to do their job correctly.

To maintain morale and keep your employees engaged, establish some team requirements that explain what it is you expect from your employees when it comes to collaboration and how they interact with one another.

Schedule regular virtual meetings

At Australia PEO, we act as a company’s employer of record for their workers and are managing remote teams daily. One way we’ve ensured our employees remain engaged and on track is to hold regular calls with all parties.

We’ve found that our employees are much more driven and engaged when we keep communication a regular occurrence.

Make use of technology

One way to manage remote teams effectively is with virtual face-to-face communication. It has been proven to be 34 times more effective than email and phone correspondence.

We’ve found that by using Zoom, Google Hangouts and Skype regularly, we’ve significantly improved communication between our client companies, ourselves and our employees, and increases all parties’ level of understanding.

Always remain transparent

Every leader must remain transparent to monitor employee happiness effectively.

We’ve found that by keeping employees involved in the business and the reasons behind organisational changes, we’re ensuring everyone is on the same page, and we’re able to develop a more robust team environment.

Allow your staff to ask questions and be involved in the decision-making process where possible; you may find they’ll start to conduct themselves at work with a more energetic level of conviction.

Give them responsibility 

No one likes to be micro-managed. By empowering your employees with more responsibility, you’ll start to build a trust-based culture within your remote working environment.

At Australia PEO, our business model is relatively unique, so we rely on instilling responsibility in our employees to achieve their own level of satisfaction, engagement and agility with our support.

Make them feel supported

Our objective at Australia PEO is to always make our team members feel supported. They’re our biggest asset!

Think beyond delegating tasks and managing their progress. Mentor and offer support so that they can develop as professionals.

If one of our employees want to boost their professional skill set, we encourage it, not turn them away. Suggest they take part in an online course in an area they want to explore more.

Give feedback

How will your team members know what they’ve done correctly or incorrectly if you haven’t told them so?

Offering feedback to your employees will make them more prepared to take on challenges in the future, but they’ll be more confident in solving problems and achieving their goals.

Managing remote teams comes with its challenges but also opportunities. By making sure all parties are on the same page, keeping your staff motivated and managing progress, you can achieve effective leadership and equip your team to thrive.

Call Australia PEO today to find out how we’ve helped dozens of businesses manage remote teams on a global scale.