Remote work is quickly becoming the norm. While it comes with a number of advantages, it can also hinder your approach to managing workflows. All is not lost, however. You simply need to find new ways to connect with your team members. Here, we’ve listed a few tips that are both effective and easy to follow.
Managing Workflow in the Era of Remote Work
Remote work naturally gives your team a high degree of flexibility, but that doesn’t mean they should complete tasks as they please. A regimented approach must be given to work requests and assignments to ensure your team meets deadlines.
Daily schedules that combine flexibility with accountability can help work move in a smooth, linear pattern. This type of scheduling gives employees what they want – nearly 80% of team members surveyed believe pliable scheduling allows them to be more productive but also ensures projects stay on task.
Stay Organized
Organizing and managing schedules in one place, such as Kronos practice offerings, can further simplify your management role. Kronos provides second and third-level support in timekeeping and scheduling, allowing you to compare work completed with hours worked.
Consider Your Collaboration Methods
The freedom provided by remote work often leaves employees feeling isolated and demotivated. You can counter these ill effects with steps that help all team members feel part of the pack.
Start with a business and process analysis that helps you understand your own internal processes. You can then identify areas that need to be improved for efficiency and efficacy. Also, consider your collaboration methods to ensure they create a team environment. Remember that all employees should feel both seen and heard, even if they’re not housed under one roof.
Implement Best Practices
It’s easy to stay connected when in-house teams share the same office space. But tracking work completed when each employee resides in a different location can be tough. You might even say that assigning tasks to remote workers comes with a degree of uncertainty. You don’t know if the deadline will be met or the quality of work delivered will be on-point.
Implementing a best practice framework can help you manage projects from start to finish, regardless of where your employees may be. In fact, the right framework can help you:
- Design strategic company-wide objectives
- Manage the works delivery lifecycle
- Execute reusable processes for consistency
Build Employee Skills
Wherever they’re based, employees need ongoing training. Partnering with the right consulting firm can help you create a skilled workforce in which each member supports the other. An experienced consultant can be especially helpful when you’re undergoing a digital transformation, as often happens with remote work situations.
Likewise, employees need healthy competition. This urges them to work harder and positively prove their mettle, but contests should be structured so team members never feel inferior. You can start by creating a deadline to complete a project. Offer rewards when individual goals are met within a specific time frame. Winners might then receive cash prizes, company swag, or gift cards.
Managers often find it challenging to keep remote workers engaged, motivated, and productive. But these tasks become much easier when you choose the proper consulting and technical solutions. We provide full end-to-end support services, from Kronos offerings and process analyses to SMaRT best practices and enterprise training. Learn more by contacting Project Genetics today.
