Mistakes Your Organization Could Be Making While Working Remotely And How To Avoid Them
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things around the world.
One of them is the way organizations and businesses function.
While many companies already started to adopt remote work, others had to take up to the remote lifestyle since it was the only accessible option.
Research and surveys have proved that operating remotely benefits organizations more.
However, not everyone is able to adopt remote working efficiently and in the process, mistakes are made. Since remote work has come to stay for a long long time, it’s better to be mindful of and correct some common mistakes employers tend to make while operating remotely.
Here are some of the typical ‘employer mistakes’ made by companies in a remote setup and how they can be avoided:
1. Failing To Convey Expectations
When you’re managing a remote team, things can often run in an unstructured manner, and what makes it worse is if you don’t convey your expectations.
Whether it’s for your short-term goals or even the long-term goals, not sharing your expectations can affect your remote team’s efficiency and productivity.
Start by assigning weekly tasks for each member and ensuring that the deadline for each of them is exact. Also, ensure that every team member knows what their precise role is.
2. Not Enough Communication
Poor communication skills can indeed be a dealbreaker while managing remote teams.
When you have certain expectations of how you want the work done, you need to convey it to your employees.
Ensure all communication channels are open so that your remote team members can reach out to you and have their queries answered.
3. Ignoring Team Interactions
Working remotely often means feeling isolated. However, it’s imperative for the employees to feel the team spirit despite working from different cities or even different countries.
Make sure to set up informal video calls so that all the team members get to interact with one another, break the ice, and have their questions answered if they have any.
4. Not Everyone Understands Remote Work
Perhaps you have hired someone who is incredibly hardworking and experienced, but has this person ever worked remotely before?
It’s best to understand what remote working means to an employee beforehand because a hardworking person doesn’t necessarily have to be someone who can work well from far away.
Be sure that your remote teams know when to rest and recharge, make thoughtful decisions, and possess a good work ethic.
5. Micromanaging Your Remote Team
Traditionally, remote workers are known to enjoy a sense of creative space and freedom.
Calling employees frequently or sending out emails every hour to ‘follow-up’ can cause them to feel frustrated.
Just convey the necessary details and deadlines to them while handing over the task and trust them as long as they’re maintaining their work quality.
6. Ending Virtual Meetings Too Soon
In-person meetings involve everyone’s participation. In the case of virtual meetings, however, many people might feel uncomfortable sharing their points or are cut-off by others.
This is why it’s imperative to ensure that everyone gets a chance to speak, and no one is overshadowed by someone else when a virtual meeting is being held.
7. Over-dependence On Emails
Emails are one of the most popular forms of communication, especially at the workplace.
However, in a remote setup, you shouldn’t rely too much on emails alone because that can limit communication. It also restricts the team to effectively present their queries or involve in a discussion.
Be sure to go for video calls, conference calls, and even apps that encourage group discussions.
8. Not Ensuring The Wellbeing Of Your Employees
Working with a distributed team can mean that employees feel not only isolated but also overworked.
Just because they’re working from home doesn’t mean they are allowed to be piled up with work, because if that happens, it can cause burnouts.
Take good care of your employees’ mental health in a remote setup.
9. Issues With Differences In Time Zones
Remote setups entail that your employees could be working from different parts of the world.
It means that not only do you have to be flexible with the schedule, but also be understanding about it.
Make a schedule that suits groups depending on the time zone they are in.
10. Not Knowing Your Employees Personally
Working in an office means getting to know your employees personally; you see what they like and dislike, what sets them off, and so on.
However, a lot of this is missed out on in a remote setup. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build trust and rapport. See to it that you engage in some casual and informal talk regularly.
11. Not Providing Them With Adequate Perks
If an employee or a team does well, they are often rewarded with a gift or a treat at work.
Remote teams often miss out on those perks and rewards.
To make up for that, be sure to send them treats and gifts every now and then. It could be a gift card or an unasked holiday, such gestures make them feel acknowledged.
12. Absence Of The Right Set Of Tools
Remote setups call for extra tools and facilities to make it easier for your employees to work both as a global team and individually.
Explore the software and necessary application available for remote teams to communicate effectively, and make sure your employees have them all.
13. Lack Of Opportunities For Growth
Employees can often feel stagnant with regard to the growth of their careers in a remote work environment.
It happens when they are not provided with competent growth opportunities.
Ensure that your employees receive the required training and education initiatives and are given a proper career graph while working with you.
14. Importance Of Culture In Your Remote Setup
Workplace culture differs from one organization to the other. While one office could have a more structured and monotonous routine, the other could be more dynamic and casual.
When hiring a remote team, it’s essential to convey your culture to the recruits so that they know exactly what to expect.
15. Hiring Too Quickly
The chance to work from home excites many, and due to this, many companies commit the employer's mistake of hiring employees a little quickly.
However, in a remote team, you should select more carefully.
Get members who have worked remotely before or are enthusiastic about it. This is to ensure they give you all of their dedication and loyalty, even if they are located somewhere else in the world.
Having a remote team is a different ball-game as compared to having an in-house team.
