COVID-19 has led to countless historical changes across the U.S.: schools are shutting down, restaurants are closing, businesses across the world, including James River Capital, are working remotely, and millions of Americans are self-quarantining. As more people are staying home, we’re witnessing the rise of remote work in the U.S.
But remote work isn’t new to America: 29% of Americans normally work remotely but this was before the coronavirus pandemic, which now has both enterprises and small businesses scrambling to manage a remote workforce.
You’ve done the right thing by shuttering your brick and mortar office for several weeks, but this is likely a big experiment and uncharted-waters for your business. As a manager, you might be accustomed to leading your team in a face-to-face environment. How does that stack up when you go digital?
Remote work can add a lot of pressure to even the most seasoned managers. How do you keep your team accountable? How do you ensure morale is high? How can you hit your goals, in spite of the world’s craziness?
Great managers know how to deliver results, keep their employees content, and boost motivation. There are some communication challenges that come with remote work but if you can overcome them, you’ll be a better manager for it. In fact, you’ll likely see a 13% lift in performance and a 10% increase in employee happiness when you do remote right.
Fortunately, you don’t have to fly blind. Learn from experienced managers who have come before you to lead your remote team with confidence.
About Paul Sanders & James River Capital
Paul Sanders and his business partner acquired the company James River Capital in 1995, where Paul currently serves as Chairman and CEO. Through James River Capital, Paul uses his 30 years of finance experience to improve investment returns for his portfolios.
James River Capital manages alternative investments, like commodity trading, out of its Richmond, Virginia headquarters. These alternative investments attempt to produce positive risk-adjusted returns.
5 Tips for Managing a Remote Team
In Paul’s 25 years of management, he’s seen firsthand the challenges of working with a virtual team. While there are likely to be speed bumps along the way, it’s your duty as a manager to keep the team productive and in good spirits.
Working from home is a necessity right now. But if you’ve never managed a remote team, it can feel daunting. If you’re suddenly managing a remote team, follow James River Capital’s 5 tips for better virtual management.
Trust Your Team
Remote work will not work if you don’t trust your team. If you wake up in a cold sweat, feverishly worried your employees are watching TV instead of calling clients, you aren’t managing effectively.
Don’t assume the worst when you have a virtual team. More often than not, your employees aren’t goofing off. In fact, research says that remote teams are more productive than teams in the office.
Have faith in your people. According to James River Capital, that means focusing on output and results, not on the amount of time people spend in front of the computer. That means focusing on three key areas.
Setting Expectations
Is your team completely new to remote work? If so, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches if you set expectations from the start. Write a handbook just for remote work. Include expectations for things like:
- Working hours: When do you generally expect people to be available?
- Attire: Can employees dress casually, or do you expect them to wear a nice shirt for video calls?
- Communication: When should employees send an email, do a phone call, have a Zoom call?
- Response times: Do you expect employees to reply to emails within 24 hours?
Tracking Productivity
Toggl or Timeular are some of the many time-tracking apps your business can use. But James River Capital warns that the goal of tracking people’s time isn’t to micromanage their work or police their time online. It’s actually to help you find efficiencies within your team. Trackers are also great for giving your less-disciplined employees more accountability without you breathing down their necks.
Setting Goals and Measuring Output
Remote workers are happier than office workers because they’re judged not by their physical presence but by their work quality. That’s why a “people in seats” management style just can’t work in a remote environment.
Managers have to measure employee output instead. Are your employees getting results? Are they hitting their KPIs? If you aren’t tracking employee metrics, you need to start ASAP. According to James River Capital, you have no way of holding your remote team accountable without KPIs. Replace any urge to micromanage with fair, realistic goals that help you manage employee effectiveness.
Choose Your Tech Stack Carefully
You’ll need a handful of apps, hardware, and software to make remote work a reality for your team. Ditch Microsoft Word and opt for modern tech that enables your team to collaborate seamlessly.
Look for technology for:
- Chat. Slack or Skype are great options.
- Appointment-setting. Google Calendar works just fine.
- Video chat. Zoom, Google Hangouts, or GoToMeeting are popular.
- Documents. Google Drive and Dropbox help your team share files quickly.
- Project management. Asana, Trello, or Monday can help you manage your team’s tasks and check up on their projects.
Be Flexible and Understanding
Normally, you would hold remote workers to the same standard as office workers. However, COVID-19 has created some unusual circumstances that require flexibility from good managers.
For example, your employees will probably be working from home with loud children, pets, or other relatives in the background. They’re desperately trying to balance work, childcare, and household duties against the backdrop of a pandemic.
An iron fist won’t work during times of crisis. Be understanding. Does it really matter if someone hops online 10 minutes late? Or if they log out at 4:30 instead of 5? Depending on your business, it might but if it doesn’t, let it go. Focus on employee output instead. If they aren’t hitting their goals, have a conversation about that, not about petty issues.
Create Opportunities for Socializing
Social interaction is a crucial part of being human. Without regular social contact, we can start to feel isolated, depressed, and anxious. As a remote manager, it’s up to you to keep team morale high. Try to organize remote opportunities for socializing. After all, your team won’t be able to have casual conversations in a remote environment—unless you facilitate them, that is.
Try social activities like:
- Celebrating personal and professional victories every morning in a video call.
- Honoring employees’ anniversaries and birthdays.
- Fun Friday events where you order GrubHub food delivery for the entire team to eat together on a video call.
- A “watercooler” video chat line. Set up a video chat that’s always available for employees to catch up.
These remote options can’t make up for real-world interaction, but when you prioritize team bonding, it can give much-needed relief to your employees.
Set Boundaries for your Team
When your team starts working remotely, it’s likely they’ll start working longer hours. After all, it’s so easy to answer emails when your work computer is right there. Why not get a head-start on tomorrow’s work?
Discourage your team from working long hours when it isn’t necessary. They’re already stressed about COVID-19; you don’t want to add to their worries. You set the tone as a leader. Use your authority to set clear guidelines and boundaries around remote work. That might mean:
- Prohibiting texts unless it’s urgent.
- Setting a clear cutoff time for phone calls. For example, prohibit non-emergency calls past 6 PM.
- Disabling email and chat notifications after-hours.
Help your team draw the line between home and work so they get much-needed time to relax and recharge.
You can’t be a passive manager when you have a remote team. Be proactive and do right by your team to get results. COVID-19 has led to some extraordinary circumstances but you can give your team a measure of comfort by leading them confidently through the next few months. Follow Paul’s 5 tips to keep your employees happy and productive, no matter where they’re working from.
