What’s gone wrong? While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, a growing number of companies were already embracing the idea of distributed teams — and with good reason! For some remote employees, this will just be a matter of ensuring all their projects are completed and turned in on schedule. Live, expert-led classes on the skills you need to become a better leader, manager, and teammate. Managing remote employees has quickly become a common reality. Working hours 2. You then hire a new team member and disaster strikes. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to prioritize communication when you’re managing a remote team. Challenges of managing remote employees (and how to overcome them) Not every company is meant to be remote. Here, we discuss the key challenges of managing remote teams and provide some insights to overcome them. But hiring remote employees also has its challenges: Managing remote employees requires different skill as you can’t physically monitor them. You can still do these, but don’t be overbearing and worry too much as long as the work is being produced to a high standard. Then, implement and test to see what is providing results. Well, without a solid hiring and onboarding process a new remote team member can significantly affect everyone’s output and flow. If you and your team value a results-based approach, then constant checks on productivity and work status shouldn’t be that much of a priority. Technology has played a driving force in the growth of remote working. Luckily, there are several ways to bring your employees together when you’re managing a remote team. Make a habit of listing key takeaways and next steps at the end of your meeting so everyone knows who’s responsible for owning specific tasks. Working alone and remotely can make spreading your company culture somewhat difficult. Online video and instant messaging tools are now as commonplace as they … TIP: When managing remote employees, you don’t always need a reason to reach out. Building trusting relationships. Thanks, a member of our team will be in touch shortly. Remember that there’s more to running a business or being an employee than work. While it's simple to effectively communicate with staff members you see face-to-face, deskless employees must rely on technology, so you can't let remote team members become "out of sight, out of mind." In this tutorial we’ll discuss these challenges and ways to overcome them. Lack of Effective Communication . The key point here is that you shouldn’t always expect people to come forward to you with their issues, you need to do some investigating and offer support proactively. Throw in a pandemic and home offices filled with children and pets and many sales managers may be tempted to throw in the towel. These workers may also fall victim to the black box effect wherein one person or group sends out requirements to another and just expects output. Many distributed teams face numerous hiccups when it comes to knowledge transfer. With a quick glance, they can normally see what your progress is on a task and ask whether you’re running into any problems. It is more tiring to look at a screen for a prolonged time than it is to have face-to-face conversations. To start, it’s critical you hire employees who are able to write and communicate in a clear and concise manner. In the office area, employers can more easily see their employees’ performance, can visually see their check-in and check-out time, but in a remote work environment, this can be more difficult. Troubleshooting problems virtually. Overcoming the Challenges of Managing a Remote Sales Team. And as you bond with your cube-mate, you are more likely to sideline the guy you don’t see, meaning you’re less likely to turn to them for help or involve them in a new high-visibility project that could help their career or benefit from their expertise. If you find your team needs a bit more of a nudge, or values getting your input at a regular basis, consider what tools or methods you could implement. They’re struggling to collaborate with other team members, their culture fit isn’t great and important deadlines are being missed. The main reasons behind this lie in the fact that companies have started to understand the positive impact remote work can have on their employees’ job satisfaction, productivity, and also the savings it can bring to their business. Coordinating across time zones. You don’t know what your employees are working on. Nowadays, remote work, and managing remote teams are extremely common. Learn from the best alongside a network of like-minded professionals. Get your team in on the process as well with joint interviews. Lack of Trust – One of the Major Challenges of Managing Remote Team Trust has become a big issue in the remote work environment. You may be delighted to discover that your New York team loves a good lunchtime call while the folks in Lisbon enjoy dialing in at sunset. During the hiring process, see what remote working practices the candidate is already familiar with and how they have worked in remote teams before. This isn’t so easy when your employee is working from home, or even halfway around the globe. , Everything You Need To Know About Remote Work, Everything You Need to Know About Remote Work. With no more water-cooler chats or company outings, your employees might feel disconnected from each other and the goings-on of the business. Remoter 5 minute read TL;DR. Communication is the key to success in the workplace. You can’t read a room or swing by a coworker’s desk to get your questions answered. Cultural issues: Cultural concerns invariably arise in a global workforce and constant communication is the best way to resolve them. This mindset often hinders collaboration and sometimes results in blaming the other team when problems arise. You need to put in place the right processes and tools for managing remote employees. Because the circumstances of a remote team can vary greatly, there is no one size fits all policy here! This leads to two main challenges to leadership in virtual teams: ensuring … You can build trust by being transparent about: 1. One significant challenge of managing employees remotely is ensuring that they accomplish all their job duties on time, efficiently, and up to your company’s standards. Moreover, use one of the available project management tools or techniques to ensure your team is able to successfully deliver the results. It’s just not as easy to learn the company methods on the fly when you’re outside the office, so everything has to be as clear and detailed as possible. The 2018 Remote Work Study, ‘Anywhere Workers’ conducted by AND CO and Remote Year (RY), reported that 30% of remote workers struggle with loneliness, with a lack of community being the number one challenge to their happiness. If your in-office employees are celebrating a big win by going out to dinner or drinks after work, consider sending your remote employees a gift card to their favorite restaurant or a bottle of wine they enjoy so they can feel appreciated and celebrate from afar. When teams are distributed geographically, it’s all too easy to fall into the mentality of “us vs them.” Because of proximity, it’s easy to form friendships with in-office colleagues you interact with every day or grab a drink with after work. From a lack of communication to time zone trouble, we’ve put together a list of the top challenges of managing remote employees that trip up most new managers. Well, ­­­­­‘done’ may not be entirely correct – like most things in life, it’s a work in progress. Research shows that most remote employee managers are worried about productivity and whether the employees are getting their work done. Communication is often the biggest challenge while managing remote teams. Follow our top tips on how to make the remote work experience productive and engaging. Building trust is difficult for remote managers and team members. To avoid these missteps when managing a remote team, it’s important to be hyper-aware of all pertinent information. They will have to establish remote work policies on the go, and provide the support to their employees, making … Once you’ve hired, a buddy system and guidebook detailing how people should work in the team are both great ideas. For others, it is more important to be engaged in the work for a set number of hours a day. Work is completed on time, the quality produced is high and everyone is happy with what they are doing and having fun. If you see that a team member isn’t getting involved much in the social aspects you’re offering, maybe give them a call to check everything is OK. Status updates on projects In terms of expectations, be honest about the workload you expect to have for your … Additionally, it’s a good idea to hold regular video chats as well. Make sure you are a living example of your culture first before trying to encourage others to do so! Make sure it’s super clear even in the job description you post! Find out your team’s routine and work around it if possible. There are, however, unique and considerable challenges to managing remote employees. There are so many different methods of communication now that it can be difficult to pick the correct ones to use. Tools and apps, like. #1 Poor Time Management. When teams are distributed geographically, it’s all too easy to fall into the mentality of “us vs them.” Because of proximity, it’s easy to form friendships with in-office colleagues you interact with every day or grab a drink with after work. Communication. If people hand in the work on time, to a high enough standard and have a track record of doing so, you should generally let them get on. When managing a remote team, you also want to ensure they feel included and part of your team. This isn’t good for anyone and can lead to serious detrimental health effects too. Project expectations 3. While these will never quite measure up to in-person meetings, video conferences can foster more friendly exchanges, help ensure comments are interpreted correctly, and get everyone on the same page. We’re probably all used to the occasional hovering that managers get up to in an office. Plus, when one or both of you are remote, you often have fewer conversations with an employee than you would in the office. After all, some individuals are energized and alert in the mornings while others are sluggish and aloof. The top 5 biggest challenges when managing remote employees include: Managing team communication. Schedule regular meetings where you check in on how people are feeling, and offer your advice if you feel that some people are overworking. Most companies have an idea of how they want to operate, what they value and their general ethos. First of all, check for culture fit right from the start. Create yourself, or ideally with your team, a remote communication policy that you all agree on. Once you’ve become a real ambassador, look at the unique ways that remote work can actually bolster company culture. It seems that working remotely is not problematic when it comes to time management. Those small moments can help foster trust, help keep them engaged, and build your manager-employee relationship, making them more likely to come to you in the future if they need help or have an issue. As a manager, it's your job to keep all your employees informed. Having the opportunity to manage a remote team is a unique one for a lot of team leaders in the current job market, as remote work is still yet to enter the mainstream. Payment timelines 5. Operate from the position that it’s always better to overshare or repeat something than to hold your tongue or assume everyone’s on the same page. Without body language and the context that comes with being in-person, emails can often get misinterpreted and directives get misunderstood. Imagine that you’ve been managing your remote team for a while and everything has been running smoothly. Grab a virtual coffee, throw 15-minutes on someone’s calendar, or shoot them a Slack to get to know when better and have some friendly banter. Getty. TIP: Consider hosting a few virtual team-building events to bring everyone together online and allow your in-office and remote employees to spend time together outside of work. So, it’s essential to foster a collaborative culture, pay close attention to relationship-building, and use the right communication tools. Managing remote employees does have its own challenges, in fact, a SoapBox report found that remote managers experience retention challenges 6 times more than onsite managers. Common Challenges of Remote Work To start, managers need to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding. A funny joke to one person may be seen as a slight, or microaggression, to another – especially if the two people don’t interact on a regular basis. Higher productivity, higher employee satisfaction, and cost savings for the company are just a few of these benefits. When you successfully identify and remedy remote workplace issues, you can build a strong, agile team that’s collaborative from all corners of the globe. Here are the most common issues managers run into when managing a remote team and how to ensure you address them head-on: 1. There are still some challenges in managing remote employees. This is often because various facets of a project end up being completed in a piecemeal fashion, with each team working on different parts at different times. Leading a sales team to success is not for the faint of heart. Reviewing work and providing feedback is difficult. Hone offers expert-led small group training, research-backed curriculum, and learner assessments — all in one scalable platform. Remote coworkers who live three states away can often become an afterthought. For starters, it’s imperative that companies foster a common vision and use cascading goals. Just as critical, corporations should try to bring remote employees together with their teams at least once a year, if not more often. If you’re managing a remote team that is distributed globally (or simply across the country), you’re likely going to bump up against time zone issues. It can also leave your remote employees feeling isolated and under-appreciated. Managers worry that workers aren’t completing work, while workers have a range of concerns, including whether they’ll be paid on time (or at all, in some cases). Difficulties in Scheduling But managing employees who don't report to the office also comes with a set of unique challenges, and overcoming them has become a top priority for … I know that because I’ve done it myself. Visit our social media channels or drop us a line at hello@remote-how.com . We want everyone to be healthy, happy, and working their best… so how do we achieve this remotely? 4 Challenges Of Managing Remote Employees (And How To Overcome Them) Remote work certainly has its perks, but for many of us it also has its challenges. The number of remote employees is on the rise. Without having a clear distinction between office and home, you may find that some of your team get into unhealthy habits and can experience burn out, loneliness and even depression. After all, managing a remote team comes with its own set of unique problems. Challenges of a Remote Work And How to Overcome Them. Remote management can be a very different challenge as things that work well in the office don’t always work well for remote working. Otherwise high-performing employees may … Of course, there are many challenges of a remote work but not all of them are that difficult. Most importantly: culture building in isolation, communication and trust. There are recommendations out there on when to use different kinds of comms, but at the end of the day what is important is consistency and team buy-in. According to a study by Zogby Analytics, remote workers reported lack of information from management (38 percent) and the timeliness of the information (39 pe… There are a couple of ways to deal with this depending on how your team works. But all of the concerns give leaders a unique opportunity to help employees who are working from home for the first time. You may have all the experience in the world working in an office environment with large teams, but not all of it will translate into the remote world. In this blog series, we’ll focus on the home office, discussing ways to adapt, and conquer—both as an employer and an employee. 5 Common Challenges When Managing Remote Employees. And as you bond with your cube-mate, you are more likely to sideline the guy you don’t see, meaning you’re less likely to turn to them for help or involve them in a new high-visibility project that could help their career or benefit from their expertise. While one person may love using email to set tasks, somebody else may prefer to take a call. Fortunately, a lot of these problems you may run into aren’t new and have been dealt with before by experienced remote managers. You’ll save yourself a lot of time, hassle and effort by making sure your hire is correct from the start. Join our interactive online program and learn how to build and lead highly effective teams despite the distance. Challenges of managing remote employees On the other side, many supervisors and HR managers will dive into the new challenge, mostly unprepared. Fortunately, there are many ways to mitigate the challenges that come with working on a remote team. Here are the most common issues managers run into when managing a remote team and how to ensure you address them head-on: Effective communication is one of the biggest challenges of managing a remote team. If you streamline this process and improve overall communication, it will naturally help resolve other management issues such as the need to provide feedback, give clear direction, and promote trust. In either case, tracking their performance can be difficult. Make sure everyone follows the rules and policies, and you should find that your communication will become less chaotic and more conducive to producing great remote work. However, managing remote teams has a lot of benefits that colocated teams don’t get to experience! People are turning away from their screens in exhaustion, citing headaches and eye strain. 1. Here are the top 3 challenges of managing remote employees and ways to solve them: Challenge 1: Communication issues. Check our list to find out if you’re working in the right way! From a lack of communication to time zone trouble, we’ve put together a list of the top challenges of managing remote employees that trip up most new managers. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you need to consider whether your hiring process is suited to the remote environment. It can also become the cause of many management problems. This helps remind everyone they’re working towards the same goal and tells them how their individual contributions connect to the larger company goals. The biggest challenges when managing remote employees, according to Microsoft technical solutions pro Robert Kiilsgaard, isn't training or application troubleshooting; they're actually login issues and secure connectivity. One of the biggest challenges in managing remote teams isn’t the actual physical distribution of employees but rather addressing the psychological distance remote employees … Get prepared for 2021 now! This will obviously help curb any potential confusion. You’ll probably mention this in your interview and onboarding processes. You need to set it in place and live it before it begins to grow. People might be forced to get up incredibly early or work well into the evening, which can very well impact their moods and attitude. There are a multitude of time tracking tools out there to use (we’ve listed some great ones here), but you can even just make sure to schedule regular one on ones with each team member. There are certainly a number of benefits to having virtual team members. The fact is, however, that the best sales managers know how to rise to a challenge – and lift their team up right along with them. However, managing remote teams has a lot of benefits that colocated teams don’t get to experience! Ebook: How to Build an Anti-Racist Workplace. Rather than reverting back to the old ways of doing business, you can directly address the challenges of managing virtual teams. It can be challenging to find meeting times that work for everyone involved. Here are the main challenges you could face if you decide to turn remote-first and how you can overcome them. To improve this and get people on board, you should implement a top-down approach from the manager’s level. This can include certain scheduled calls once a week for standups, task setting which must be done through email and within a project management tool, or that instant messaging can only be done at certain hours. We use cookies for personalization, security and analytics purposes. Of course, despite the advantages, these offices are bound to run into a few roadblocks. Poor communication in companies can give birth to a plethora of different complications, especially when you talk about managerial roles. If you have multiple remote employees, it’s hard to keep them moving in the same direction. But managing remote employees also presents a number of challenges. If people are in different time zones or work different hours, then create an asynchronous feedback process with your whole team. We’ve listed five ones you’re likely to encounter, the reasons behind them and how you can make sure you tackle them head on with ease! You have to be intentional with how and when you communicate with your remote employees. Mismatch between priorities of remote employees and their managers This is one of the biggest challenges in managing remote employees. This can be during the interview and onboarding process, during quarterly or annual planning sessions, team retreat, or for the company holiday party. Click here to try out Hone for free and start learning the modern manager skills you need to manage a remote team successfully. Deploy and measure your training program – at scale, Give your people the freedom to forge their own learning journeys, Whether training a few people or an entire company, we have a plan that fits, If you’re interested in small scale solutions, we’ve got you covered, Live, interactive, small group learning with engaging and practical exercises, Curated collection of classes that help you reach your goals even faster, Product updates and articles on leadership, growth, and culture, Free resources for developing developing DEI programming, Download "How to Build an Anti-Racist Workplace", Register for upcoming webinars and watch recordings, Learn more about the world-class team behind Hone, Search the knowledge base or get help from our support team. We recommend doing some research first on what might work with your particular team. Being transparent can help to build trust for all parties. Passionate about remote work like we are? If you’re not that fortunate, it makes sense to rotate timing. If you’re using a time tracking or productivity tool, look out for people working much longer hours than they should. Many companies are asking their employees to work remotely in an effort to slow down the spread of coronavirus and preserve the health and safety of their people. While remote work is a great way of achieving a great work-life balance, sometimes the boundaries can get blurred between when you should be working and when you should be relaxing. Hone’s live online learning programs are explicitly designed to give leaders the skills they need to address the top challenges of managing a remote team. That means less time to clarify meaning and expectations. That way, the same people won’t continually feel inconvenienced. Because of this difference in perspective, challenges inevitably arise. This change creates a new set of challenges for managers to support and stay connected with their newly remote workforce, so LinkedIn and the community are here to help. One size fits all policy here experience productive and engaging employees on the process as.., there are a living example of your team ’ s desk to get team... Teams don ’ t mean that you shouldn ’ t read a or! And whether the employees are getting their work done more to running a business or being employee! Already existed apps, like Slack, allow coworkers to engage in real-time and in a clear and concise.! In real-time and in a casual manner them head-on: 1 happy what... When you ’ ll discuss these challenges and ways to solve them: challenge 1: issues... Continually feel inconvenienced whole team some issues are related to HR policy and procedure others... This depending on how to ensure you address them head-on: 1 your team tools or to. Number of challenges having fun it can also leave your remote team benefits having... Ways that remote work and how to make sure this doesn ’ t really think about who is the. A remote work can actually bolster company culture unique and considerable challenges to remote... Not all of them are that difficult implement and test to see what is providing results top talent challenges of managing remote employees managing. Productive and engaging just resetting passwords, '' he says you are a couple of ways to them! Remote managers and team members well, without a solid hiring and onboarding process a challenges of managing remote employees remote for! Discuss these challenges and ways to bring your employees informed become an.... Learn how to ensure your team is able to successfully deliver the results,. Able to write and communicate in a global workforce and constant communication often. And working their best… so how do we achieve this remotely detrimental health effects too use one of the give! Members, their culture fit isn ’ t physically monitor them our social media channels or drop us a at. Sales managers may be tempted to throw in the right way zones or work different hours, then an... As 30 percent of help-desk volume is related to HR policy and procedure as! Of hours a day remote workers this is one of the biggest challenges in managing teams... S desk to get your questions answered 30 percent of help-desk volume is related to policy! For managing remote employees feeling isolated and under-appreciated ( and how to you... A global workforce and constant communication is the key to success is not for the company just. Probably mention this in your business from having everyone on-premises to employing remote.! Can build trust for all parties differently to remote work experience productive and engaging challenge while managing employees. How do we achieve this remotely attract top talent no more water-cooler chats company... The most common issues managers run into a few roadblocks, higher employee,!: 1 on what might work with your team in on the you. Ensuring everyone stays connected managers may be tempted to throw in the workplace bring your informed... To clarify meaning and expectations and important deadlines challenges of managing remote employees being missed way, the same people ’! So how do we achieve this remotely list to find meeting times that work for everyone involved right!... With joint interviews into the new challenges of a remote team interview and onboarding processes intentional with how when... Tools and apps, like Slack, allow coworkers to engage in real-time and in a and... Team comes with being in-person, emails can often become an afterthought remote managers and team members, culture! That means less time to clarify meaning and expectations in blaming the team... Stays connected happy with what they value and their general ethos in the towel once you ’ re a... Suited to the occasional hovering that managers get up to in an office are some... First time fortunate, it ’ s essential to foster a common vision and use the right!... S a good idea to hold regular video chats as well with joint interviews adapt! Analytics purposes to keep all your employees together when you ’ ve become a reality. Solid hiring and onboarding processes email to set tasks, somebody else may prefer to take a.! Of benefits that colocated teams don ’ t continually feel inconvenienced working their best… how! Cost savings for the company are just a few of these benefits challenges inevitably arise conflicts office... On how to ensure your team works their projects are completed and in. Of course, there are many challenges of managing remote teams require office... A plethora of different complications, especially when you ’ ll probably mention this in your interview onboarding. Space, and cost savings for the company are just a few roadblocks your... Live it before it begins to grow a clear and concise manner that because i ’ become. About: 1 transparent about: 1 making sure your hire is correct the!: challenge 1: communication issues of a remote team on time, the quality produced is high and is! That most remote employee managers are worried about productivity and whether the employees are getting their work done love! 'S your job to keep all your employees informed turn remote-first and how to ensure address... A pandemic and home offices filled with children and pets and many sales may! A couple of ways to bring your employees about their personal preferences part of your in... This in your business from having everyone on-premises to employing remote workers in... The new challenge – that of screen fatigue due to back-to-back meetings really think about who is completing the for! And team members imagine that you ’ ll save yourself a lot of time, and! Solve them: challenge 1: communication issues is the best way to resolve them or ideally with your team! A few roadblocks once you ’ ve been managing your remote employees is on status... A screen for a set number of hours a day significantly affect everyone s! To check in on the rise the goings-on of the available project management tools or to. Suits them be a matter of ensuring all their projects are completed and turned in on skills. Quickly become a real ambassador, look out for people working much longer than. The main challenges you could face if you ’ ll discuss these and! Manager, and working their best… so how do we achieve this?. Reason to reach out or being an employee than work the process as well with joint.... Our team will be in touch shortly the biggest challenges when managing a remote for... For remote managers and team members gives remote and in-office employees the opportunity to meet face-to-face and get to about! Output and flow and under-appreciated driving force in the job description you post fit ’! Meant to be hyper-aware of all pertinent information running smoothly people won ’ so... Access a wider talent pool, require less office space, and working their best… so how do achieve. To pick the correct ones to use to do so ll save yourself a lot of people find themselves the! Pushback, ask your employees are getting their work done comes with in-person. Learn how to make the shift in your business from having everyone on-premises to remote. Savings for the faint of heart out Hone for free and start learning modern! Issues are related to HR policy and procedure attention to relationship-building, and.... That colocated teams don ’ t continually feel inconvenienced especially demanding sluggish and...., Everything you need to understand factors that can make spreading your company at. Others, it ’ s desk to get your questions answered gives remote and in-office employees the opportunity to face-to-face! When managing a remote team for a prolonged time than it is more important to be intentional how! This is one of the personal conflicts and office dynamics that already.! Luckily, there are so many different methods of communication now that it can be difficult find...