Do you want to manage your remote team effectively? Here are some tips and tools to manage a remote team effectively during this COVID-19 pandemic.

With the COVID-19 pandemic more and more businesses are switching to the Remote model of work. Medics advocate social isolation and quarantine because it prevents the spread of the virus.

Companies that have never previously used remote teams continue to make faults in successfully handling their remote teams. On the other hand, not much has changed in the routine of freelancers and companies that used remote work from the start.

Services for software development, web design, and IT services have traditionally been called remote-friendly. A change from the office job to remote work, however, also involves tension.

How do you set up effective Management of your remote team? We suggest you learn from other people’s mistakes. Most of the tech firms at one point or the other made remote team management mistakes.

Here are four of the most common remote team management errors you make may address in weeks time:

1. Give up Time Tracking

This sounds counter-productive but so many companies found it useless to track time. For some kind of tracking software, most companies that shift to remote team management fall. The trackers go as far as making screenshots of the computer screen, or recording mouse movement.

Thing is, the more advanced a controlling system is, the more incentive to hack it and work around it. Excessive control is always stressful and combined with the stress of switching to remote work, this builds up discontent in your team. Ultimately, productivity suffers.

Instead: switch to outcome-oriented work. Measure your team’s work in tasks and not in hours. If you bill your customers by the hour then you need to take advantage of the self-reported time or average time required to complete similar tasks.

2. Set up clear communication rules & do not demand anything over them

Tracking is frustrating with the staff you need to be on the same page. Practice shows you need strict rules of communication that work with everyone on your team, with no exceptions.

The rules can apply to a medium of communication and response times. For instance, set rules that employees need to respond to Skype / Zoom calls or call back within 20 minutes of a missed call to warn their supervisors if they leave the computer due to a family emergency.

The moral here is to play by your own rules. If you set up a rule that your employees need to respond to telegram messages within 30 minutes, do not call their phone for 15 minutes after a message has been sent.

3. Be Understanding

If you are shifting to a remote work model because of the worldwide pandemic, you need to understand that this change is stressful for both the team and the management. In fact, no one at your company initially subscribed to remote work, and not everyone may love it.

Working at home often presents challenges, especially with concentration. At first, your team will need to learn proper time management – most will be slightly disoriented.

Same goes for the managers – they will need to get used to the fact that not everyone replies immediately,

Pandemic times are hard on every family, and employers need to be understanding. A workday at home is often accompanied by chores, children, and other distractions, and the lack of understanding from the manager contributes to more stress and even less productivity.

Read 5 TOOLS TO COORDINATE THE REMOTE TEAM

4. Use The Right Tools

The switch to remote work is your opportunity to upgrade your Project Management toolset. It takes time to re-evaluate the project management program but it’s still worth it. Ensure you are testing the market and seeking one that fits your needs.

Even if you spent weeks relocating the remote engineering team to the latest one tool – it’ll pay off with faster, more efficient processes managing Time.

Its tools must be intuitive, scalable, and not overwhelming Terms and Conditions.

Also, make sure different teams use the tools that fit their levels – while developers may stay with Jira, marketers, and copywriters are all set with Trello & Asana and the management may need TeamGantt or GanttPro.

You can use Restyaboard, one of the best tools to effectively manage your remote team. You can easily plan, collaborate, organize, and successfully deliver projects of all sizes on time using this tool.