10 Ways to Manage Your Remote Team Successfully
By now, you know what running an online business involves, but if you’ve only had experience working for yourself and by yourself, your company’s growth could pose multiple challenges. You may not need (or even want) to establish an official office. Instead, you’re happy to hire remote workers from across the globe to fill positions and ensure things run smoothly.
But if you’ve never managed a team–let alone a remote team–there may be some challenges.
Running a remote team comes with its own set of challenges, like dealing with communication hurdles, keeping the team vibe alive, and keeping an eye on everyone’s productivity. When you’re not all in the same place, making sure communication is crystal clear becomes super important. Building team spirit and making remote workers feel like they’re part of the gang can be a bit trickier without those face-to-face moments.
Plus, keeping tabs on a remote team and checking how they’re doing really calls for some solid monitoring tools and straightforward performance measures. Handling these hurdles means coming up with smart plans and using tech that you can count on to make sure remote teams are managed well.
How To Manage A Remote Team
If you’re struggling with remote team management, here is some crucial advice to help you and your team thrive.
Set Expectations For Your Remote Team
Expectations are essential whether you run a small business with an office or have adopted remote working policies. These expectations should give your employees all the information they need to excel in their roles and help your company.
It should also help you avoid common problems, such as understaffing issues and loss of productivity. You can refer your remote team to these expectations to ensure they know what you need from them and keep their motivation and efficiency levels as high as possible.
Give your Remote Team The Right Tools
Every manager should give their employees all the tools they need to succeed. Otherwise, they will feel stuck and lost, which could cause delays or severe problems for your business and its clients.
Although you’re not all in the office together, you can still communicate using the best technology. Chat programs like Slack are ideal for communicating, whereas Trello or Monday are excellent workflow systems. You can also promote Google Docs (or develop your word processor) where employees can view real-time updates for projects and content.
Check-In Regularly With Your Remote Team
Remote working can get lonely which can impact mental well-being and affect your team’s productivity. Furthermore, it’s easy to feel lost working remotely because your team can’t just drop by your office to express their feelings or concerns.
Checking in regularly can avoid these issues. Try to speak to everyone every day so they know you’re there for them. You don’t need to go into huge detail, but reminding them that you’re there for them or available to bounce ideas off will go a long way toward boosting their confidence and keeping them sane.
Consider Time Zone Differences
Remote working often means you’re operating in various time zones. This is an accepted part of the culture, but it can still make things tricky, especially as it means some projects can take longer than they should.
Remote managers should be respectful of time zones. While it can take some getting used to, it is possible to work efficiently across different time zones so your company excels. Since it is a common issue, you should remind your remote team and clients that things could take slightly longer than anticipated so there are no surprises during your process.
Let Your Remote Team Be Flexible
Respecting time zones also means you should allow your team to be flexible. One benefit of remote working is that your team isn’t stuck in the traditional 9-5. Instead, they can work whenever they can or feel most productive.
This will vary between your team. Some might work better at night or have other jobs that demand their attention. As long as you remember this, you can let them be as flexible as they need as long as they finish their work.

Create Step-By-Step Guides
Just because people work remotely doesn’t mean they don’t need training. You should put together a range of step-by-step guides, training resources, and your remote work policy to ensure everyone knows what to do and how to access documents and other requirements.
These files can make a huge difference to your remote work success. You may not be able to answer their questions immediately, so they can refer to detailed guides and resources to help them overcome any issues.
Try Team Building
Team building is a crucial exercise for any business. However, working remotely means people lose the everyday benefits of working in an office together. If you want to ensure your company thrives, setting up team-building activities can help your team bond.
Weekly pub quizzes or simple chats where you get to know each other can introduce everyone to each other and generate a better team bond. It won’t be the same as an in-person office, but it’s still helpful to put faces to names and increase accountability.
Provide Remote Working Resources
Many people have experienced remote working, especially a few years ago. Still, some might not have been of working age during the pandemic or they worked in a job that required in-person attendance. If this relates to any of your employees, direct them to remote working blogs to help them learn the ins and outs of remote working. It can teach them skills and hacks to make the most of their experience and ensure they never fall into the trap of thinking they can just do something later.
Embrace Automation
Every business has tedious but essential responsibilities. They might not take long to do, but they can still eat into the day and disrupt productivity. You will want to avoid this, so embracing automation with software like IFTTT is a good place to start.
The increase in AI also means you don’t need to transcribe meetings manually. Instead, use AI to automatically create these transcripts and captions to make it easier for your customers and employees to view information.
Plan For Problems
Working remotely means there is always the chance of problems happening. From blackouts to technical difficulties, you should plan for possible problems.
Most of the time, these issues won’t be too disruptive and solve themselves quickly. However, there is always the risk that something lasts longer. Have backup plans in place and know what to say to your clients to keep them happy, and you can manage problems successfully.
Remote Success
Remote success isn’t a distant dream. It is possible to run a business from anywhere and still experience success.
Your remote team is a vital component of this success, so remember these tips to help you establish a squad that will help your company reach the next level and go even further.
