Top 5 Mistakes made by Remote Managers :
Remote Team Management is different than managing a global team. It is a challenge for managers to regulate a remote team from afar. A remote team is a geographically dispersed team while working for the same company. The management of an efficient remote team demands strong leadership and adequate management. If you want to build productive remote teams, you must manage them effectively. The following are some common mistakes made by managers while leading their remote teams:
1. Communication
Every employee expects recognition from his employer in the form of feedback, praise, or criticism. Regular performance reviews are an excellent way to encourage the employees and to help them to make improvements. The arrangement of video conferences and feedback emails can produce incredible results. The employees must not feel disconnected from the company or the employer. To change this, regular team interactions must be arranged with the team members. The manager can organize a once in a quarter meet with employees to reduce frustration and dissatisfaction among the team.
Communication between the manager and the team members is vital. The availability of the manager and a quick response helps to optimize the efficiency of the team. Excellent communication helps to minimize the friction between the managers and the remote team.
2. Ineffective leadership
A good leader keeps his team directional towards the goals of the company. Moreover, the manager can lead the team in the right direction by setting clear expectations. It is essential to give the necessary guidance and set clear expectations for your team. There must be transparency between the team and the manager about the expectations which are to be met by the employees.
3. Lack of contribution of the team members
Conducting meetings in person are different from conducting virtual meetings. The interaction might not be comfortable for the team members. It might be distressing for the team members to interrupt the speaker in the middle of a virtual meeting. Due to that, as a manager, you’ll lose out on their contribution of ideas and input.
4. Social disconnect
While working in a remote team, the employees are not connected in-person to each other or the manager. Your team needs to socialize and interact with each other. As a result of the encouragement of social interaction among the team improves collaboration. You can arrange some of the virtual happy hours on your birthdays and celebrate milestones. Therefore, the manager can schedule online games and events monthly to maintain a bond among the team members.
5. Appointment
As a manager, you should have patience while hiring an employee for your team. For example, many times every employee is capable of a remote position. While working from home, one must be self-disciplined enough to work without social interactions. However, employees have a massive need for social interaction and a traditional office environment. You must seek to appoint employees with past remote experience. Even if you’ve been in business for a long time, there is always room for improvement for building remote teams.
