It isn’t just any hype, though. It actually has a lot of benefits and you get more options on who to hire apart from the people who are within the area.
But just like any kind of work setup, it may have some struggles if you don’t make plans or a blueprint on how to make it work. To avoid struggles, you need to know what conflicts you may face. From there, you can come up with possible solutions.
Let’s get down to business and discuss the possible setbacks of managing employees who are working from home and what can solve these problems.

REMOTE WORKERS AND THE STRUGGLES MANAGING THEM

Tracking work and productivity
One simple solution to track your employee’s productivity is by having them log their daily tasks and how much time they spent on each item. In this scenario, there really needs to be trust between the employee and the employer; logged tasks need to be accurate and the employer needs to trust that the employee is doing what they say they are doing.
But, if you want a more accurate way to track their work, you can use special programs that employees utilize to record their total hours of work within any given day. Some programs even have the ability to screenshot the computer screen of the employee at random times so you can see that the employee truly is working.

Communication
Communication between remote workers isn’t as easy as just standing up and going to someone’s desk to talk about each other’s task. To make things easier, programs like Slack or Google Chat should be installed on computer systems universally so that it is easier to interact between employees whose cubicles aren’t right next to each other..
Email is also another option, but a mode that most people prefer for lengthier communication or one to communicate more formal items.

Scheduling Difficulties
To make scheduling easier, it’s best to schedule meetings sooner than later, so that all parties involved can make sure to be available. Again, communication is key here. You really want to touch base with your employees the soonest you need to meet about critical matters so that everyone can get on the same page in a timely manner.

Building Trust
Not being able to trust your employees is a big problem. One of the tools to help build trust is using the task tracker and observing their work methodologies especially if they just started working for your company.
If there is something you want them to change, tell them in a professional manner and chances are, they’ll be more productive because of it, and you’ll be trusting them more with their day-to-day tasks.

Company Culture
In light of these factors, having open communication with everyone should be instilled especially with people who directly manage someone. Having this kind of communication can make your employees feel comfortable in speaking their minds so you’ll better understand each other.
You might also want to send out company merchandise to your employees who work remotely, so they’ll have physical items to remind them that their company cares and remembers them. Try having group calls to discuss fun activities that everyone would agree to do and schedule retreats if possible.

WORKING FROM HOME STRUGGLES
You’ll be able to understand them more and help them with their struggles if you know more about it so let’s discuss some problems of a remote employee.
Distractions
If you have pets, they may also seek your attention and you’ll probably end up giving into their cute faces. Yeah, you know you will.
Working from home really works best if you can devote a certain area or room where you can work peacefully. Let your household know that when you are working, they are not to distract you so that you can focus on your work and be the most efficient.
Unreliable Internet Connection
If they have a slow internet connection, their work productivity can also be affected because one of the most important things when it comes to remote working is that quick connection.
To lessen and help with this issue, most companies provide or shoulder the cost of the internet connection so they can get a better plan with faster connection.
Unable to Rest / Overworking
But, if you work from home, after logging out from work, you’re still in the same place, and you may have this feeling of not getting completely out of work mode because your mind and body still feels like you are still working. There’s sometimes a commingling of sorts and the inability to differentiate between work time and home time.
Because of this, you may tend to overwork yourself especially if you have nowhere else to go. This is something that you may experience especially when you are just new with the remote work setup.
Although, having a separate workspace or room might help in this dilemma because once you are done, you can leave your “work” in the designated room and relax your body and mind again. This will require self-discipline to allow yourself to adjust with the setup. Always remember that resting is important to be energized again for the next work day.
Isolation
The feeling of isolation could also lead to being unproductive and could mess with one’s mental health as well. To avoid this, make sure you have ways of communication within the group. As the manager of the employee, it would be ideal for you to check up on them regularly for them to just feel more comfortable.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF A REMOTE TEAM
How to amp up your team’s work productivity? Allow us to share some tips to answer your questions and try it to see if these could be effective for your employees.
Foster the Relationship between You and Team
Respect the time zones
Centralized Storage for Files
Set Specific Goals
Have a Knowledge Bank Available for Everyone
Communication should be there, Always!

FOCUS ON ROWE (RESULTS-ONLY WORKING ENVIRONMENT)
With this work setup, your team is able to work anywhere they want and anytime they want, with the condition that they finish their projects and tasks within the agreed deadline.
ROWE setup is proven to raise a team’s productivity due to the reason that they have the freedom to work on their own time and could attend personal appointments or even do household chores when they need to.
To be able to handle this setup, you should have trusted employees who have the necessary skill set, and could do their job independently. They need to be responsible enough to balance their time to meet deadlines. But even if they are independently working on their tasks, they should still be practicing teamwork because their tasks are part of the big project the whole team is working on.
Communication is also important with ROWE because the team may not be in the same place at the same time to discuss or ask about things they are unsure of. Setting up a weekly meeting is ideal to know the progress of the project and lend help for those who need it.
In setting deadlines, make sure it is reasonable based on the tasks you give them and should be measurable too. Give specific job descriptions to each team member so everyone is clear with what is expected from them and what they can expect from you as well.
Have them submit weekly or daily updates, whichever is preferable, so you can monitor their progress. Through this, you can also see and ask if they need some help in finishing the tasks assigned to them. Remember that accountability promotes productivity.
BOOST MORALE!
Remember that we mentioned earlier about being unable to unplug from work and the feeling of loneliness are some struggles your remote employee could face? Well, to help with those struggles, schedule some activities that everyone will enjoy and could boost their morale.
You can do some team building activities to know random facts about one another. Or maybe do some fact quizzes that consist of questions about random facts from random categories.
Word games or Pictionary could also be played through video conferences or other applications. Physical prizes can be sent out to the winners or they could earn a helpful work privilege they can enjoy within a limited time period.
A movie night could also be done by streaming the agreed movie in a movie sharing app and having an open chat or video conference so everyone could still interact while watching the movie.
CONCLUSION
Keeping open communication is also a valuable aspect that a remote team should have to be able to build trust and camaraderie that could boost everyone’s productivity. Asking how your employees are doing is another must! You need to show them that you care about them and you are there if they need you.
Using new managerial strategies like ROWE could also help in boosting productivity when you have the right people to try it with. Don’t forget about fun activities your team can do virtually to lessen the work pressure and build a great teamwork.

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