How to lead a remote team?
Although managing a remote team was already an strategy employed by large companies such as Google, the pandemic confinements cemented it’s roll in the workplace.
Before Covid-19, less than 3% of the world’s population1 worked in a home office model. But according to data from ILO2, during the pandemic, the figure jumped to 20%-30%.
Correspondingly, 34% of employees1 worked remotely in pre-pandemic Mexico. During and after confinements, Forbes states the figure rose to 68%.
The main challenges of working from home
Apollo Technical’s report found that 62% of workers1 aged 22 to 62 prefer remote or hybrid work instead of in-office. But to fully adopt this mode of work (like PayPal, Amazon, Spotify, Intel, or Pinterest), companies must consider several factors:
Communication mistakes
Face-to-face communication is not error-free, but similar problems arise in virtual settings. This reinforces the misconception that remote work does not work.
Unclear commitment parameters
What company managers often perceive as a lack of commitment is usually a symptom of employee distrust, non-assertive communication, and vertical hierarchies. An excellent approach to promoting commitment is to focus on motivation and loyalty.
Poor technological tools
Even when you can find technological solutions for each particular operational need in the market, it only sometimes solves an organization’s day-to-day problems. This means that for successful adoption and profitable investment, proper systems must be chosen for each task, and employees should be trained accordingly on the tools to be used.
The need to rethink leadership
It is possible that an in-office leadership style may not provide the same results in a digital environment. Because of this, it is crucial to have flexibility in leadership so managers can implement different strategies when new needs arise.
Leadership relevance and useful tools for successful integration
To face the challenges discussed above, leadership must ponder the following aspects:
Trust
The first step is communicating the company’s mission, vision, and values to employees and following through with recruitment processes to identify personnel who share this ideology. Then, it is imperative to foster a collaborative environment to have brief virtual meetings with a defined goal and planning.
Transparency and communication
It is worth noting that progress towards a remote scheme usually calls for higher emphasis on communication. Over-communication happens when all channels are used to transmit group and member expectations. This can be a good thing as it bolsters work team cohesion and prevents losing sight of goals.
Empathy
Knowing how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is fundamental. Especially if we consider that, for example, there will be employees needing help adapting to new technologies and team members working remotely and in parallel fulfilling their role as parents or caregivers of other dependents.
Being results-oriented
In a remote works setting, it is pointless and exhausting to control every minute of an employee’s workday. Instead, establish goals, deadlines, and trust in the team’s ability to self-manage based on previous agreements.
This does not mean giving up control. Instead, it is better to schedule regular revisions to track how projects are progressing. That way, teams gain consistency without putting pressure on their members.
At Advance Real Estate, we support managers with industrial facilities that ease remote teams’ transition to in-office or hybrid work. Visit us and find the ideal solution for your company.
Information source:
- https://coderslink.com/talento/blog/home-office-en-mexico-2022/#:~:text=El%20panorama%20del%20home%20office,cifra%20se%20increment%C3%B3%20al%2068%25.
- www.ilo.org/global/…/index.htm
- www.linkedin.com/pulse/claves-para-liderar-y-gestionar-equipos-de-trabajo-gonz%C3%A1lez-molina
- www.apollotechnical.com
