The severe impact caused by COVID-19 has suddenly changed the way we spend time in our daily lives. The way we all work is used to changing rapidly from day to day. Many companies employ social distancing measures to keep their employees safe and work from home if their jobs allow. The COVID-19 pandemic means that more employees than ever before are working remotely, which is “making great efforts to reduce human congestion and ensure teams that are on site can do their jobs safely and with peace of mind”, said Tim Cook. , CEO of Apple Inc.
As business leaders are accustomed to an office culture where they can demonstrate skilled leadership and inspire their employees with motivational feedback, they must change the way they lead & manage. However, they still have some concerns:
- Is there any way to make sure the project moves forward?
- How do you know if employees are fulfilling their responsibilities?
- How do you get 2-way communication that suits your team members?
Remote work has been popular with software companies that have a mobile workforce. But at these crucial moments of the COVID-19 outbreak, even if you are in a manufacturing or retail company, considering running a business remotely is the best way to keep your operations moving forward until further notice.
So, how can business managers & owners handle it?
Here are our 7 tips that we recommend business managers & owners to work remotely, all tested and proven on our own operations & employees in Port Cities.
Manage tasks in an all-in-one project management platform
A powerful project management platform allows employees, especially those on a team, to collaborate when working on specific projects.
There are many tools companies use today to manage their projects, such as Asana, Trello, Jira or Monday.com. However, most companies in the service industry usually work on multiple management tools to assign & handle tasks from multiple clients, which makes it more difficult to track & follow progress.
If your team is still working in the office, you can have a live discussion of how the project is going and get an immediate response. But when everyone stays at home in their free zone, managers need to have flexible ways to check & manage the tasks assigned to their employees, in a simple way whether everyone is on track with their responsibilities.
Good preparation for company online meetings
Meetings are one of the most important activities in companies and organizations to review performance or announce the latest company news. Business leaders, in companies where face-to-face meetings are a tough culture, find it difficult to implement online meetings. They are accustomed to joining the meetings held in conference rooms fully equipped. In this situation, however, you should consider scaling the total number and length of meetings, as well as building knowledge to organize fast, effective & targeted meetings.
Have a clear & easy to understand online training program
If your employees stay on the job, you need to make sure that the implementation of their training & development plans doesn’t stop either. Many managers see this as an obstacle, but in reality, training your people online brings several benefits to your company. You can use the training materials for orientation & future newcomer training. If important people leave the company their knowledge will be saved & will not go with them.
If your employees stay on the job, you need to make sure that the implementation of their training & development plans doesn’t stop either. Many managers see this as an obstacle, but in reality, training your people online brings several benefits to your company. You can use the training materials for orientation & future newcomer training. If important people leave the company their knowledge will be saved & will not go with them.
Flexible time management, stay focused on results
Managers or business leaders who have a micromanaging style may perceive the current situation as an obstacle to managing their team. Working from home from 9-to-5 pm like in the office cannot be strictly guarded – the way you manage your team has to be adjusted accordingly.
Employers must understand the fundamental changes in employees’ lives and realize that they must radically change their job expectations until this crisis is over. An employee with young children who is staying at home due to school closings is trying to look after their children while focusing on their work, so strict office hours don’t apply in most cases in this online age.
One solution for managers to get better time management is to stay focused on results.
You must set clear KPIs for the entire team, as well as for individuals, and track progress. One piece of advice from the Port Cities team is to let your subordinates send you a brief daily summary of what they accomplished, what are the plans for the next day, and whether they need help.
Maintain clear communication when you are not together
Every team relies on meaningful interactions as it helps strengthen relationships, build trust, supports satisfaction in the company & most importantly, helps your team get their job done.
Flexible internal communication
The hardest part for managers & employers in remote work is the balance between none & overcommunication. Don’t make the work day go through without having to say with your team. But try not to spend too much of your team’s time on emails, phone calls or messages, which can be seen as micromanaging. Each manager has their own characteristics, so you can flexibly determine their strengths and weaknesses in communicating and choose the best type of communication.
Organize documents well & use file sharing
Quick access to documents online is even more important these days, because people can’t just check hard copies at the office. When it comes to documents stored online, some companies are aware of confidentiality. However, if you manage sharing settings accordingly & you use a reliable and secure platform, documents stored online are safer than hard copy in the office. To make sure your team can access these files quickly without waiting for your reply.
Do exciting virtual team building for your team
Team building is an essential part of any organization to keep your company culture alive and connect your team. But the hardest part of this activity is the distance when people can’t meet in person. You really want to introduce newcomers to your team, as well as to strengthen the bonds between your team members.