Remote working refers to a work environment where employees are allowed to undertake their tasks from any place, as long as it is within the confines of company policy.
However, remote working comes with its own set of challenges, which have to be addressed by managers so that remote workers can perform their duties well. Challenges of remote working during COVID-19 are even more.
Table of Contents
Remote working challenges for managers
1. Communication
Managers can only understand their employees’ issues by talking face-to-face. This is not possible in remote working conditions, which could lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication.
Managers in a remote working environment must use appropriate communication channels, like teleconferencing tools, instant messaging systems, etc.
Remedy:
A manager must understand the best way to communicate with his remote employees, whether through video conferencing or phone conversations.
He should also ensure that all his employees know this plan before they start working remotely.
2. Team building/socializing
With proper team building and socializing, work will be more efficient and will be stressful for the employees. This helps improve morale and customer engagement, directly impacting revenue generation. It is also beneficial for the employees, as it reduces the chances of them feeling lonely and isolated from their co-workers.
Remedy:
Monthly/quarterly team-building events are an excellent way to create team spirit among employees. This also allows managers to motivate their employees, which helps improve productivity and overall work satisfaction.
3. Lack of supervision
In a remote working environment, managers have fewer daily opportunities to monitor their employees’ progress.
In addition, they would be unable to effectively track an employee’s problems, as communication within the team would be less frequent. Supervision is also an excellent way to get feedback from employees.
Remedy:
To overcome this, managers must regularly communicate with their remote employees via phone or video conferencing. This will help monitor their progress daily and allow them to supervise their work in real time.
4. Managing conflict
Managers would be unable to resolve conflict in a remote working environment, as they would not be aware of the situation.
This could result in lost business opportunities and customer dissatisfaction. Managers must ensure no room for conflict among their team members and should instead focus on resolving any such issues before they escalate.
Sometimes, conflicts in the team are intentional, and one or two employees try to sabotage others. This can be dealt with by monitoring the behavior of each employee and coming up with rigorous performance metrics for measuring each individual’s contribution to their business.
Remedy:
Managers should conduct performance reviews regularly and note any noticeable changes in an individual’s attitude toward their work.
By doing so, they can identify which employee is creating strife within the team and take appropriate action against them before things get out of hand.
5. Motivation
Managers have the responsibility of motivating their employees in remote working situations.
This is not easy, as providing a motivating work environment would be more challenging when employees are in a different location than managers.
Motivation is critical to an employee’s performance, and ensuring that employees are motivated is essential.
This can be achieved by implementing innovative ways of motivating the employees, such as team-building events and regularly providing formal feedback.
Remedy:
Managers should build remote working teams with high-performing individuals with excellent leadership skills who can motivate and manage themselves and others.
They should also implement reward and recognition schemes for employees to incentivize them and show that their work is valued.
6. Handling crisis
In remote work, the manager cannot control the team members as they are not part of his physical location. This can cause problems in instances where there is a crisis. For example, if the team’s office catches fire or is robbed, there would be no way to communicate with them efficiently.
Remedy:
Managers should hire employees who are very responsive in communication and have excellent leadership skills. This will equip them with the skills to handle an emergency in their absence.
They should also ensure that their phone numbers are saved on their team members’ phones so they can always contact them.
Establishing a process or Standard operating procedure for a crisis will help employees react appropriately in an emergency.
7. Individuality
Managers have to manage remote working teams with employees in various geographical areas. It would, therefore, be difficult for managers to understand each individual’s work style and preferences, which is essential for managing them efficiently.
Remedy:
Managers should hire employees who have worked in remote teams so that they are aware of the daily challenges they face.
They can also conduct regular meetings to discuss their productivity and performance metrics, allowing them to learn more about themselves.
8. Performance Management for remote workers
We need to understand that employees are employed to ensure that the business operations run smoothly and companies can reap the profits that they have forecasted. A company can only operate if it is profitable.
Profitability comes from having a high-performing employee staff. Managers should ensure they can derive the performance from the employees even though they are working from home. Otherwise, productivity will suffer, and the company will make losses.
Remedy :
It sends KPIs for your employees at the beginning of the year. This should be tracked monthly to ensure the employees deliver on the Key performance Parameters set in the front. A reward can also be attached for those employees who perform exceptionally well compared to others. This will motivate others to achieve better next time.
Conclusion
The remote working environment poses challenges for managers that must be addressed regularly. Managers must ensure open communication between employees and themselves through technology tools such as instant messaging apps and video conferencing to succeed. They should also familiarize their employees with the working environment and set ground rules for a healthy relationship.
