Keeping your remote team productive
Whether you’re already managing a remote or hybrid team, or your company is considering remote work options, check out these methods to make sure output stays high.
Explore LinkedIn’s remote work resource hub.
Planning for success
A successful transition to remote work requires some forethought. Map out exactly how your team can work together effectively from anywhere.
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Align on company and team goals.
In the office, employees are surrounded by daily reminders about team and company goals. With remote work, it’s doubly important to have regular, candid discussions about connecting to the company mission and team goals.
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Communicate individual roles and objectives.
In addition to understanding the team’s overarching goals, each team member should grasp their individual role in the company’s success. Review their core objectives and establish clear milestones you’d like them to reach.
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Evaluate your existing infrastructure.
Your team may already use cloud-based tools to accomplish projects, but think about which tasks still rely on in-person interactions and whether they can be digitized to suit remote work.
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Gather feedback about your current processes.
Gaps or weak points in your team’s workflow could be exacerbated by going remote. Work with your team to identify areas for improvement, brainstorm potential solutions, and document your new processes.
Tools for putting remote infrastructure in place
Cloud solutions like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive allow your remote team to easily share and save files.
of employees cite the ability to work more efficiently and productively as a primary benefit of working remotely.
Learn about more tools for keeping your virtual team productive. Download the guide.
Focusing on communication
When your team is dispersed, effective communication becomes more critical than ever. Technology can help you stay connected, but you’ll also need to adjust the ways you share information to avoid inefficiencies and blind spots.
Choose the right communication tools for your team.
There are many digital communication tools out there, but you don’t need all of them. Choose the most intuitive, scalable options to reduce the likelihood you’ll have to switch later.
Place an emphasis on transparency.
Working well as a remote team requires greater transparency. Emphasize the importance of providing regular updates to keep everyone in the loop. This also holds people accountable for their work.
Find efficient ways to distribute key information.
Think about the fastest way to communicate teamwide information at scale. Keep in mind that important updates can quickly become buried in a chat channel, while teammates can always refer back to an email.
Hold more-productive virtual meetings.
Share an agenda in advance and establish some ground rules, such as “no multitasking.” As your team grows more accustomed to remote work, some meetings could become emails instead.
Focus on strong rapport between managers and employees.
When physically distant, it’s especially important for managers to maintain tight communication loops with team members. Remote employees who receive regular feedback from their manager are 3x more likely to be engaged.
Be mindful of work/life balance and mental health.
Don’t let the crucial importance of mental wellness go unspoken. Encourage people to speak up when they’re experiencing issues and provide access to mental health resources. For all its advantages, remote work can be lonely, isolating and disruptive, especially for those new to it.
“In hybrid or remote work environments, active listening and empathy play a vital role in building meaningful connections and understanding colleagues' perspectives. When working remotely, we lose the advantage of being able to perceive most body language, since we're mostly only seeing our team members' faces. It's harder to see their posture and other nonverbal cues that will tell us more about how they actually feel or what they're thinking.” - Heather Younger in Communicating with Clarity as a Manager
Tools for streamlining remote communication
Instant messaging platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat make it easy to stay connected when your team is apart.
of employees are satisfied with the tools and processes used to help their remote team communicate.
Tips for more engaging virtual meetings
• Set clear objectives: Share a concrete agenda and desired outcome.
• Keep meetings short: Participants can struggle to maintain focus and energy for more than 30-45 minutes.
• Make it interactive: Bring everyone into the discussion so they feel involved.
• Use visual aids: Liven up the remote call with graphics, charts or slides.
Read this guide for tips on how to recruit and thrive in a remote working environment.
Tracking and measuring remote team productivity
Keeping track of your team’s productivity is part of being a good manager — especially when transitioning to a new way of working. But micromanaging can make everyone less productive, including you.
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Provide space for uninterrupted work.
While it’s important to touch base with your remote team regularly, you also need to give them space to work without distraction. Encourage them to turn off notifications if they need to, but discuss the best way to contact them if it’s urgent.
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Track outcomes rather than individual actions.
Micromanaging displays a lack of trust and wastes your time. As long as your team completes their projects on schedule, tracking their day-to-day tasks is less important.
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Adopt tools that provide high-level visibility.
To ensure projects remain on track without micromanaging, consider adopting a project management tool. You won’t have to look over your teammates’ shoulders, but you’ll still be able to spot delays or problems.
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Prioritize in-depth check-ins over regular meetings.
If your teammate’s days are filled with meetings and calls, they’ll have less time for focused, productive work. Instead, schedule weekly or biweekly check-ins to review their projects and their progress.
Tools for keeping your remote team on target
Project management tools like monday.com, Basecamp, and Trello provide a transparent view into the status of active projects.
On average, remote employees waste 1.19 fewer hours per week on interruptions compared to in-office teams.
Check out 50 Productivity Hacks Essential for Hiring for even more tips, tools, and templates.
“How can a team have a solid basis for performance if the requirements of that performance haven't been defined? This is important for any team, but I think it's even more critical for remote groups. Since the individuals on the team may not interact with each other as frequently as a co-located team, there's a lot more opportunity for them to head off in different directions, unless there's a solid understanding upfront.” - Phil Gold in Managing Virtual Teams
Best practices for remote team management
1. Be clear on expectations.
Clearly define goals, roles, and deadlines. Ensure everyone knows what’s expected of them.
2. Maintain regular communication with team members.
Hold regularly scheduled team meetings and one-on-ones to keep everyone aligned and address any issues.
3. Use the right tools for communication and collaboration.
Project management tools, chat apps, CRMs, and document-sharing platforms all play a role in streamlining workflows and communication, while keeping remote team members connected.
4. Encourage work/life balance.
Encourage regular breaks and respect after-hours boundaries to prevent burnout. When possible, provide flexible hours so remote employees can plan work around life, rather than the other way around.
5. Offer support and resources.
Ensure team members have the necessary tools, software, and resources to work effectively from home. Consider routinely surveying or auditing technology to ensure team members have what they need, and use what they have.
6. Foster a transparent company culture.
Prevent team members from feeling out of the loop by cultivating open communication and transparency. Keep everyone informed about company updates, project statuses, and changes.
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