The UK Government are once again advising businesses to work from home where possible to help reduce the spread of Covid19. Read Top Tips for Managing Your Teams Remotely.
Some businesses have already made a fantastic transition to the ‘working from home’ model & have really reaped the rewards which include happier staff & less overheads.
However not every business has been able to make such a smooth transition so far with some companies preferring to work from the office.
We’ve put together a list of 8 top tips to help your business make working from home, work better for both your business & your employees.
1. Use video calls & group chats to catch up with your teams
At QContact we particularly like Microsoft Teams. It allows us to have a daily catch up with each department & we find video to be more personal as you can see whose smiling & who might need some extra TLC. It’s also a great tool to share idea’s & best practice within your business as you can upload files & easily share these with your colleagues.
2. Fill in & share your diary
By keeping your diary up to date, it lets people know when you are unavailable & when you are around for support. Therefore, you won’t be interrupted during busy periods, but your employees can add a catch up during free periods for anything urgent or maybe some words of encouragement.
3. Set clear expectations & goals for your employees
Make sure they have a clear understanding of what the day or the week ahead looks like & what the expected outcome should be. Have measures in place & give regular updates or feedback. This can be done via a virtual weekly or bi-weekly 1-2-1 session.
4. Support & coaching
Your employees need to know they are supported. It’s been a very turbulent 6 months since this pandemic took hold & people deal with things very differently. Be understanding & supportive. Coaching your employees is a good way of keeping in regular contact with them, it feels less formal & gives you an opportunity to discuss anything that may be worrying them inside or outside of work.
5. Set the tone for your employees
Are you happy for them to work in casual clothes? If so, as their leader, dress in casual clothes on meetings. This will help people feel more relaxed & at ease on video calls.
6. Don’t make it all about work
It’s easy to get caught up in work, work, work & whilst it is work, don’t forget to make it light-hearted or fun at times. Just like in the office, those chats at the printer or at the coffee machine can turn someone’s day around. Check in on people frequently to ask them how they are & let them know you care.
7. Have a virtual buddy
Pair up your more experienced employees to support your newer employees for general help & advice with systems, processes or day to day tasks that they may be finding difficult. Buddy systems work great inside the office & work just as well virtually.
8. Schedule time for some remote team bonding
This could be a weekly quiz or a fun game, virtual bingo is always a winner. Recognise your employee of the week over a virtual team cuppa. It’s easy to feel isolated when working from so anything thing that brings people together is great idea!
If you want Cloudbased CRM solution to manage your team remotely talk to us.
