Remote management: 5 tips to keep a motivated team

Managing remotely is not the norm for many companies and many leaders are wondering how to keep their teams engaged and motivated at a distance. We’ve created five recommendations you can put in place within your team to get the most out of remote management.

1- Implementation

Setting up a new way of working can take time, but when working remotely, you need to be quick to adapt. It’s essential that your team understands from the start what their objectives and missions are during these unprecedented times – Is it business as usual? Do you need to adapt your business model to suit the evolving situation? Regardless of what the changes may be, objectives should be clear and understood by everyone in the team.

This is an opportunity for you to really put those soft skills to work and help your team develop theirs too. This will boost productivity as well as organisation and help you manage the various projects remotely.

Make sure that a schedule is established so that everyone can refer to it and manage their projects correctly.

2- Trust and autonomy are the key

It is almost inconceivable to manage a remote team without trust. Some people have to juggle meetings and children, and many responsibilities overlap. It's essential to give your team members more autonomy, while they’re not physically with you, so that they can find a routine that suits them. The more you distrust or try to micromanage your employees, the less they’ll be motivated to work for you and confidence in the team lowers.

3- Team spirit

Managing remotely also means your team will be also be interacting remotely. So, team spirit and a sense of closeness are essential to achieve common objectives and maintain the well-being of employees. Try to recreate the atmosphere of the office, whether it be coffee breaks, lunch breaks or phoning up colleagues for a quick chat.

Where possible, opt for visual solutions. Plan in a time where everyone can meet to chat over a coffee without talking about work using video conferencing. Or schedule a weekly meeting, where you can discuss progress and challenges in relation to projects.

While team communication is vital, the communication you have with team members 1-1 is just as important. Everyone needs to feel that you are personally involved, giving of your time and invested in their progress and wellbeing.

4- Use shared tools to facilitate collaboration

Collaborating means being able to work together on projects using whatever shared tool you use. There are so many ways you can do this virtually via tools like Microsoft Teams, Jira, Trello , Zoho Project , Monday. You can also facilitate communication thanks to instant chat functions such as Slack, Teams or Whatsapp.

Make the distance only physical, and encourage a team working spirit.

5- Recognition for a job well done

Remember that recognition is a key factor in the motivation and commitment of a team. Whether by creating an incentive, a collective challenge, or another action, make sure to congratulate and recognise the  hard work of your employees.

Managing remotely is a difficult exercise, but we hope that with these few tips you will be more confident and make the most of an unusual situation. For any other advice from our expert consultants, do not hesitate to contact us!