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How to Properly Manage a Remote Workforce

September 10th, 2020 by Brian Wakefield

A person using a laptop while holding a pen in between his fingers

Many businesses find themselves in rather strange circumstances due to the pandemic. As the switch to working remotely has many wondering if they should keep working from home, either fully or having some of their workers remain remote. A lot of companies, however, are still hesitant to retain any semblance of remote work. As they found managing a remote workforce to be difficult. That's where today's article comes into play, as we are going to go over what has worked for us when it comes to managing remote workers.

We at BTS have found that managing a remote workforce isn't too dissimilar to managing workers in an office environment, as they both require active management. Sure, the ability to walk to an employee's desk and check on them can make management simple, but the convenience of modern technology allows you to do the same for someone miles away. You have to put out the effort to use the right tools to ensure your remote team is not only working, but working efficiently.

Here are some things you can do to better manage your remote workers:

  • Setup Clear KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) for your employees. So they know what's expected from them.
  • Provide proper feedback on their work. Show them how they could be improving or congratulate them achieving their goals.
  • Make an effort to stay connected. Use video conferencing for meetings to stay in touch and to check in like you might have done at the office.

Another key part of ensuring you are managing your workers is to keep tabs on how they are working. While it's not recommended to go all big brother on your workers (as trust is a hard thing to rebuild when broken), it is important to know how much work is being done and what that means. Let's say your employee "John" did only 4-hours of his 8-hour workday while working from his home office. Is he being lazy and watching Netflix when he should be working? Was there a lack of work for him to do that day? Could he be efficient enough to turn 8 hours of work into 4? If you can't decipher the way your employees are making their hours or how they are working, your remote workforce is doomed to fail.

There are really two things that are needed for a remote workforce to succeed. One, you have to actively manage your employees by giving them goals and feedback. Two, your business needs to have the right technology in place to make managing them possible despite the potential distance. While this can be challenging to accomplish, BTS is here to help. Contact us for a free consultation on technology or how your business can better manage its remote workforce.

Posted in: Hybrid / Remote Workforce


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