I get it. You have your neuroses like everyone else. You wonder if work is being done and if it\u2019s being done well. Yes, if you were doing it, you’d do it in another way.<\/p>\n
I mean, you trust your team, sure! But you, you have the benefit of experience.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing: there\u2019s only one of you. One of the reasons you have a team is because you can\u2019t be everywhere, all the time, doing everything. And you earn experience every day you\u2019re on the job, so that excuse doesn\u2019t cut it. You\u2019ll always be the most experienced person in the company.<\/p>\n
![\"best](\"https:\/\/futuramo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/pexels-photo-872957-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why you should offer feedback and coaching at opportune times. Not nag people to death over the smallest details, several times a day. That will make them focus on updating their CV rather than following your advice.<\/p>\n
Mistake #2 – you proudly wear a \u201c4-hour work week\u201d t-shirt and let your team fend for themselves<\/strong><\/h2>\nJesus! You went all out after reading the previous section, didn\u2019t you? Drop that mojito for a second and offer your team some of the following:<\/p>\n
\n- Goals & direction:<\/strong> on a weekly basis, make it clear what you expect the team to achieve, and what is each team member\u2019s role in the plan.<\/li>\n
- Accountability:<\/strong> have everyone place and update tasks on a hassle-free project management system<\/a>.\u00a0 This shouldn\u2019t take more than ten to fifteen minutes of their day.<\/li>\n
- Daily meetup:<\/strong> Set a daily call when everyone\u2019s schedules intersect, for a 15-minute video hangout. Here, everyone states what they achieved since the last meeting, and what they expect to accomplish before the next.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"communication](\"https:\/\/futuramo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/pexels-photo-711009-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Mistake #3: you act as if they are internet robots<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt\u2019s easy to get into the groove of thinking about your team as if it was a work-producing internet machine. Especially if they deliver on-time and per spec. It\u2019s a challenge to maintain the human connection when you don\u2019t bump into people daily.<\/p>\n
At best, this lack of interaction deprives you of your remote team\u2019s full potential. People may do good work, but they will not contribute to their ideas, or take the initiative as often. At worst, you will be looking at a decline in productivity, as people burn out. Remote workers aren\u2019t always introverts. Even those who are, enjoy the occasional bit of human interaction.<\/p>\n
Daily meetings as described above help stave off isolation somewhat. But always take the chance to have a one-on-one call with your employee whenever you can.<\/p>\n
![\"business](\"https:\/\/futuramo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/pexels-photo-860227.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Talk to them about what\u2019s up. Start with praise. Genuine praise, for something they did or, are doing well. Note their contributions. If possible and appropriate, transition into some personal talk. Get to know them.<\/p>\n
One-on-one video meetings are also a great place to offer feedback – and get feedback too, for that matter!<\/p>\n
Mistake #4 – you rely on a single point of communication<\/strong><\/h2>\nI love email. I do! It\u2019s super non-intrusive, I can get to it at my own pace, and it\u2019s easy to search from anywhere. The problem? In our hyper-connected age, it can feel a bit like snail-mail. And once you go over three participants in a conversation, the thread gets cluttered.<\/p>\n
Even in the digital age, communication channels break down all the time. People forget (or don\u2019t want) to record video conference meetings. Emails get buried under other emails. You misremember the exact terms of the conversation in Slack, so it\u2019s hard to find it.<\/p>\n
![\"communication](\"https:\/\/futuramo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/pexels-photo-935949-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Any communication of importance, then, should happen twice – on the main channel, and on a \u201cbackup\u201d channel. In DistantJob\u2019s case, we recap our daily meetings on the appropriate Slack channel. We translate tasks and decisions from our weekly retrospectives into Trello cards. Our team forward significant communications to several people who can act on them. We build redundancy into our systems on purpose. You should, too.<\/p>\n
Mistake #5 – you hire as you do for a local team<\/strong><\/h2>\nA good local employee may not translate into a great remote employee, and vice-versa. Sure, technical skills should always be sought after. But remote work asks for a wholly different slew of self-management capabilities.<\/p>\n
Let’s say you avoid all the pitfalls above and act as a stellar remote leader. Your employees still need an above-average capacity to self-motivate and self-manage. The focus is a must – as much as office distractions abound, working from home comes with its own set of challenges.<\/p>\n
![\"hire](\"https:\/\/futuramo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/pexels-photo-296886.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
There are several good ways to identify excellent remote workers. The interview process is critical. The basic process is to ask them to describe the average work day. Look for people who follow a structured schedule, and set up blocks of time when they sit down and work. Some good things to look for:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mistake #3: you act as if they are internet robots<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt\u2019s easy to get into the groove of thinking about your team as if it was a work-producing internet machine. Especially if they deliver on-time and per spec. It\u2019s a challenge to maintain the human connection when you don\u2019t bump into people daily.<\/p>\n
At best, this lack of interaction deprives you of your remote team\u2019s full potential. People may do good work, but they will not contribute to their ideas, or take the initiative as often. At worst, you will be looking at a decline in productivity, as people burn out. Remote workers aren\u2019t always introverts. Even those who are, enjoy the occasional bit of human interaction.<\/p>\n
Daily meetings as described above help stave off isolation somewhat. But always take the chance to have a one-on-one call with your employee whenever you can.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Talk to them about what\u2019s up. Start with praise. Genuine praise, for something they did or, are doing well. Note their contributions. If possible and appropriate, transition into some personal talk. Get to know them.<\/p>\n
One-on-one video meetings are also a great place to offer feedback – and get feedback too, for that matter!<\/p>\n
Mistake #4 – you rely on a single point of communication<\/strong><\/h2>\nI love email. I do! It\u2019s super non-intrusive, I can get to it at my own pace, and it\u2019s easy to search from anywhere. The problem? In our hyper-connected age, it can feel a bit like snail-mail. And once you go over three participants in a conversation, the thread gets cluttered.<\/p>\n
Even in the digital age, communication channels break down all the time. People forget (or don\u2019t want) to record video conference meetings. Emails get buried under other emails. You misremember the exact terms of the conversation in Slack, so it\u2019s hard to find it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Any communication of importance, then, should happen twice – on the main channel, and on a \u201cbackup\u201d channel. In DistantJob\u2019s case, we recap our daily meetings on the appropriate Slack channel. We translate tasks and decisions from our weekly retrospectives into Trello cards. Our team forward significant communications to several people who can act on them. We build redundancy into our systems on purpose. You should, too.<\/p>\n
Mistake #5 – you hire as you do for a local team<\/strong><\/h2>\nA good local employee may not translate into a great remote employee, and vice-versa. Sure, technical skills should always be sought after. But remote work asks for a wholly different slew of self-management capabilities.<\/p>\n
Let’s say you avoid all the pitfalls above and act as a stellar remote leader. Your employees still need an above-average capacity to self-motivate and self-manage. The focus is a must – as much as office distractions abound, working from home comes with its own set of challenges.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are several good ways to identify excellent remote workers. The interview process is critical. The basic process is to ask them to describe the average work day. Look for people who follow a structured schedule, and set up blocks of time when they sit down and work. Some good things to look for:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI love email. I do! It\u2019s super non-intrusive, I can get to it at my own pace, and it\u2019s easy to search from anywhere. The problem? In our hyper-connected age, it can feel a bit like snail-mail. And once you go over three participants in a conversation, the thread gets cluttered.<\/p>\n
Even in the digital age, communication channels break down all the time. People forget (or don\u2019t want) to record video conference meetings. Emails get buried under other emails. You misremember the exact terms of the conversation in Slack, so it\u2019s hard to find it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Any communication of importance, then, should happen twice – on the main channel, and on a \u201cbackup\u201d channel. In DistantJob\u2019s case, we recap our daily meetings on the appropriate Slack channel. We translate tasks and decisions from our weekly retrospectives into Trello cards. Our team forward significant communications to several people who can act on them. We build redundancy into our systems on purpose. You should, too.<\/p>\n
Mistake #5 – you hire as you do for a local team<\/strong><\/h2>\nA good local employee may not translate into a great remote employee, and vice-versa. Sure, technical skills should always be sought after. But remote work asks for a wholly different slew of self-management capabilities.<\/p>\n
Let’s say you avoid all the pitfalls above and act as a stellar remote leader. Your employees still need an above-average capacity to self-motivate and self-manage. The focus is a must – as much as office distractions abound, working from home comes with its own set of challenges.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are several good ways to identify excellent remote workers. The interview process is critical. The basic process is to ask them to describe the average work day. Look for people who follow a structured schedule, and set up blocks of time when they sit down and work. Some good things to look for:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n