How to engage your team working from home

The outbreak of COVID19 in the world has forced all the companies in the world to shut down their offices and instead function through remote work. Employees have been strictly asked not to step out and instead work from home due to health concerns. These turn of events are unexpected and companies are finding themselves in a bind on how to successfully deal with it. We understand their turmoil. Remote work is most certainly not a new concept but it is not a common practice either. But the world is now forced to implement this measure and we can see how it may be trying for a manager who is used to supervise and manage their team physically and not virtually. A few simple steps can help you face this new challenge and let you effectively manage your team.

Frequent video calls

In a time when you are no longer physically present to monitor and guide your employees, ensure that you make up for it with video calls and conferences. Routinely communicate with your team via video calls to instill some of the normalcy of regular office. It allows you to check up on your employees’ work and keeps them on track as well. You can also use this occasion to ensure the personal wellbeing of your employees as well. Working from home can take a toll on your mind and it is good if your employee gets to interact with you about something other than work. Surely they will appreciate your concern!
Keep in mind these employees are not used to working from home so they may not be best prepared for it. There might be some interruptions over such calls and it will be polite on your part to take them in stride. Maybe even laugh it off. Support your employees.

Communicate well

It is essential that each and every interaction you have with every member of your team is explicit. Your employees will no longer have the comfort of having a quick talk with you whenever they have a problem. Such situations can be avoided altogether with clear communication. Lay down clear expectations that you have from your employee. Be extremely thorough. Do not hold back on any details. Repeat yourself if you need to in case there are any doubts in the mind of your employees. Be sure to have these instructions sent to them in a written format too, may be as a message or an email, because sometimes the information can get lost on calls. Your employees will be more willing to work if they have clear instructions to guide them. They’d be grateful for it when they won’t have to keep shooting you emails seeking clarifications.

Meeting protocols

A meeting held in an office workplace allows all the individuals to read the room. They get to see each other and react accordingly. There is much more flexibility and involvement. But a meeting on a video call may not go as smoothly. But you cannot get rid of these team meetings. In fact, they are needed now more than ever. So lay down some ground rules so as not to make it chaotic. Nobody likes getting cutoff mid-sentence. Ensure everyone gets a turn to talk and no one is being overlooked or talked over. Add some non-work related talks in such meetings, at the beginning or after work talks conclude. It builds up morale and helps your employee relax. It’s a simple step to run a smooth meeting with the whole team and have your whole team get together virtually.

Clear boundaries

As a manager it is your responsibility to set work boundaries. When your team is working at home out of sight it’s only logical to communicate with them through calls and messages. Therefore it is not inconceivable that the working hours gets blurred together with their personal time. At the office your employees leave for home after working hours effectively ending the work for the day. You must maintain the same when your employees are working from home. Do not contact them after hours if it isn’t extremely urgent. Let them enjoy their family time. Those hours are much needed by everyone to rejuvenate before starting with another day of work.

Employee appreciation

These are certainly unprecedented times. There is an atmosphere of apprehension and fear all around the world. It is only natural for your employees to be effected by it too. Appreciate their commitment to show up for work daily by showing some gratitude. Let them know that their efforts at such dire times are noticed. It is not easy to focus on work when their near and dear ones may be at risk, so thank them for it and they will feel valued.
Furthermore, give them room to work on their own terms if it can be afforded. As long as the work is being done in a timely manner and there are no client meetings being missed, let your employees enjoy more flexible working hours.

Remember if managing a team from home is new for you so is working from home for a lot of employees. Give them time to adjust. They need your patience and consideration more than ever.