Managers are responsible for a team and a series of activities to be carried out within a company. Within the office, it's easier to observe employees who produce more, those who collaborate with colleagues, those who stand out. However, when a manager finds themselves responsible for managing a team remotely, insecurity sets in: will the employees deliver tasks and act responsibly, far from the eyes of their bosses? Many companies believe so and adopt the practice of remote management. So that managers can administer their team's projects without constantly monitoring their employees, we've put together some tips:
- Define clear goals
Establish with your team clear, measurable, individual goals with deadlines. This gives the employee a roadmap of priorities to follow and also allows the manager to more easily see the individual's productivity. - Hold in-person meetings periodically
To maintain team spirit and evaluate remote results, it is advisable for the manager to hold in-person meetings periodically. These gatherings reduce the manager's anxiety and also the social isolation that employees working from home experience. It's worthwhile to have one longer meeting per week. On other days, communication can be via email or Skype. - Ensure quality in your work.
At the time of goal setting, also make it clear what is expected from each action and the deadlines. This way, the employee will have a minimum quality standard for the delivery of their activities. - Make a habit of planning
Many leaders, when faced with emergencies or difficulties, turn to their team to solve the issue, as it's more convenient and faster. However, when the team is working remotely, the manager doesn't have this convenience and therefore needs to plan to avoid unforeseen events as much as possible. - Act more like a consultant than a boss.
Developing mentoring skills, feedback, charging in a more constructive and non-destructive way, can be differentiating factors when it comes to the manager leading the team outside the office. Many professionals are productive at unconventional times, such as at night or early in the morning. According to Guilherme Barbassa, director of Stratec, the most important thing is to focus on the team's results and not on the amount of effort made. “If the manager has a tendency to control effort, how much people are working, he will experience a stage of great anxiety, because it's impossible to know how much each person is working. The notion of controlling work cannot exist, the focus has to be on the results achieved,” he warns. According to the director, you need to be very clear about what to expect from each team, with clear indicators and targets and projects with defined deliverables and deadlines. “This way you can monitor the results of each team and build an efficient team, even if you're at a distance,” he says. - Utilize ferramentas de controle e planejamento
Having a tool that systematizes the team's action plan and goal achievement is essential for anyone intending to manage a team remotely. The ideal is to have a system that organizes information about what needs to be done, when, and how. “The Strategic Management software is an efficient tool for enabling this monitoring of results, project delivery, and goal achievement. As it is web-based, it can be accessed from anywhere,” says Barbassa. According to the director, GE is a tool that provides transparency to action control and can materialize a results-oriented management model.
See also: The advantages and disadvantages of the Home Office
