Running a business and managing a team that is sitting next to you or physically in the same building as you can be difficult. But what if part of your employees is working remotely. Or maybe the whole team?
While working from home can help to improve work-life balance, it also leads to loneliness and social isolation, which are harmful to both physical and mental health. To create a psychologically safe remote team as well as increase creativity, trust and productivity among your employees, try out these five tips.
Set Clear Expectations
When it comes to managing teams remotely, many employees feel more comfortable when they know what exactly you expect of them and when. For remote workers, this makes it much easier to know what is expected of them in their job, allows to plan work around day-to-day life or vice versa, and focus better on getting their tasks done.
Think about the goals of your team for the next week, the amount of work they need to do each week, and whom they can go to in case of possible issues. Make sure to outline your availability and their availability to know when they can reach you, and when do you expect your employees to be free for video chat, calls, etc.
Schedule Frequent One-On-One Meetings
With the chaos that the coronavirus pandemic has brought to the whole globe, nowadays most employees are struggling with different challenges and high levels of stress and anxiety. Although it is crucial to sustain a well-balanced diet, regular physical activity, practise relaxation techniques and take natural supplements like CBD oil to keep your stress at bay, face-to-face meetings or even quick check-ins once a week can provide that much-needed support to help your team accomplish their work goals. Try to discuss not only their performance or other work-related questions, but also how they are feeling.
Provide Regular Feedback
Whether it's a weekly one-on-one conversation, a feedback app, or a combination of both, make sure to customise your feedback process. Also, encourage all members of your team to provide feedback to each other and to you as their leader.
Include Your Team In Decision Making
No matter if you are changing a department's budget, introducing a new strategy or delegating tasks, make sure to include your team in the decision-making process. Consult with your workers, ask for their thoughts, opinion and feedback.
By bringing employees into the conversation with different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, you can not only build psychological safety but also develop creativity and take a fresh look at the challenge or problem.
Organise Happy Hours
Consider organising virtual happy hours to fill the void of casual interaction and boost motivation between the team members. Such activity is a great opportunity for your employees to chat with each other, talk about everything starting from their daily life and family to a new online workout. It can also be beneficial for everyone to have a catch-up and laugh with colleagues during these stressful and filled with uncertainty times.
It might be as easy as having a virtual lunch or virtual coffees on a specific day. Alternatively, can host different fun activities such as virtual marble and virtual pub quizzes, bingo or even a book club over Zoom. Choose an activity that your employees will enjoy and make them look forward to it every time.
