6 Tips for Managing Your Remote Employees

Remote workers and virtual employees can boost your productivity, allow you to save money and even ensure you get the talent you want regardless of where they live, but you need to make sure your remote team is truly up for the job. From choosing the right team members in the first place to diligently communicating and even boosting your network security, you can form a successful team of remote workers to support your business and help you reach your goals.

1. Choose the right team members for remote work: Who is most likely to perform well when they are not being directly supervised? Choosing the right team members in the first place can ensure you get diligent, capable self-starters in your remote positions. Job-fit assessments are a great way for your HR team to ensure the team members they’re considering for remote work have what it takes to perform well in this role.
2. Use a variety of communication styles: Email just isn’t enough to convey everything you need to and to build a solid connection with your remote team. Incorporate collaborative tools (we use Slack), integrate with video and ensure that your remote workers are fully onboard with the rest of your team.
3. Include remote workers in meetings, conversations, and activities: When your remote team feels like a part of your organization, they’ll perform better and be more easily able to integrate. Create a virtual watercooler, include them in special events and ensure that you are communicating with these workers with the same frequency as your on-site team for best results.
4. Set clear goals and expectations: If you are moving someone from an onsite job to a remote on, their responsibilities won’t change much, just the geography. If you are creating a new role or onboarding someone new, you need to clearly define what role they will play, their goals and what your expectations are. You’ll be able to measure results and they’ll know exactly what to do.
5. Provide the right equipment: Provide or at least approve the equipment and Internet connection used by your remote staff. If you provide this, you can be sure they have the best possible tools for the job and that they can easily integrate with your network. A robust Internet connection, good quality computer, and video conferencing abilities are a must for anyone working remotely.
6. Consider your network security: Employees working remotely will need to access your network; make sure your IT team is on board and that the remote workers understand the need for security protocol, device protection and strong passwords to protect your network and data.

Ready to go remote but not sure which employees are up to the challenge? Our pre-employment assessments can help! We can make sure your team is a good match for the role you have in mind and help set you up for remote employee success.