Hiring people from different parts of the world serves a great purpose in keeping your expenses at a minimum. However, all great things must come at a price. In this case, the price may be your sanity! Remote team management is not an easy task and as an entrepreneur with already so much on your plate, managing your team should be the least of your troubles.

Here are some of the most common issues faced by businesses with remote employees. In this article, we will provide you some tips on how you can effectively diminish these ongoing problems and develop a more sustainable process for the long term.

Problem # 1: Time Zone Difference

When you have an employee from the other side of the world, communication will be tougher. You may not get immediate response for when you have to clarify something. Computing the hours, your project’s progress will be slower than when you are working with an in house team. But, with all the amazing benefits of having a virtual team,  a little adjustment combined with the right tools, this would all be worth it. So how do you take action when faced with this issue?

Solution:

Make use of collaboration apps for easier communication

Apps like Viber and Slack provide you easier communication through your phone. If you think sending requests or sending revisions through email is enough, think again. Yes, it is true that these mailbox apps are now accessible through mobiles as well but it does get lost in tons of other emails you employees are receiving. And besides, who checks their emails while they are on vacation or their days off? Clinging on to messenger apps like these keeps your urgent messages short and easy to digest for your remote team to check up on even if they are not on duty that day.

Get everyone together regularly

When you have a major project coming up, it is important that you keep updates from everyone involved in the project. This will also help to keep everyone on the same page. Team collaboration through video calling apps like Skype or GoToMeeting will help the team get a grasp of what the client wants to achieve instead of everyone going on their own separate ways of executing the project. This could save you a lot of time and leave a small room for errors.

Problem # 2: Difficulty in tracking performance

Remote team management is very different from in-house project management, as you well know. If you are working alongside your team, it is just easy to go across the hall and check up on their progress. Big thanks to cloud software and the project management systems, everyone now can better keep track of everything if they do things digitally. The key is finding the right tool that suits your team.

Solutions:

Install a Project Management Tool

Project management tools are not only efficient for remote teams. Truth be told, even in-house teams could get a hand in installing these apps on their computers. Options like Asana and Trello lets you create a project timeline for all your upcoming projects, assign tasks to specific employees, and set deadlines for each one.

Set goals and expectations during the start of projects

Just like when you are onboarding a new employee, you need to set objectives for your employees. Set up a one-on-one meeting with your team or freelancer for them to know what you expect by the end of their project. This will help them create their own system of how to get things done. Do not forget to list these items down as you need to revisit these regularly to keep track of the progress.

Problem # 3: Resolving team conflict

This is probably one of the most underrated problems being faced by businesses with remote working culture. This could be twice as hard because of the lack of intimacy and conflict may arise because of cultural differences and whatnot. However, these things should not hinder your business from flourishing. Keeping your employees valued is as important as keeping your business afloat.

Solutions:

Set up a meeting

Let everyone know that you are not trivializing this problem. You could set up a meeting to discuss the matters at hand. Setting an agenda also helps in keeping you on track during the meeting. Of course, when you set up a meeting, make sure you should be able to create a solution at the end where everyone agrees with. To resolve this, you must have everyone on board and give considerations for the employees involved in the issue.

Don’t forget to revisit the issue and check for improvements

If you want to keep your employees, it is important that you make them feel heard. This will foster loyalty. Give your solution a couple of days or weeks to play out and revisit the issue. Check if there are still similar problems arising. If yes, then it’s time to strategize your whole plan.

The workplace is evolving. You do not need expensive overheads to accommodate in house employees anymore. All you need is the right tools and a fast Internet connection to keep your business running. What a time to be alive!

Need Help with Remote Team Management?

Remote team management is not everyone’s forte. HOPLA understands your need to spend time with your business and family without feeling drained. Our team of experts will help you grow your business with the best talent and appropriate tools. Interested? Talk to us today and let’s discuss how you can save money by hiring your remote team.