Managing productivity and well-being of remote workers

As businesses continue to shift to remote work, it’s important to make sure that your team is as productive as possible. Managing people can be a challenge in any form and this is even more true for remote teams. When teams work side-by-side there is a natural connection and a shared goal among team members. Working from home can make employees detached and uninvolved. In addition, where the office may provide a focused workspace, working from home comes with numerous distractions.

It’s not a lost battle though. There are many ways to ensure productivity amongst your remote workers. The right tools, good management, and team culture can all contribute to success for offsite employees.

Ways to improve productivity for remote workers

Set clear goals and expectations:

Make sure that your team knows what your expectations are of them and what the goals are for each project. This will help them stay focused and motivated. Scoping out projects and providing clear deliverables is a good way to ensure that company goals are reached.

Use management tools:

There are many tools available to better manage your team’s deliverables. Project management tools can help you manage projects and keep track of tasks. Many of these tools offer various functionalities that make managing time and efficiency possible.

Below are some great tools to have a look at: 

• Monday.com
• Asana
• Trello
• Clickup
• ActiveCollab

Set up regular check-ins:

Whether it’s daily stand-ups or weekly progress meetings, regular check-ins can help keep your team connected and on track. In addition, it’s a good opportunity for team members to ask questions and get support. Video conferencing platforms will play a big part in keeping these regular check-ins going. Great video conferencing platforms include Microsoft Teams, Google Meets, Zoom, and Skype.

Create a positive work culture:

A positive work culture can go a long way in improving team productivity. It’s important to build a work environment built on trust, mutual respect, and psychological safety. According to Harvard Business School professor, Amy Edmonson, psychological safety can be defined as a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up.’ Building this type of culture starts at the top. Leaders should not ridicule employees for making mistakes. Furthermore, they should nurture an environment for constructive feedback without blame. This will allow team members to be vulnerable without fear of rejection or punishment.

Encourage open communication:

Make sure that your team feels comfortable reaching out to each other and you with any questions or concerns. This can help prevent misunderstandings and keep projects moving forward. Communication tools like Slack and Rocket Chat are great for quick communication between team members.

Encourage work-life balance:

It’s important to remember that your team members are people, not machines. Encourage them to take breaks, step away from their screens, and take care of themselves. This can help them stay energised and focused when they are working. Encourage employees to focus on productivity and output rather than time spent online. Research has shown that being accessible 24/7 is counterintuitive and can lead to mental health issues. Encourage team members to take vacation and personal days. These short breaks will not only ensure happier employees but also improve overall productivity.

Setting remote work standards

In addition to the well-being and productivity of your teams, there are some considerations to take into account to ensure team efficiency and professionalism is maintained by remote workers. Putting certain standards in place will ensure that employees can still put their best foot forward and maintain the brand even while working from home.

Ensuring you create a great work environment for the well-being of your team is important. In addition, it’s important for the organisation to implement standards that will maintain efficiency and professionalism.

Below are some considerations to take into account:

Internet connectivity

Ensuring that employees have adequate connectivity is important for morale and productivity. Employers should ensure they know the bandwidth requirements that each employee needs to efficiently perform their daily tasks. If an internet upgrade is needed, it is a good decision for employers to help their employees pay for the necessary change.

Home office standards

Not all employees will have a workspace that is conducive to productivity with the right equipment for the job. Employers can help employees by setting standards for the home office. Introducing the equipment that each employee needs to do their job and guiding individuals to create a space for focused, productive work will not only help the company but also the employee.

Virtual meeting standards

Each person has their preference for how they attend virtual meetings. Some prefer the camera off, others want the camera on, and others enjoy a scenic beach scene in their background. While it may not be a great idea to impose norms and obligations, it’s important to hear from employees about which way of conducting virtual meetings is objectively more efficient. This way, you turn it from an opinion to an open discussion on what’s best for the team.

Trust standards

Working from home can break trust in an organisation as visibility is reduced. To curb this, it’s important to create an environment where teams can effectively collaborate on their projects. Introducing collaboration tools is one great way. Another way is to introduce time-tracking tools to remove the guesswork from your collaboration and improve overall productivity.

Working from home is not for everyone. There is a lot to consider and not everyone has the space for a dedicated work environment in their home. A great alternative for people who want the flexibility of remote work without working from home is a shared workspace.

At Venture Workspace, we offer an extraordinary work environment for remote workers with everything they need. Our spaces are built for productivity with shared spaces and closed-off spaces for focused work. Venture Workspace strives to create a workspace that not only accommodates all the needs of the workplace but also everyone’s unique needs too. As such, we offer a wide range of packages, ensuring the space is suitable for all.