Remote work and the effective management of it have caused extensive debate in the years since it rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From time trackers and other forms of remote work monitors to mandatory on-camera meetings and more, companies have gone through multiple options to manage their remote work teams.
Now, however, global staffing agency Randstad is putting forth its expert recommendations on how businesses should manage their remote workers for the best results.
Don’t underestimate formal guidance
When the pandemic started, many people around the world were thrown into the world of remote work with little in the way of preparation. Even now, a lot of new graduates just taking up remote jobs for the first time find themselves dealing with an entirely new landscape with no playbook to go by.
Randstad suggests that managers, HR and businesses in general give guidance and training to remote teams to make sure they can successfully navigate being a remote worker.
Understand where workers are coming from
Randstad says employers should make an effort to empathise with remote teams. (Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels)
In the push-and-pull fiasco over remote work in the UK and USA, several studies have suggested that conflict arises when managers make no effort to understand why their employees value remote work so highly.
Randstad came to a similar conclusion. They strongly recommended that managers and team leaders be empathetic towards remote work teams, and make an extra effort to think of what remote workers value and need. Stay flexible, and do what you can to be mindful about reducing burnout.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
The overall recommendation that has been coming in strongly from almost every expert giving tips on how to navigate the remote work landscape has continued to be the same: communication reigns king where remote is concerned.
Randstad had the same advice, and underlined it to highlight the point. They recommended maintaining synchronised communication channels, promoting employee recognition and building effective feedback channels to help remote teams perform to their full potential.
Don’t overdo monitoring
Remote monitoring was not off the table in Randstad’s recommendations, but they strongly advised against going overboard. Instead, they said creating a structured performance review process, and making sure it’s unbiased, is a fantastic way to go about the monitoring business.
This strengthens communications and can actually build trust instead of tearing it down, Randstad suggested.
These are just some of the top recommendations Randstad made, but there are many more guides with advice on how businesses can empower their remote workers to do their best, and how employees can be the best remote workers they can.
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.
