Remote work’s moment isn’t going anywhere. In 2017, the U.S. Census estimated that 5.2% of Americans worked from home full time. Last month, a poll co-conducted by Cheddar and YouGov found that 28% of respondents said they are teleworking.
There’s an obvious reason for this rapid shift. With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading worldwide, more than 8 in 10 Americans lived under “stay at home” orders as of April 1. But, signs abound that this isn’t a stop gap trend.
29% of respondents to the Cheddar/YouGov survey report being equally productive at home as they are in offices. An additional one in five respondents said they’re more productive working from home.
Those results confirm management research which found that remote employees are more productive than their in-office peers. However, that productivity is under threat today.
COVID-19’s rapid spread has robbed today’s remote employees of the autonomy to make decisions about remote work (such as how often to do it, or which days of the week). That lack of choice, coupled with parents working from home sans childcare, leaves remote workers at risk of low morale.
Luckily, this is an avoidable problem. If you are managing your business’s first remote work program, take these steps to keep morale and productivity high:
Create a top-down culture of trust. As a small business leader, the tone starts and ends with you. Without a shared office space to work in, you must proactively share that you trust your team members to get their work done. Likewise, your colleagues must trust that you have their best interests in mind. They need to know that you:
- Believe in their abilities to do their jobs remotely;
- Will fairly measure their performance while working remotely;
- Value each employee’s contribution and are committed to their career growth.
To achieve these goals, you’ll need to communicate clearly, concisely, and often. If you wonder whether your employees got the message, you likely aren’t communicating enough.
To keep your remote team in touch, encourage each team lead to hold daily stand-ups with their direct reports. Holding these early, such as first thing in the morning, lets each team confirm priorities and address any issues to resolve. Such meetings are designed to last 15 minutes, so they shouldn’t take too much time out of your day.
Set clear, accurate expectations. Your team won’t believe that you trust them if your behavior says otherwise. If you expect employees to be online at certain hours or attend meetings, make sure you’ve shared those expectations with them. The easiest way is to write such expectations down and share the role they play in your company culture. Then, store the deck or document using file sharing software that all employees can access.
Beyond these shared norms and values, give your team the freedom to work when they’re most productive. A parent’s workday looks different than that of a colleague who’s single. Empowering your colleagues to choose how and when they’ll meet their goals shows that you support their judgment and abilities.
To reinforce your culture of trust, create a transparent performance measurement system that rewards results, not the amount of time spent on tasks. Establish assignments and goals with clear timelines. Then, track progress toward milestones on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. If possible, avoid tracking progress in days and hours. This allows your team to take the long view and work within a shared, stable strategy.
Once your colleagues achieve all essential tasks, search for stretch opportunities that they can take on. Give them chances to boost their visibility by working on special projects with senior leaders they might not normally work with. This positions them to grow within your organization and work with colleagues outside of their “home” teams.
Give colleagues time to socialize. For all its benefits, remote work isn’t free from pitfalls. Those who work remotely are more likely to feel shunned and left out than those who work in offices.
The same research praising remote work’s benefits also advocated face-to-face collaboration. Nicholas Bloom at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business found that even a small amount of in-person team time went a long way towards fostering creativity.
To foster camaraderie on your own remote team, redirect some of your annual budget towards at least or two in-person offsites. Until then, give your team the tools and freedom to connect socially.
This can take many forms depending on your team’s size and common interest. At GetApp, we have fun Slack channels to share recipes, exercise routines, parenting tips, and pet photos. One colleague leads a virtual yoga class each Wednesday. Some teams use video conferencing software to host virtual happy hours and coffee breaks.
Fulfilled, happy teams have shared goals and rituals to bond them. While these might look different for remote teams, they are no less important or impossible to create. Using digital tools to connect each day goes a long way towards keeping morale high.
If COVID-19 is your team’s first remote work experience, know that this is hard even for veteran remote teams. Along with higher levels of stress, many remote employees are balancing full-time childcare and schooling alongside their jobs. On the flip side, remote employees who live by themselves are more at risk of loneliness. Both situations increase burnout and stress levels.
As a remote leader, your job is to give your team the tools, goals, and space they need to be their happiest, healthiest, most productive selves. Whether you’re working remotely in the short term or in it for the long haul, you have the power to create healthy habits. By fostering trust, communicating often, and giving your colleagues space to socialize, you’ll lead your remote team to success.
