How to manage remote personnel? Learn how to effectively manage from a distance.

Working remotely does not necessarily mean a decrease in employee productivity. Managers can create a more flexible working model, which implies providing reasonable "flexibility." For example, employees who have responsibilities for caring for young children can leave remote meetings when necessary.

Furthermore, people can go online at any time to share lunch breaks, turn on their cameras to enjoy meals together, and have conversations. This creates a close-knit atmosphere, helping everyone feel connected, even when working remotely. Ultimately, whether working offline or online, the "human touch" and the "temperature" of the work environment are important factors that promote teamwork.

This article by Aniday focuses on remote management in the context of flexible work.

Remote work performance: How to manage when you can't see the employees?

In a flexible work environment, how do you manage internally when I used to meet employees face-to-face but now I can't? How do you optimize the productivity of the team when we work remotely?

For example, many modern companies have employees who don't meet each other directly but still need to collaborate. How do we ensure that the team operates strongly and effectively in a remote work model?

Characteristics and the transition of remote management environment

In the era of the pandemic, we aim to apply current experiences to support customers in continuing to develop and transition to a remote work model. Compared to the previous office work style, we emphasize an important perspective: both "working remotely" and "working offline" require their own management characteristics. This is mainly characterized in two aspects:

Flexible management: The key factor to drive remote work productivity

To create a positive work environment, we have implemented flexibility in various aspects.

For example, some colleagues have children to take care of. During online meetings, they can temporarily leave and rejoin after attending to their family matters. We allow employees to turn off their video and take temporary breaks, helping them maintain flexibility in their work.

By supporting employees with flexibility, we have noticed an increase in emails and meetings. This demonstrates that remote work is not just a potential decrease in productivity but also an opportunity to build a flexible work model, encouraging personal creativity and higher commitment from employees.

For remote management, the most important aspect is to build a positive work atmosphere based on trust in employees and provide a flexible work model, creating favorable conditions for everyone to take responsibility and efficiently complete projects.

Work environment: Optimizing space and atmosphere for remote work

When implementing a remote work model, many people often focus only on the transition from the bed to the workstation. However, this can create an unhealthy work environment. Maintaining an unchanged work landscape can disrupt the body, mind, and spirit, making you constantly feel busy and increasing work pressure.

The company encourages activities like morning exercises and self-reflection time to create a positive work space. Furthermore, we emphasize the integration of educational training to enhance the productivity of the internal team. This approach not only helps strengthen the work spirit but also creates a more flexible and comfortable work schedule for all employees.

Nurturing the atmosphere for remote work

Whether working online or offline, the important factor in promoting team collaboration is the "human touch" and the "temperature" of the work environment.

Therefore, in the context of remote work, it is necessary not only to train employees in professional skills but also to focus on building a positive work environment and effective communication.

Creating a serious work atmosphere

To enhance remote work productivity, creating a serious work atmosphere is important for online teams.

Soft power: The inner characteristics of long-distance leaders

Working remotely allows people to maintain distance, not only physically but also psychologically. Each person in the team has unique personalities, and during the pandemic, some individuals have shown noticeable changes. For example, those who were quite reserved in the office may now appear stronger when working remotely, expressing a sense of safety and comfort.

In the face of these mood changes, leaders need to focus on their own psychological development and help colleagues recognize the changes within themselves. Through this care, not only does it create a positive work environment, but it also helps people gain a better understanding of themselves and their teammates.

Stress resilience: Adapting to environmental changes

When you consume news, it means your mind is processing information. If afterwards you feel bored or stressed, it's like consuming fast food, disrupting your emotional state. Ask yourself, "How am I feeling right now?" If it doesn't make you happy, avoid it. You have the right to choose.

The goal of improving stress resilience is to maintain a stable mood and create positive outcomes. When you take good care of yourself, you are also taking care of the environment around you.

Self-awareness: Assisting team members in self-awareness

The initial psychological state of individuals facing pressure often includes worry and tension. Under the impact of the pandemic, these emotions can become even stronger. To alleviate anxiety, leaders need to help team members gain a clear understanding of themselves.

This involves conveying hope for the future and exploring specific goals and current actions for each member. Encourage individuals to ask themselves how they can improve and create opportunities for personal growth.

Another important aspect is understanding each person's individual style, as everyone desires to be recognized and evaluated in their own unique way. Therefore, leaders need to take the time to understand the background and values of each employee in the organization. It is suggested that leaders commit to delving into the theory of hierarchical needs to retain key talents in the third phase. This helps create a positive work environment and promotes personal and professional development.

How can leaders understand employees' ideas when facing long-term work?

Leaders' understanding of employees truly needs to be done during normal times. Therefore, whether offline or online, there must be a regular frequency to understand the current situation of team members. This goes beyond work-related matters and extends to personal life, family, and personal development in the future.

Remote work during the pandemic requires a better understanding of employees' current situations. In addition to communication gaps, the noise in the environment will shape individuals' judgments about everything. In remote work, leaders need to enhance their online interview skills, understand the frequency of meaningful conversations, and focus on the content of the discussions.

Online interviews: Enhancing interview skills in various situations

Based on the experience of working with international clients, leaders often meet with employees twice a month, with each session lasting over 30 minutes. They discuss not only work-related matters but also show concern for employees' lives, asking about their health, family, and personal development. As a result, employees feel more comfortable and trusting, and leaders know how to better support their teams.

Therefore, leaders should hone their interview skills and receive online training to effectively interact with employees in a remote work environment.

Self-awareness: Assisting team members in self-awareness

When carrying out unsuccessful projects, you need to understand the reasons behind it. It is also the responsibility of leaders to help the team achieve goals and unleash the potential of employees.

When working remotely, superiors need to provide guidance on not only "why?" but also "how?" for employees.

Practice long-distance training

Mastering the coaching model not only improves the effectiveness of remote conversations but also enhances the long-distance leadership abilities of managers. 

We hope this article from Aniday is helpful to you!