9 best practices for managing a remote work team

The access that globalization gives us today has affected many aspects of our lives and work has not been left out of this. We live in an interconnected world, where the concept of traditional work has become archaic; what's more, many teams work from different places, and even from different countries.

We are not going to deny that working in a remote team is quite a challenge. However, we can affirm that it is possible to do it efficiently and when it works correctly, productivity increases exponentially.

Many start-ups have been founded with several partners working from different locations and have achieved large turnovers. We also know that more and more digital nomads are traveling the world while doing their work from a computer. Many different examples tell us that working remotely is not only possible but, in fact, much more beneficial for both parties.

Advantages for the company

• Reduction of costs per employee in a physical workspace.
• Decrease in sick leave or personal affairs.
• Greater engagement) with the company on the part of the employees.
• Increased employee productivity.
• Workers stay longer in the company, reducing turnover.
• More possibilities in the selection of personnel since with remote work distance is no longer a problem. The best freelance professionals can be hired, whether they live in the city where the company is established or not.

Advantages for employees

• Significant savings in transportation costs, clothing, and other expenses (with which they have a better perception of the salary received).
• Savings in time, in large cities, commuting can account for up to 20% of the effective daily working day.
• Better family balance.

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One of the great challenges of working remotely with a team is how to be organized. Here are the 9 best practices for managing a remote work team.

1) Communication, lots of communication.

Although it may seem that remote work is lonely because there is no physical contact, the truth is that communication is vital. A remote team needs to be able to communicate very smoothly and directly to make work productive.

2) Talk “Face to Face”

Although the possibility of chatting in a suitable environment for internal communication is the most direct and immediate, there are times when making a video conference or video call for a few minutes can be much more effective. Face-to-face communication is often the most effective method of resolving some issues. It has been shown that a large part of communication in real life is based on non-verbal language, so an audio conversation alone will not establish an adequate channel of communication with your team.

3) Don't forget your social life

When we work with a remote team, we can often tend to neglect our social life. Don't fall for this mistake, we all need person-to-person contact with our fellow human beings so meet up with your friends regularly.

4) Set your hours

When you share space for your work life and your personal life, it is very important to keep everything in its place. It is easy for you to end up mixing everything and putting clothes on the washing machine while you answer a call. That is why it is of the utmost importance that you define your working hours and once you finish, you end your workday until the next day.

5) If you use a cell phone for work, have a number that is only for work.

If you need to use your mobile phone, we recommend that you have an exclusive work number other than your number, even if you work from home. This will allow you to turn off your cell phone once the day is over, where you can leave a message on the answering machine saying the time you will be available the next day.

6) Learn to delegate

Do not pretend to do absolutely everything. Delegate and share tasks to keep your work productive.

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7) Take care of your appearance and that of your workspace

If you are going to make a video call with a client or with a partner, keep in mind that both the environment and your appearance and clothing must be appropriate. This doesn't mean you have to dress up in a suit and tie every day if you don't have to.

8) Use the right tools to keep your team cohesive

Collaborative tools such as Monday.com, Trello, or Google Drive are essential if you are going to work remotely as a team. Multi-person projects must be managed using platforms that allow each person to see who is working on what and what its status is.

9) Establish a space for relaxation with the team

If you live in the same city you can hold a meeting once a month, otherwise, perhaps a relaxed Skype chat on Fridays could be a good idea. It is very important that contact is not restricted only to work and that space is left for leisure, even if it is done remotely.