Dear Aykan

In your Webinar that I attended recently, I learned that you have been working remotely for the last 20 years and you are also a remote manager. So I would like to hear the tricks of this working model from you. We started working from home with all our office staff last month with the company decision. I am the manager of a small team in the company. While working remotely in this sensitive process, I want to keep the motivation of the team members high and keep them accountable, what is the most effective way to do this?

By the way, our team is used to working face-to-face, and our success so far has been largely due to this. Do you have any suggestions on how I can lead them remotely, especially at a time like this when everything is so uncertain and stressful?

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Administrator Getting Used to Managing Remotely

Hello.

Thank you for this pertinent question. It is a question that not only you, but almost every leader who has transitioned to remote management is wondering these days. So I hope that my answers will be useful for you and all leaders who have transitioned to remote management.

First of all, I would like to say that I think it' s humbling that you are not only thinking about the new competencies you need in your own leadership development journey, but also the impact of this situation on your team. If we look at what has happened in recent months, all employees are anxious about the economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The great thing about monumental crises like COVID-19 is that they bring out the best in people, and this is where your managerial skills shine through.

Here are some immediately actionable tips that can help you better manage a remote team - tips that can dramatically impact your team's health, happiness and productivity. Before that, I'll also share the results of a recent study.

The data from recent research onthe effects of COVID-19 in the workplace is interesting. Here are some highlights

• Many companies have taken swift action for the health and safety of their employees.
• 1/5 of employees feel that team members' collaboration habits are not developed enough to work remotely.
• Employees believe that 1/5 ofmanagers are either very unprepared or unprepared to manage remote teams.

Our previous research shows that the challenges of managing remote teams are not unique to the lockdown period. Distance often magnifies the challenges in relationships. Our research has also shown this. People who work from home have a particularly hard time dealing with work-related issues. When a problem arises, 84% of remote workers linger for a few days without taking action, and 47%say they linger for a few weeks. Remote workers also feel they are at a disadvantage compared to their office-based counterparts in terms of productivity, cost, deadlines, morale, stress and staff turnover.

As you can imagine, the key here is "communication skills". The health and success of any team depends on how quickly people can speak up when they see something or have a concern. Teams that are able to dialog honestly and effectively keep morale and team awareness high "as long as they can keep emotions and politics out of it".

You are right that managers have a particularly important role to play here. When managers demonstrate strong communication skills and act in a truly transparent and appropriate manner, the rest of the team follows suit. The more managers avoid leaving employees in doubt, the better. The impact a manager has on his or her team's ability to dialog and create a healthy collaborative culture should not be underestimated, especially when distance and technology suddenly become part of the equation.

Here are some suggestions you can try right away as a manager of a remote team. I realize that some of these will require a lot of sacrifice from you, but it will definitely be worth it.

7 SKILLS FOR MANAGING A VIRTUAL TEAM

1. POLL PROGRESS FREQUENTLY AND CONSISTENTLY: Nearly half of the respondents (46%) said that the most successful managers frequently and regularly polled their remote workers on their progress. The frequency of these check-ins ranged from "every day" to "twice a week," but were always consistent and usually took the form of an "informal conversation" or a pre-planned one-on-one meeting

2. COMMUNICATE FACE-TO-FACE OR BY WORD OF MOUTH: Insist on occasional face-to-face meetings with your remote workers. If actual face-to-face meetings are impossible, at least use videoconferencing technology or allow coworkers to see each other's faces or hear each other's voices from time to time.

3.HAVE SUPERIOR COMMUNICATION SKILLS: We cannot emphasize enough the importance of excellent overall communication skills when working with remote teams. Be a good listener, inspire trust and respect, avoid micromanaging when inquiring about workload and progress, communicate more rather than less. From time to time a phone call may be enough, but then send details by email to make sure everyone understands you.

4.MAKE EXPECTATIONS CLEAR AND CLEAR:When managing remote teams, be very clear about your expectations. This is especially important at a time when the "rules" about work are suddenly changing. Don't leave people in doubt about projects, roles, deadlines, etc.

5. ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE: Respond quickly at any time of the day. Do your best to have an "open door policy" for remote workers, always available for different time zones through various technologies (IM, Slack, Skype, email, phone, SMS, etc.). Remote workers should be able to count on you to respond quickly when urgent issues arise.

6. MASTER THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: Try to use a variety of communication methods to connect with your remote workers. Don't rely on phone and email alone, get used to video conferencing technologies and services like Skype, Slack, Zoom, GoToMeeting. Master organizing and running meetings with these technologies as if this is your new reality from now on.

7.PRIORITIZE RELATIONSHIPS: Teamspirit and camaraderie are important for any team, and this applies to remote teams as well. I recommend that you do your best to build a personal connection with your remote workers. Ask about their well-being, their families, their hobbies. Make time for small talk in team meetings so that the whole team can make personal connections and strengthen their relationships.Good luck in managing this new "normal", if you would like to know more about this topic, you can write your questions in the comments section below.

Aykan