The nature of work being carried out today has markedly changed over the past years in terms of remote and partly remote work. Therefore, special emphasis should be placed on the effective use of remote team management tools that target performance, collaboration, and positive employee outcomes, as these paradigms would be relevant to the new paradigms.
By the end of 2022, it’s estimated that 25% of all job vacancies will be remote. This is why remote team management tools are becoming more and more popular day by day. The guide below lets you familiarize yourself with the major approaches to remote team management tools and collaboration features.
Read on to know more!
Table of contents
Remote vs. Hybrid Working: Understanding the Difference
First and foremost, we must understand remote vs hybrid working. Remote work refers to those workers who spend their time outside a traditional office environment, typically at home or other variable sites. Hybrid working combines remote and in-office work, enabling employees to split their time between places. Each model has different challenges and needs specially adapted management strategies.
Popular Remote Team Management Tools
Several popular remote team management tools are useful for most companies. In fact, those who prefer having remote employees use such employee monitoring softwares. Let us take a quick look at some of the popular remote team management tools given below.
1. Team Collaboration Tools
Mattermost
An open-source remote team collaboration tool that provides secure and customizable messaging with features like direct messages, group chats, and file sharing.
Rocket.Chat
A communication platform that offers team messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing. It can be hosted on your own servers for full control over your data.
2. Project Management Tools
Taiga
An open-source project management employee monitoring software that supports Scrum and Kanban methodologies. It includes features like task tracking, backlog management, and reporting.
Wekan
A collaborative Kanban board application that is open-source. It helps teams organize tasks visually and track progress using cards and boards.
3. Time Management Techniques
RescueTime
It provides detailed reports on how you spend your time, helping you identify distractions at work and improve productivity. Several other time-tracking software programs are also helpful.
Clockify
Another time-tracking tool entailing elaborate reports and timesheet management is vital in supporting the management of remote teams. File sharing and collaboration.
Harvest
A time-tracking tool that also allows you to track expenses and manage invoices.
4. Employee Performance Tracking
TomatoTimer
A simple, online Pomodoro timer to help manage time in short bursts.
Workpuls
Automatically measure employee performance and time and take screenshots to see what your employees are doing and how much they can do.
Challenges of Managing Remote Employees
Challenges are a part and parcel of every office life. So, here may be some unique challenges that come with managing remote teams that call for thoughtful strategies and tools. Some of the challenges of managing remote employees are listed below:
- Communication and Collaboration: Miscommunications can occur without face-to-face interactions. Tools such as Slack may help bridge this gap, but managers must encourage clear and concise modes of communication.
- Isolation and Burnout of Employees: The biggest challenge of working remotely is the isolation most remote workers experience, resulting in burnout. Regular check-ins, virtual social activities, and encouraging balance in work life are essential. These can be achieved via remote team management tools.
- Tracking Employee Performance and Productivity: It is difficult to check employee performance without face-to-face supervision. Employee performance management tools like Hubstaff and Workpuls give vital insight into what your workers are up to when working remotely.
- Time Management: Many remote employees report a time management issue. Applying time management techniques and tools like Toggl and Clockify can help keep employees on track and improve their efficiency.
Effective Strategies for Remote Workforce Management
- Setting Expectations: Setting expectations regarding goals, roles, and responsibilities helps work-from-home employees stay focused and aligned with organizational objectives.
- Encourage a Collaborative Culture: Allow teamwork and collaboration by regularly having virtual meetings and, at the same time, organizing teamwork activities and open lines of communication.
- Give the Right Tools: Provide your staff with the right tools for communication, project management, and performance tracking. Using the right technology can be a huge advantage in remote workforce management.
- Feedback mechanism: Establish regular one-on-one and team meetings to discuss employee progress, raise concerns, or provide feedback. This will help them keep a record of their sense of being connected and responsible.
- Work-Life Balance: Encourage employees to set clear boundaries about their work and personal lives. This will prevent employee burnout with flexibility and respect for time off.
Managing Employee Burnout
Remote work comes with the legitimate concern of managing employee burnout. Long isolation, heavy workloads, and blurred lines between work and home lead to burnout. There is employee monitoring software that helps measure employee productivity and handle burnout.
Here are strategies to manage them through remote team management tools and avoid it in the first place:
- Monitor Workloads: Use tools like Asana to distribute tasks evenly and ensure no one is overwhelmed.
- Encourage Regular Breaks: Emphasize that breaks from work are an absolute must, and people must shut off completely outside of work hours.
- Provide for Mental Health Support: Mental health support should include access to counseling services or wellness programs.
- Terminate Social Isolation: Organize virtual social events in which team members interact on an informal level to build camaraderie and reduce feelings of isolation.
Conclusion
It is the proper balance between remote team management tools, strategies, and the knowledge of overcoming different challenges ushered in by the remote and hybrid working models. To be equivalent to an effective remote workforce manager, one must acquaint oneself with communication, project management, and time tracking and performance monitoring tools. Equipping oneself with such remote team management tools goes a long way in building a productive and positive remote workforce.
Incorporate Leapmax—a platform built to enable seamless management of remote teams. Leapmax allows you to seamlessly perform workforce management activities while increasing employee productivity and ensuring teams work effectively, regardless of location. Thus, the choice is yours! Integrate Leapmax, a platform that aids in managing remote teams and efficiently executes workforce management activities while boosting productivity.
