Today’s episode is for women business owners who want to make their business work splendidly well with employees working from home. I have several tips how you can keep your fingers on the pulse even though not everyone is physically in the office. 

Welcome to episode 4. Show notes can be found online at PowerUpYourTeam.com/4.

Over the past two years, work from home has become a necessity as a result of the pandemic and has proven to be a feasible option for the long haul.

Large companies are downsizing their office footprint realizing that work from home is cheaper and equally productive. Employees also recognize they are more productive and have a better work-life balance.

 You clearly see a trend as remote work becomes more popular for large and small companies across all sorts of industries. 

 And yes, you can empathize with employees who have a long commute. Generally, you are open to helping them balance personal and business life. And after all, you want to have a modern company and attract great talent.

 But you’re wondering how you can hold things together when people are not coming to the office

• How do you replace the water cooler talk and the little chit chat here and there that used to make the office so lively when people are working from home?
• How can you make sure your team continues to stay aligned, collaborates well and gets the job done when they are not on-site?
• How do you supervise the work? 

 In Episode 2, we talked about how you manage your whole ecosystem including suppliers and business partners. Just think about how you manage to pull all of them together to deliver great services to your customers. 

How You Can Supervise Remote Staff: 

1.     Ensure everyone has the proper environment & technology to work effectively

 For instance, they may need a private space to concentrate and participate in business calls without being interrupted. In addition to standard work systems, they need technology to connect with each other via video

2.     Schedule 15-minute morning calls 

That can happen daily or at another frequency depending on the rhythm of work. Discuss priorities for the day and ensure everyone is set up for success. If you have an organization with several layers, ask your direct reports to do the same with their teams.

3.     Schedule frequent one on one check-ins with your remote staff. 

 Yes, you have to ramp up the 1:1 touch-points since you don’t see them in the hallway. Each employee is different. How much interaction do they need to do their work AND feel included? How much information do you need from them?

 In most of my roles, my staff was geographically dispersed. No matter which location, I would see maximal 25 % of my team. I always had to ensure that the team stays aligned and everyone feels seen and heard through extra travel and touch points via phone or video. 

4.     Make sure your staff has a way to reach you quickly 

 That could be via text message or an e-mail with a certain headline that communicates “Need attention now”. You don’t want work get stuck because people don’t know how to reach out for support. 

 Maintain a Strong Community 

 That’s the one number one thing that gets most often lost by working remotely.

 You have to replace the visual element that employees had when everyone was in the office. They saw you go about your day, meet with customers, participate in staff meeting and so on.

 Continue reading at www.powerupyourteam.com/4