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15 Ways To Keep Your Remote Staff Efficient And Productive

Forbes Agency Council
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Forbes Agency Council

Remote working arrangements are becoming increasingly common across various fields and industries as businesses look for ways to become more flexible and efficient. According to recent research by employee engagement platform TINYpulse, remote work has a very positive impact on employee productivity, happiness, satisfaction, as well as on their communication with management. Additionally, telecommute jobs can help a business maintain flexibility and cut costs by limiting the need for expensive office spaces or supplies.

However, some business owners are hesitant to allow remote work, worried that their staff might be less efficient and productive if out of sight. Here are 15 useful tips from Forbes Agency Council members to make sure your remote workforce isn’t slacking off.

All photos courtesy of individual Forbes Agency Council members.

1. Facilitate Good Communication

The question really is: How do you know your employees are really working if they're not in the office? The key to building trust is good quality communication. There are many different software and platforms that can help facilitate this, such as Slack and Basecamp. Find which one works for you and create a process that makes it easy for employees to send updates and track progress. - Kelli Corney, Mightily

2. Use Time-Tracking Software

Anyone can lose track of time and not realize how much is being spent on non-productive pursuits. By introducing time-tracking software, you will help your team adopt better working practices and remain more focused on accomplishing tasks. You will also benefit from the insights provided by the data. - Diana Wolff, LRG Marketing

3. Invest In Collaboration Tools

We use a number of cloud collaboration tools that help us operate effectively with our largely remote workforce. Some examples: Box, Microsoft Office 365, Skype for Business and Yammer, QuickBooks Online, Harvest Time Tracking, RingCentral VOIP phone systems, and more. It's still important to have regular face-to-face check-ins though, so as to build a common culture, team loyalty and trust. - Nikki Tanis, Tanis Communications, Inc.

4. Focus On Outcomes

In a creative agency, it's very important to trust your employees' unique skill sets to get the job done their way. Offer your tools and your guidance, hold scheduled meetings and focus your energy on analyzing the outcome. This level of autonomy, if coupled with a genuine interest in your employees' success, will increase the level of workplace satisfaction and, in turn, will boost productivity. - Ahmad Kareh, Twistlab Marketing

5. Hold Each Other Accountable

Share each other’s to-do lists to keep everyone aware of what they hope to accomplish that day from home. Being accountable to your team is a powerful motivational tool. Our team does it every day. It helps everyone stay in the know, on track, and accountable. - Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group, LLC

6. Define What Efficiency Means To You And Set Expectations

How do you define efficiency? Chances are you and your staff may look at that term through a different lens. It's important that you first establish what you want and what you'd like them to accomplish when they work remotely, then set very clear expectations. In my experience, this eliminates any guesswork, and your staff will know exactly what they need to do to remain efficient and effective. - Clayton Dean, Circa Interactive

7. Keep People Connected And Engaged

The primary role for management is to keep people connected and engaged. When people feel like they are part of a team, they will be motivated and productive. Use video; video is the next best thing to in-person meetings. You can tell a lot about how people are doing by just checking out their body language. - Lisa Allocca, Red Javelin Communications

8. Focus On Communication And Creativity

Stay in touch with your accounts and colleagues, but capitalize on the isolation to be more creative. Take a walk, read a book, capitalize on whatever opportunity being remote gives you to freshen your brain and way of thinking. - Peter Prodromou, Racepoint Global

9. Encourage Remote Folks To Take Breaks

Start with an open conversation about productivity. Find out what you can do to help them set up a schedule and work environment that will be most conducive to being productive. Maybe even give them a budget to set up a home office. Then, remind them to schedule occasional breaks to remain productive throughout the day. Think “Game on, Game off” from “Wayne’s World.” - Dan Golden, Be Found Online

10. Set Ground Rules

If you want to be efficient and effective working remotely, you have to set some ground rules. It doesn’t even matter what they are, just that you have them and your team buys into them. Set guidelines from the top, be consistent, and invest in the necessary tools to drive efficiency and collaboration. - Brendon Schrader, Antenna

11. Increase Morale

Have you measured productivity when your staff morale is high? Keeping employee morale high is one of the best things you can do to instill loyalty and staff efficiency. Any hassle that offers a chance to have staff work remotely is an opportunity to see how effective they are off-site. Think about the low cost of high morale! - Anthony Katz, INexxus

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12. Recruit The Right Fit

Remote work simply isn't right for everyone. The key is recruiting and hiring people who can efficiently work remotely. Clearly define culture during recruiting and hiring. Focus on objectives and expectations, not location. Provide tools for regular communication and feedback (Slack, 7Geese). Remotely managing people who need more hands-on, face-to-face engagement is unlikely to work over time. - Gyi Tsakalakis, AttorneySync

13. Offer Implicit Trust

The best form of management is asking for self-motivation achieved through sincere and implicit trust in employees to manage their time. We’ve never managed our (near fully remote) workforce through compliance policies, but rather communication. Tools such as Slack, Mural, Zoom, and Google Docs and Hangouts — and picking up the phone — can create casual spaces for employees to communicate. - Alec McNayr, McBeard

14. Schedule Daily On-The-Go Check-Ins

With offices in New York City, Portland and Los Angeles, and with frequent trips to Miami for client work, we're always traveling here at Team Epiphany. One way to ensure our staff stays efficient while on-the-go is by having group check-ins in the middle and at the close of each day. Regroups help to make sure that everyone is aligned and it also helps to keep some semblance of a schedule while working remotely. - Coltrane Curtis, Team Epiphany

15. Set Working Hours And Stick With Them

We encourage our remote team members to set working hours and stick to them. Otherwise, you can end up working all hours of the night, which in the long run reduces productivity. It’s also important to make your family and friends aware of these hours so they understand when it’s appropriate to contact you. - Laura Cole, The Berry Company LLC