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Possible challenges you may encounter managing a remote team

Diminished productivity

According to Buffer’s 2019 State of Remote Working report, distractions at home ranked fourth in common problems affecting remote workers.

However, an Airtasker study revealed that remote employees work 1.4 days more per month compared to employees in an office. And although remote employees take longer breaks it actually boosts their productivity.

Employee time theft

A study reveals that US employers lose approximately $11 billion annually in lost productivity while another indicates that 4.5 hours per employee/week is lost to time theft.

Make conscious decisions. It’s time to park your concerns about time theft, now is not the time to micro-manage your employees. Give them time to adjust to their new environment and don’t forget to ask “how are you today”.

Accountability, motivation and turnover

The challenges of remote working are not limited to employees, managers and business owners will also be faced with problems they’ve not encountered before.

People are worried about their job security, social isolation, and basic human needs. Try to engage your team with technology – video chat, play games and share the fun things. Remember we’re all in this together.

Ways to improve productivity for your remote team

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

When working remotely employees need to know the importance of a work/life balance, be sure to set boundaries and expectations from day one.

RECOMMEND REGULAR BREAKS

Your team will have more time in their day without their commute; regular breaks boost energy and enhance concentration so encourage them to take short breaks.

ENCOURAGE SET WORKING HOURS

Stress the importance of working regular hours and encourage your team to stick to a routine, this will help to keep them motivated and engaged.

CREATE A WORKSPACE

Provide your employees with the tools they need to be successful when working from home, allow them to take their computer monitors and laptops homes.

SET BOUNDARIES

Create a work from home policy which speaks to minimizing the use of social media during work hours and look at creating ways to incentivize performance.

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How to remain profitable

Keep an accurate record of hours
You may want to consider changing the way your team tracks their time. Instead of using a weekly timesheet, consider moving to micro-time tracking. Try Time Cards or Timers. These options allow your employees to clock time with more detail, so you can see where they’re allocating their time each day.

Be transparent with your team
Many timekeeping apps offer geolocation and GPS tracking which is ideal for adding accountability when managing a remote team.

View the location of your team in real-time and know their status
Records the location which eliminates payroll and billing disputes
Employees are accountable for their time and whereabouts
Add a geofence so time can only be clocked within the boundary

Engage your employees
It is important to keep your team focused. Try an online shareable schedule to motivate your team – evenly share the workload to ensure all of your employees receive an income and by doing so, you will create a loyal workforce.

Turn lemons into lemonade

With employees no longer commuting to work they will have more time in the day. If you are being forced into remote working, try to stay positive, you may find there are a lot of benefits for your workers and your business as a result.

Use promo code ‘HOMEOFFICE’

At eBillity we understand the financial worry COVID-19 has on the business community. Therefore, we’ve decided to offer an extended 30-day trial of Time Tracker to help make your transition to a remote workforce easier, without the initial cost. Start your free trial today.