When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The current situation we are facing has made us adapt ourselves to work remotely and ensure there is no hindrance to business continuity. However, there are many organizations that have not been well-equipped to work remotely. This could be due to various reasons – traditional 9-6 work culture, equipment/devices that cannot be accessed from home, handling confidential data, or just the preference of interacting with people face-to-face.
Whichever of this be the reason, its not going to help businesses in the current lockdown. For organizations to work and deliver without hinderances, it has now become important that the employees work from home. And if you are an organization with a traditional mindset where you are uncomfortable about providing your employees with the option of working from home, then here is how you can ensure that the efficiency of your employees is not compromised upon, but at the same time you do not come across as overbearing:
- Set clear expectations of the deliverables and the deadlines. Make sure you communicate this with your team to ensure you are on the same page and avoid confusion. This will also help your team plan their work to meet the deadline.
- Make sure to setup time with your team and contact them on a regular basis. This need not be to get a status update. You could also setup video calls once a week, where you have a virtual coffee or even a drink.
- Have video-based trainings, as this will help your team stay up-to-date, even when working remotely and keep them engaged throughout the session. Another great idea would be to have knowledge sharing sessions, where your teams can share best practices online and help each other.
- Make them feel inclusive, because often, out of sight is out of mind. If you do not communicate with your team on a regular basis, they might feel left out and redundant. This can demotivate your team.
- Do NOT micromanage your team. Provide them with the expectations and deadlines and let them work toward it. Breathing down their neck and monitoring their status online will not help your team deliver efficiently.
- Have a newsletter/some form of communication which goes out on a regular basis, so all the people in the organization stay updated with what is going on and also feel like they belong.
- Organize fun virtual games for the teams to compete against each other and bond even outside of work.
Remember – If you handle your team wisely in these times of stress, you will gain their trust and they will deliver efficiently.
Looking to hire remote-working eCommerce professionals? Click here.