There’s more to running a remote company than keeping up with technology.
You probably didn’t plan to take your company 100% online, but yet – here you are.
Under normal circumstances, companies that transition to fully remote plan for weeks, sometimes even months, before taking the leap. During that time, they are working to retain both team management and company culture. However, in our current scenario, most organizations have not been able to put these types of plans and strategies in place before closing the office and sending their teams home with laptops.
Getting through the initial hurdle of suddenly moving everything (and everyone!) online was a huge achievement in and of itself – and one that will make you incredibly proud. The next step is to find any workflow, culture, or management blips that have developed and fix them through fine-tuning.
keep yours now Remote companies running smoothly for the long term.
It may seem like a jolt at the beginning in a sense.”Find what works best right now and bring it into place!” You’re leading the way as you quickly adjust the sails to navigate these new waters. Now that you’ve had time to settle into the idea of managing a remote team, you may be noticing that what worked in the beginning, isn’t setting you up for the long term. And your company culture is starting to take a hit.
It can take months, sometimes years, for companies and start-ups to adjust to find even a remote rhythm. Our management team has been through their ups and downs and they are still learning valuable lessons every day. And so, to help you on your way, our CEOs and directors sat down to share some tips they’ve learned while running a remote company for 15 and 7+ years.
Advice from long-term remote managers on how to keep your culture alive and employees engaged while working from home:
Heather, Director: Three little letters turned out to be a huge frustration-reducer. These characters are AFK, otherwise known as “away from keyboard”. Your team members and coworkers don’t know that the doorbell rang, or that your kid clogged the toilet and you’re preventing a family disaster, or that the dog chased the hamster out our back door for the third time this week. They can’t see you!
To be clear, I’m not suggesting key loggers or mouse trackers. You’ll know if your team is productive without frustrating supervision levels.
If you appear available and don’t respond, it can be very frustrating for the other person. When you need to step away from the computer for a bit, drop a quick AFK to let your team know you’re away but will be back soon. Try to be sure to let them know when you return. (Take it from us—it’s easy to forget that part.)
Phil, Founder + CEO: Set specific times of the day where you can check in to manage routine action items Released by your staff (emergency situations are obviously different). This helps your team set expectations with the people they are interacting with and gives you a chance to find work in the groove. When you as management, will undoubtedly be available no additional questions.
Heather, Director: This is important even when staying in fairly close communication through tools like Slack or Teams Remember that what you write is interpreted by the other person through their filter and unlike what you read. You may not intend the tone of your message to be curt or annoying, but your team member can “hear” it.
Body language and tone of voice are important in effective communication, especially when times are stressful. And online, this can be lagging. Left too long, this atmosphere can quickly become toxic and destroy your online culture. We’ve learned to work around this by using virtual meetings to check in and reset the tone of communication. Additionally, heavy use of emojis in chat channels helps ensure close interpretations of intentions (We all have our personal celebration or restless emojis…. 🐡🌮🎉 are just a few 😊)
Phil, Founder + CEO: Remote work tools are just that, tools. And while text channels and emails are great, you have no literal water cooler or break room to face human interaction.
Set aside time for your teams to video chat and allow them Chat. Not after work hours, not on their lunch break, like in an office where we have a quick chat at a colleague’s desk or linger after a meeting for a few minutes, take time out of the workday when it’s convenient for your team members to have a video call and chat just to catch up. to do When you have nothing but walls, your pets, and the same people in your house 24/7, having casual face-to-face interactions outside the home is essential.
Communication and boundary setting are top priorities.
If anything, remember that every person on your team, whether a seasoned home pro or a remote novice, is going to experience extreme mental and emotional confusion. This calls for an increased amount of flexibility, understanding and grace from managers and C-suites.
Communicate regularly and openly with your team, define what the boundaries are for both management and team members, and work to respect these boundaries in all aspects.
In fact, we don’t know how long the stay-at-home orders will be in place. Some companies can’t wait to get back to the office, and others are starting to consider keeping things remote even after adjusting orders. Either way, we hope these tips help you make the best of the current situation to emerge with a stronger, more cohesive team when we all come out the other side.
What lessons have you learned in these few weeks of managing a remote team and working from home? We would love to hear more or answer any questions you may have! Our team is always available for strategy sessions, whether it’s working from home, running a remote company, or – our real area of expertise – email marketing.
Get in touch and let us know how we can help. We are only a quick chat, call, or email away.
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