Managing Remote Teams: 8 Mistakes to Avoid

As we continue to navigate through the tail-end of the pandemic, we’re noticing a huge shift in working habits — namely in the rise of flexible and hybrid working. It’s now expected that employers will offer some kind of work-from-home option, with many businesses happy with a couple of in-office days per week.

But this rise in remote working brings a challenge on how to effectively manage a team you’re not always around. Even just two days of remote working per week means losing out on hours of face-to-face interactions, which can impact relationships and even work performance.

To run a successful team in an increasingly tech-based world, it’s become necessary to think on your feet. In your work environment, it’s more than likely you’ll be led by instinct; turning on video when conference calling, having daily check-ins and setting clear expectations. But these just scratch the surface and there is plenty you can do to help your team thrive.

What Are the Challenges of Managing Remote Teams?

There are several challenges involved in managing remote teams, which can include:

• Preventing misunderstandings within teams, which are often fuelled by a lack of context, communication and, in some cases, proximity
• Ensuring employees don’t feel lonely or isolated
• Knowing whether employees are overcompensating for not being seen by working longer hours
• Continuing to implement engaging employee development plans
• Maintaining — or even creating — a strong company culture and team morale
• Monitoring productivity levels, workflows and progress on complicated projects
• Maintaining employee engagement and employee happiness
• Ensuring employees sustain a good work-life balance

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8 Mistakes to Avoid When Managing Remote Teams

To help you navigate the distance between you and your direct reports in these uncertain times, here are eight mistakes to avoid when managing remote teams.

1. Don’t treat all direct reports the same

‘Treat others how you want to be treated’ is a slightly dated communication style and should actually be replaced with 'treat others how they want to be treated'.

Applying the same rules to all of your remote team members is a common mistake, and you should adapt your approach on a case-by-case basis. As the advisory and analytics company, Gallup, points out: “Some remote workers feel isolated by working alone, while others feel liberated. Some love 24/7 access to work; others need to have a real boundary between office and home.”

You should start by simply asking your team how they’d like to be managed remotely. Some employees may want regular check-ins throughout the day as they work from home, while others may work remotely for deep focus, so would appreciate minimal disturbances.

And once you know how your employees want to be managed, respect it. Don’t, for example, request multiple calls if they prefer to focus, nor should you ignore employees that work best collaboratively.

3. Don’t skimp on ‘water-cooler chat’

We have previously spoken about the value of community within shared office spaces, and why it’s crucial to hire the right talent — and ensure they feel part of the team.

Working from the office brings micro-interactions of working alongside people, which can help create meaningful relationships and naturally fosters a collaborative environment, which can help boost company culture. In a hybrid working model with remote working, creating a positive culture can be a little more difficult.

Research has found that loneliness is one of the most pervasive complaints among remote workers who miss the social interactions of an office setting. This can be hardest for extroverts, who don’t have the chance to connect with other people on a frequent basis. Your extroverted employees may be the ones that work from the office on a more regular basis, so can be the core of the culture in your company. And if the company culture is a good one, employees are more likely to go into the office.

You should strive to recreate these micro-interactions in the virtual world. Weave small talk into any conference calls or instant messages, and try to encourage virtual chats between extroverts and remote workers in order to create meaningful coworker relationships. Offer emotional support to your teams, listen to worries and create a space where everyone can share personal stories and laugh about things outside of work.

3. Don’t leave out any context

Research quoted in the Harvard Business Review has detailed the potential pitfalls of remote working, saying that tone of voice, facial expressions and most importantly, context, can get lost in translation. This lack of “mutual knowledge” among remote teams can translate to “a lower willingness to give co-workers the benefit of the doubt in difficult situations”.

In the office, if you’re having a bad day, those around you can pick up on this implicit fact — either by overhearing your phone calls, your sighs of frustration or your body language.
As a result, line reports will view urgent demands and blunt responses as “a natural product of stress”, rather than a personal attack.

However, remote working means we have a much smaller understanding of everyone else’s day and so information needs to be explicit. We’re likely to personalise behaviour if we have no surrounding context. As the days of remote working continue, your relationship with your direct reports will have a huge impact on their productivity and motivation. Take the time to give them context when they need it.

4. Avoid making remote-work mean extra work

The boundaries between work and personal life are much harder to maintain when work and personal life are in the same place. Remote workers are already juggling more, whether it’s looking after kids or figuring out how to co-work with their spouses — and, in younger generations — spending a lot more time with flatmates they may not know very well.

Encourage teams to come into the office on a more frequent basis. You don’t need to go so far as to mandate days in, but you could gently suggest that certain meetings are held face-to-face rather than over Zoom. Getting back into the office also makes it easier to end the work day and head home, rather than allowing the little admin tasks to bleed into your personal time, as can be the case when remote working.

For the days when you are working remotely, ensure that your team know when to stop working. Encourage messaging to say bye when the working day ends, and ensure that workers are logging off at a decent time, instead of overworking.

Encourage them to manage your expectations and push back. Remind them this doesn’t make them appear lazy — it makes them appear in control.

5. Focus on professional development

When managing remote teams, more catch-ups are likely to centre around activity, rather than goals. When working together in an office, you can see the activity and are more likely to have general discussions about the status of specific projects or tasks, so can focus more on noticing any knowledge gaps and providing training.

With a rise in remote working, this can be more difficult to notice. If you have employees that spend more time working remotely than in the office, ensure you’re asking questions about their career aspirations and the skills they want to develop, as it might not be so obvious on a daily basis.

Research from Gallup reinforces this notion: “It’s important to use this time to also nurture talent and encourage learning and development — just because you’re not in the office it doesn’t mean that you have to stop growing skillsets.”

6. Give praise where it’s due

Sitting next to your colleagues gives you ample opportunity to praise their hard work and celebrate their successes — because the likelihood of hearing about them is much higher.

When you’re managing remote teams — even teams that are only partially remote — there are far fewer natural moments to notice, and your employees may end up feeling unappreciated.

This is especially true for any team members who may be too shy to shout about their own successes.

For example, swivelling around on an office chair to mention a recent success is a lot less nerve-wracking than the radio silence that could follow a seemingly boastful email.

Encourage your team to volunteer their successes, and ensure that line managers are keeping track and voicing these wins — however big or small — to the wider company. When you do hear of any good work, ensure that you’re enthusiastic about the praise. By making your team feel appreciated and a part of something bigger, you can help boost productivity and motivation.

7. Don’t ignore the power of trust

Trust is make-or-break when it comes to managing remote teams. While hybrid roles are becoming more commonplace, you need to be able to trust that your employees are actually doing the work. Keep track of productivity with regular meetings, as necessary, while also accepting that some days or weeks may naturally be less productive, whether due to external factors.

On the other hand, some remote workers may feel panicked about proving proactivity, and may even suffer from imposter syndrome. Over time, this can lead to burnout and a slump in productivity.

Remote working can also give way to a phenomenon known as presenteeism, which means showing up (or, logging on) to work, but not actually doing any productive work.

You can combat this with remote working guidelines in order to keep productivity flowing. This could be responding to emails within a specific time frame, as well as banning communication outside of office hours, in order to help prevent round-the-clock working.

You may also consider requesting that everyone works from the office at least once a week. Optimising your office layout can help to boost productivity, with activity-based office layouts proven to enhance productivity by up to 16%.

3. Don’t forget you’re human too

Excuse the cliché, but there’s a reason pre-flight safety demonstrations tell you to fix your own oxygen mask before helping others — you can only effectively support and strategically lead your team if you’re on top form yourself.

While you might not want to lean on your direct reports for your own emotional support, make sure you have your own network to discuss any anxieties you may be facing.

Chatting with someone else, such as a colleague on another team or HR representative, can ensure that you’re not holding onto any stress. You may also garner useful insights from others who may have been through similar experiences, giving you a clearer idea of how to proceed.

Even if you’re feeling well, supported and satisfied, a chat with a friend or colleague goes a long way and can ensure your positive mood doesn’t falter. Try and schedule these chats face-to-face, as it’s much easier to be honest and truthful when you’re not talking to a screen.

Introduce a ‘coffee morning’ scheme to your office, where two employees are chosen, at random, to go for a coffee together. They can talk about anything they want to, as long as it remains confidential. This can even help to nurture office relationships, encouraging employees to come into the office on a more regular basis.

Office Space With Knight Frank

Whether you’re looking for a serviced or managed office, or a coworking space, Knight Frank can find the space for you. Our team are knowledgable and experienced, with the best contacts in commercial real estate, allowing us to find the best deals for your team, in a location and building that’s suited for you. Get in touch with our team to find your next office space.