Remote working is on the rise and has been since the start of the recent pandemic. What started as a necessity has evolved into a new generation of workers, with 75% of the workforce believing remote working is the new normal.
It offers greater flexibility, allowing employees to easily fit other commitments around their work while saving money. There are many benefits for everyone involved, provided you have a collaborative team. In this article, we examine the characteristics that commonly appear in high-performing remote teams.
Open communication
The ability to communicate regularly and clearly with your team is absolutely essential when working remotely. It’s not as easy as in-person working to know what everyone is focusing on, so to work efficiently, you’ll need to make an effort to keep in touch and share information.
This helps avoid two people unnecessarily working on the same task and allows the team to discuss what should be prioritised next. High-performing remote teams are likely to schedule regular check-ins, ensuring the importance of communication is not forgotten.
Appropriate time management
Working from home means there’s no one looking over your shoulder to keep you on track. Instead, it’s down to you to manage your time appropriately. Although working remotely offers greater flexibility, you must still be accountable for your workload and how your tasks affect others.
Managing your time properly means planning out your days, deciding how much time to dedicate to specific tasks and ensuring you’re making efficient use of your working hours. This is key to any successful remote team, as it helps ensure tasks are completed on time and prevents procrastination.
Delegation
Being comfortable with delegating tasks and responsibilities is a valuable skill for any remote worker. In the office, you may have relied on a manager or colleague to notice when your workload was getting too much, but this is not the case in a remote role. You can only do so much on your own, and experienced remote workers know when to reach out for help.
Pushing yourself to complete a task when you already have too much on your plate often means it’s rushed and perhaps not your best work. Don’t be tempted to soldier on alone; take a page from high-performing remote teams and delegate where possible.
Self-motivation
Everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for another. This is no different for remote versus office workers. Remote workers have more freedom, so they must be self-motivated to succeed in that environment.
Some people may struggle with this, instead finding themselves more easily motivated by the closely monitored nature of office work. This can lead to laziness, leaving tasks to the last minute, and a lack of dependability. To be successful, self-motivation is absolutely vital.
Succeeding as a team
Many factors play into whether a remote team is successful. Each member is accountable for their role on the team, sharing progress and helping others when needed. It might take some time to find a team of people with similar work ethics who all get along, but any business that finds itself so lucky is on track for success.
Learn more about the best ways to build trust with remote employees in our blog post here.
And if you’re hiring for a remote team, the Investing in Women job board is the perfect place to start. We have thousands of candidates in our community seeking work-from-home jobs. Advertise your home-based job vacancy here today.