Before video conferencing, emails, and project management were a thing, people had to work in a physical location to collaborate. Now, with your employees dispersed, you need to learn the art of supervising your team when they’re based in different time zones and geographical locations.

This proves to be a challenging tasks for even experienced managers. To begin with, offices outside of the traditional corporate setup have a more relaxed and informal organisational structure. Since supervisors aren’t physically present, some employees may feel like they lack direction or drive.

On the other hand, there’s an autonomy that comes with working from home. This freedom is empowering for your workers and may increase their productivity and creativity. Either way, it’s important for you to bridge the distance gap amongst team members working in different locations.

Common obstacles in remote team management

When you have a large team of remote workers to manage, it’s going to be a challenge to give each of them the attention that they deserve. You might find that spontaneous communication is almost impossible and the sense of closeness goes away with it.

Here are some of the usual problems that you might encounter as you navigate how to manage employees across the globe:

• Experiencing time delays with things that can’t be sent electronically or through email
• Getting everyone to feel like they’re part of the team to encourage camaraderie
• Giving your team members in other locations your attention when you’re busy at your primary location
• Having spontaneous conversations since there’s no longer a hallway, pantry, or water cooler
• Having first-hand access to their attire, working hours, and on-the-job performance

Strategies to manage people in different locations

Now that we’re aware of the challenges, let’s consider the ways that you may overcome them.

1 – Establish a remote data centre

Since your employees are based in different places, it’s virtually impossible to establish a physical presence in all of those locations without a major impact on your company’s finances. To address this concern, many businesses have opted for colocation services or remote management hubs instead.

With this, you’ll be able to reduce costs related to setting up a company-owned communication and data hub to connect all locations. You’re going to be spared from construction, equipping, and maintenance expenses that come with building and facilitating a dedicated IT infrastructure from scratch.

2 – Delegate duties to others

You may feel the urge to micromanage all of your remote workers but it’s better to avoid all instances of doing so. As a manager, be careful that you don’t impose your decisions on every single activity or task that your employee is in-charge of.

Micromanagement causes your business to lose track of your progress and your employees to feel frustrated by having all of their choices go through you first. Learn to properly delegate responsibilities to them to increase their dedication and accountability instead. This increases their skills as a remote worker too.

3 – Use the right management tools

The differences in location will complicate the process of administrating corporate functions and duties. To be efficient and effective with your logistics, make use of the numerous programs and software available. Some of these are even free of charge, but it’s always better to pay for premium where possible.

It’s a given that you’ll be communicating with your personnel digitally every so often. Scheduling software makes it easier to set up meetings despite the different time zones and working hours. Project management tools also inform you of any pending tasks while keeping you updated on the progress.

4 – Encourage regular communication

Maintain a smooth flow of organisational functions in your team through regular communication. Collaboration between the management and the workers in each area ensures that every task is going to be handled properly and that every project will be finished on time.

Remote work demands that you schedule weekly or monthly meetings where you discuss the job in depth. Chat messaging is fine for short conversations but it’s recommended that you hold video conferences for longer discussions. Consider holding webinars when training people about new tools or processes as well.

5 – Be aware of the differences

Remotely managing workers who are based in different parts of the globe poses unique differences that you must be aware of as a manager. For instance, there is the element of time wherein morning in one place may mean evening in another area.

When communicating with team members in these places, take note of their time zones so you won’t contact them during an inappropriate time e.g. when they’re already sleeping or when they have woken up yet. It’s more courteous to adjust your time to their daytime.

Find remote workers in different locales

For your team to perform better and work together, it’s important for you to manage them well even if you are halfway across the world from each other. If you’re yet to hire virtual professionals to become part of your company, we at Remote Workmate are here to help.

We are an offshore staffing company that is connected to remote workers from the Philippines and other countries. While we do have an existing talent pool, we are capable of screening more candidates for you to choose from to ensure you find the best person for the role you have in mind.