Managing employees who work remotely or in the field can be a challenge, especially when you don’t see them directly. There are things that you can do to ensure efficiency and productivity even when you are not physically there with them. If your business employs remote staff, here are helpful tips that you can use.
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Know their skills
It’s vital that you get to know your staff properly and that you understand their specific skills so you can send the right people for a particular job. It will also help in managing tasks as you will know which staff to put on what projects. Sending employees that are the right fit for the work gives a high probability of a first-time fix, which in turn will increase customer satisfaction. It can result in repeat business or a recommendation to others.
Hire trustworthy people
It’s difficult to determine if people are honest until you have known them for a while. However, doing a background check can help to give you a better idea about their attitude and work ethics. Call previous employers and get their feedback to see how well they performed in their previous jobs. Chances are you will get the same experience with them so you can use this information in deciding which candidates to hire. Hiring trustworthy individuals is essential, especially for remote work, because you don’t have to micromanage them. You can be confident that they will perform their duties even with minimal or no supervision.
Communication is the key
You need to have timely and clear communication with your remote staff. Aside from telephones, there are various applications that you can use for this, including chat and e-mail. They need to know and understand the specific job that they need to do, and what they will need so they can do it effectively and fast.
Set clear goals
Be clear about what you want to achieve so everyone will know the objective, and they can work on achieving it. For instance, if you want a specific project completed in a particular time frame, be sure that all the staff involved are aware of it.
Invest in collaboration tools
There are plenty of choices for collaboration tools that you can use. See which will be most convenient for you. These tools will make it easier for people to work on a project. Every member will be in the loop, and they can work together to achieve their goals.
Use time-tracking applications
To ensure that your staff work on schedule, invest in a time tracker. Some are built with GPS features that will not only record the time but also the location, so you will know if they are really around the vicinity of the project location.
Instead of using different applications, you may also use field service management software that incorporates these various applications in one. It offers more convenience since everything you need for managing your remote employees will be in one place.