What do you do if remote work is negatively impacting business management?

1 Assess the impact

The first step is to evaluate how remote work is affecting your business management. You can use various tools and methods to collect feedback, data, and insights from your remote team and stakeholders. For example, you can conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online polls to measure the satisfaction, engagement, collaboration, and output of your remote workers. You can also use analytics, dashboards, or reports to track the progress, results, and performance of your remote projects and tasks. By assessing the impact of remote work, you can identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your current situation.

2 Adjust your strategy

The next step is to adjust your business management strategy to suit the remote work environment. You may need to revise your vision, mission, goals, and objectives to reflect the new realities and expectations of your remote team and customers. You may also need to update your policies, procedures, and guidelines to accommodate the flexibility, autonomy, and diversity of your remote work. Moreover, you may need to adopt new tools, platforms, and systems to facilitate the communication, coordination, and collaboration of your remote team. By adjusting your strategy, you can align your remote work with your business management.

3 Communicate effectively

The third step is to communicate effectively with your remote team and stakeholders. You need to establish clear, consistent, and frequent communication channels and methods to keep everyone informed, involved, and inspired. You need to use different modes and formats of communication, such as video calls, emails, chats, or blogs, to suit the purpose, audience, and tone of your messages. You also need to balance the formal and informal communication, such as meetings, updates, or check-ins, to maintain the rapport, trust, and feedback of your remote team. By communicating effectively, you can foster a sense of connection, engagement, and belonging among your remote team.

4 Coordinate efficiently

The fourth step is to coordinate efficiently with your remote team and stakeholders. You need to plan, organize, and execute your remote work in a way that maximizes the productivity, quality, and value of your output. You need to set realistic, measurable, and achievable goals and expectations for your remote team and monitor their progress and performance regularly. You also need to delegate, empower, and support your remote team and provide them with the resources, guidance, and feedback they need to complete their tasks. By coordinating efficiently, you can optimize the workflow, output, and impact of your remote work.

5 Motivate positively

The fifth step is to motivate positively your remote team and stakeholders. You need to create a positive and supportive remote work culture that encourages, recognizes, and rewards your remote team for their efforts and achievements. You need to provide them with opportunities for learning, growth, and development and help them overcome their challenges and difficulties. You also need to celebrate their successes and milestones and show them how their work contributes to the overall vision and mission of your business. By motivating positively, you can boost the morale, satisfaction, and retention of your remote team.

6 Evaluate and improve

The final step is to evaluate and improve your remote work and business management. You need to review and reflect on your remote work experience and outcomes and identify what worked well, what did not, and what can be improved. You need to collect and analyze the feedback, data, and insights from your remote team and stakeholders and use them to inform your decisions and actions. You also need to implement and test the changes and improvements you have made and monitor their effects and results. By evaluating and improving, you can enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and excellence of your remote work and business management.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?