Blog

Managers, in a virtual environment, are constantly battling with diversions like television, social media, video games, etc. that are not normally present in a physical workspace. Moreover, family distractions are also something that cannot be escaped. Amid such disruptions, it can be daunting for employers to encourage employees to consistently log in, participate in learning or stay engaged. Thus, they keep looking for team-building skills for teachers to maintain critical school culture and foster relationships.

As academic managers, it is essential to know that there is a myriad of factors contributing to social anxiety, loneliness, isolation, fear, etc in your team. In such instances building a healthy virtual environment and fostering productive tasks might be crucial.

Ways To Manage Your Remote Working Team Effectively

To ease your pain, we here bring you 5 online engagement strategies that will help you manage remote teams effectively.

1. Trust Your People

   
   This not only applies to the administrators but to the entire school community as a whole that includes the teachers, staff members, etc. One of the main things that students want is to continue the same relationship with you as they would physically in a school building. Thus, even during remote working, it is essential to put your best foot forward and make the team realize that nothing has changed.

   Additionally, it is vital to maintain the same norms you will have in a physical workspace. Know your team members and ensure to build trust with each other. While tracking each and every move of your workers can backfire, it is essential to verify and trust your people to make sure they are aligned with the company objectives. Remote working requires leaders to be more thoughtful and intentional about how they interact with their teams and be mindful of how to protect their time and health.

2. Keep Different Home Situations In Mind

   
   When your team works from home, situations can greatly vary, and hence you should be mindful of various working situations. When employees are working from the office they have access to the same resources and hence tend to behave in a certain way. However, home environments can be a lot different and hence creates a challenge for leaders to understand how every individual works.

   Remote working requires flexible leadership where you check in on your staff often while respecting time. While many employers feel that remote work deserves to keep work on priority, instigated hours and days of meetings are highly discouraged. With adaptive leadership and flexibility, you can make your team more productive.
    

   
    
3. Set Clear Working Objectives

   
   Managing remote teams can be tricky hence there are no assessment parameters to review performance or measure productivity physically. Thus, your team members must be clear on what the revised company vision and strategies are and they should ensure that their work and objectives align with the company policies. You as an administrator should be responsible for work division and accountability.

   Make sure to break the work into small chunks so that they can be easily accomplished within the work sessions. Ensure that each and every individual knows what their long-term goals are and if possible hold a training session to make things clear. Alternatively, be aware of the challenges that your employees face so that they can focus on their goals and present their deliverables.

4. Arrange 1:1 Meetings Frequently

   
   With the advent of technology, while the education industry is rapidly moving towards the digital era, it is easy for people to quit their full-time office job and work remotely. However, for leaders and managers, this can be a giant leap. Thus, if you are a leader who believes that one-to-one meetings are reserved for annual reviews, then you might find the entire remote working situation a tad bit uncomfortable.

   If that's the case with you then you need to remind yourself that you are the productivity coach and level up as an executive. Arrange for 1:1 meetings frequently while assessing your team’s availability and be more warm, approachable, understanding, and humane. Create a system of resolving challenges and celebrating accomplishments to ensure that all of you are working towards a similar objective.

5. Be Open To Questions And Feedback

   
   Just as your institution consists of various departments, your team is also diversified with various personality traits. Thus, not everyone will be open about facing issues online and you should have more informal catch-ups with them. However, don't pry on their personal issues and be aware of their meeting overload. Ask more questions that will enable you to gauge the root causes and solve them.

   Be empathetic and stay alert to the causes of burnout and stress. Lend an ear to concerns like screen fatigue, leave issues, long working hours, etc. Additionally, there might also be generational and personality issues that would require your attention. Thus, stay alert to any red flags and signpost the concerned teams for appropriate support.

The Bottom Line

In the end, it's all about adapting to the new normal. The entire organization must be benefitted from the opportunities that will facilitate both professional and personal growth. If you are passionate about planning and managing a group of individuals, a course in building a school team is something you can consider. Trust yourself and transform lives in different and new ways.

Leave a comment!