Remote work will continue even after the end of the Covid pandemic

Even with the world getting back to normal, reports say that remote work is here to stay. In fact, the Global Workplace Analytics estimates 25% to 30% of the workforce in the United States will be working from home by the end of 2021.

Working long distance or remotely can still be a big asset to your productivity and company success, which is true for any business, including the world of sales. Although working remotely can have a lot of benefits, some issues come up when strong leadership, from yourself or others, isn’t provided. Here are some tips and tricks to have a successful remote team even after COVID-19.

Set Clear Expectations

In order to have a positive experience with working remotely, it’s important to set standards and expectations with your team. Every company has different needs and wants from their employees, so whatever your expectations are for the productivity of your team, show leadership and help set your team up for success.

Expectations can also be set for yourself. Working remotely comes with a lot of distractions, but making sure to set specific work hours or finding a schedule that works for your contribution to the team. 

If you’re having a hard time focusing or staying on task, then experiment with alternative approaches to your work. Try setting up a specific place in your house where you will work, and avoid working in places that are distracting. Or try setting productivity goals and rewarding yourself when you accomplish them.

When you set expectations with yourself and others, you bring accountability into the picture. Normally that’s viewed as a negative word, but being accountable for accomplishing something is a great feeling and something that can keep you motivated and healthy while working remotely.

Communicate Often

Communication is key to creating a strong team. So if you don’t have a solid platform to communicate with your team, it’s time you found one. Check out some of these virtual meeting tools or find any of the hundreds that you can use for free or cheap.

When working remotely, it’s too easy for individuals in a team to feel isolated. Sometimes getting some time to yourself is great for work, but in the longterm it can be dangerous to productivity and even mental health.

Be sure to communicate often— schedule it into your teams’ week and make sure that people are feeling energized and uplifted by the conversation. These meetings don’t need to be heavy and solely productivity-focused. Have fun with it. A lot of great office environments thrive off of personal interactions and digital tools can facilitate that even from separate locations.

Proactive Organization

Staying organized and being away from any office can be difficult. So organizing yourself and work schedule before you’re overwhelmed or flustered will help prevent future problems.

Remote work isn’t the exact same as office work, so your personal and team organization will need to change in more ways than one. For example, knowing when your employees are working and what projects they’re working on. This doesn’t mean you should micromanage your team, but instead find ways to organize projects with specific people’s names and their work schedules. 

Make sure that everyone is on the same page about what’s needing to be accomplished. You can do this using team management software like Trello and then communicating it to your teams through different team communication platforms, including SalesRabbit.

Give it a Try

Don’t be afraid of remote work. For too long working remotely has been a sort of taboo, but there is a lot of good that can and will come from working remotely after COVID-19.

Learn to set clear expectations, communicate often, and organize ahead of time to make your team the best they can be. This is the way that our workforces are heading so it’s time that you see how remote work can benefit you and your team now.