When your team is working in different locations, it is quite hard to manage production processes, sales performance strategy, communication logistics whilst trying to keep your team motivated, engaged and improving their performances. If you’re managing a remote team, how can you really be sure everyone is on task and collaborating appropriately?
Here are few smart tips for effectively managing a field based team:
Get the right tools for the job
Are you making the most of mobile technology? Giving you staff the opportunity to view their daily schedule on their mobile phone means that they won’t longer need to carry around piles of paperwork.
Having the proper field activity management software will make the workflow smoother and help to build a business culture for workers who don’t physically interact with each other. A good field activity management software will provide you the following services:
Workforce tracking: It will allow you to see where your field teams are at all times and to monitor your workers’ performance and interactions.
Communication and team collaboration: Instant messaging can be the solution for an effective communication and collaboration between members of multi-sites teams. These tools bridge the communication gap between departments located in different sites and encourage workers to share news and updates on the work they are doing. Mobile apps can provide field based staff all the information they need at their finger-tips but also can help them to communicate instantly.
Mobile forms: keeping communications strong between the office and the field is vital for any organization. Giving field representatives a way to track their interactions with customers or manage other aspects of their job is essential. Therefore, businesses should look for field activity management software that provides customized forms according to their activities.
Share information in real time
To ensure smooth workflow is advisable to share information with field workers in real time within and between departments. When managers have access to real-time information they can be much more proactive instead of reacting when things have already occurred. This can make easy for you to manage field workers.
Make your remote employers feel part of the team
Field based staff can feel remote, frustrated and isolated. Giving field staff access to the information they need quickly and easily will enable them to feel part of the team. Using some of the tools we have mentioned, staff have the ability to send and receive communications on the go and be kept informed of changes quickly and easily.
Ensure your remote team workers’ understand your company’s goals and objectives
The importance of having clear project goals and objectives is paramount for the success of any organization. It’s much easier for you and your remote team to achieve your target when everyone is clear about the objectives and the ways to achieve them. It’s important that everyone’s on the same page, and to reduce chances for misunderstanding or underperformance, you must address any confusion or lack of clarity regarding goals and processes. It is critical to take time to address each worker doubts and questions and ensure they fully understand your company’s objectives and the role they play in helping the organization to achieve them.
Keep the communication lines open
Having communication channels open on a daily basis is essential to answer any questions or concerns from your remote team. If they have a problem or new idea, they shouldn’t be afraid to reach out. Ask them what they are working on, every day, all the time. Also encourage team members to keep in touch with each other.
Schedule regular calls and meetings
Keeping regular meeting minutes are also important as they can provide a to-do list for the time between now and the next-scheduled meeting. Calls and meetings enable your remote workers to refer back to them at any time and check what was agreed on for different projects.
Foster a remote culture
If your company is mostly comprised of employees who work in the field and don’t check into the office daily, your business needs a remote culture and the most important aspect to create it is transparency. To ensure transparency, you might use multiple software solutions to keep everyone in touch and a part of connected team work.
If you have a lot of employees that work remotely, or work in a business that requires employees making trips in the field, like sales, there are a lot of steps you can take to integrate these employees into your team and build a cohesive, productive and collaborative team. Distant working relationships bring up challenges in communication and productivity not normally encountered in a traditional workplace environment. It’s therefore necessary to adopt measures that address these challenges and keep remote work collaborations fluid and successful.
DataScope is a platform which allows various industries to streamline, organize and evaluate the work of their field staffs thanks to online forms which provide real time indicators 100% adaptable to any field.
