It can be difficult to connect with your team members if your New York City workmates report remotely to work at a virtual location every day. How can you keep your employees well managed, motivated and encouraged, feeling that their individual effort contributes to the team? These six easy steps will help ensure a successfully managed team.
1. Clearly define job function/role:
There is a great deal of freedom and flexibility that comes from working remotely, and it takes a special person to be able to handle the responsibility. Having a clear expectation of what the job entails and what the duties are, gives your telecommuting employee the guidance they need to succeed. A clear, black and white job description is part of this process. Defining each person’s role and objectives along with their place in the company’s hierarchy will help workspace team members to better understand their job objectives.
2. Provide detailed project objectives, timelines, due dates:
The aforementioned freedom of a remote team member can lead to your offsite workmate’s sense of time can becoming a bit skewed. Be more detailed with project objectives, than you would with office employees. Make it very clear when tasks are to be completed. It may help to give them a timeline that incorporates the whole plan to illustrate the necessity of meeting individual deadlines to achieve final objective. This is the time for open and clear communication.
3. Provide detailed feedback on tasks performed:
Follow up is a key part of being a successful manager, and sadly, it is often overlooked. Remember when you turned in an assignment in school, but your next assignment was due before receiving a grade on the first? How do you know if you are going about things correctly if you don’t receive detailed, and timely, feedback? Frustrating, right? Don’t let your virtually located work force feel the same way. Keep them up to date on the quality of work they’ve completed. By providing crucial feedback in a timely manner, your extended team members can meet expectations.
4. Critique when necessary but keep it positive:
Sometimes comments are interpreted differently if they aren’t delivered face to face. What may seem like constructive criticism in an email can be misunderstood in a completely different way by the reader. Even a voice conversation, where you can’t actively see facial expressions and gestures, can lead to miscommunication. Remember to stay positive to assure that the critiques are understood as intended to show areas for improvement. Despite the risks, do touch base with your flexible workspace users regularly via voice and email. This communication can help solidify the business relationship.
5. Meet in person every so often:
The famous psychologist Daniel Goleman teaches “The social brain is in its natural habitat when we’re talking with someone face-to-face in real time.” Keep this in mind for your employees. Make sure you meet with them in person regularly, monthly if possible. Even better, plan days for your whole work force to get together in a Manhattan meeting room. This helps all your workers feel like they are part of team and may help strengthen communication down the road. If your team members are friends or at least friendly, chances are they will be more accountable within their respective roles.
6. Provide incentives for work well done:
Everyone loves a pat on the back now and again, be generous with incentives for high performers, but also reward the lesser contributions of other team members. You can either organize incentive programs that are specific to tasks accomplished, or keep it vague and give rewards simply for a job well done. Working remote can feel like being on an island, so acknowledging good work helps keep offsite workers motivated and connected to your flexible Class A NYC location workspace.
Virtual Office Rental
If your small business or startup is managing a remote staff but is looking for a polished live receptionist mail service address, a virtual office rental or monthly desk lease at a prestigious Manhattan address may be a good fit. Virtual office rentals in New York City are an economical way to catapult your company’s image without breaking the bank. NYC Office Suites options for flexible virtual offices for rent are limitless and can be customized to suit your needs. From day office rentals to conference meeting bookings a virtual office complete with “Mail Me” options and answering services may be both convenient and cost effective. Contact us at 1-800-346-3968 for more information on flexible office space in NYC’s Midtown neighborhood.