Traditional work as we know it has evolved in recent years based on the progress of technology. The widespread popularity of remote work has become a defining feature of the modern professional world. While the flexibility and accessibility offered by remote work bring benefits, they also come with unique challenges for remote employees and employers. 

This article explores the budding challenges employers may likely encounter when working with remote employees and more importantly, expands on possible solutions to tackle some of these challenges. Let’s begin!

Remote Work Challenges and the Solutions

Whether you are an experienced remote team manager or an employer just starting to embrace this flexible work system, here are some challenges that often come up between employers and remote workers and the solutions to those challenges:

Communication Gaps

Time and again, remote employers encounter the challenge of effective communication. Whether in timezone differences, breaking lines, or faulty wifi, you may have had a fair share of poor communication when working with remote employees. While the employer seeks to maintain a good working environment and drive growth in the business, when poor communication and management meet with underperforming staff, productivity drops, and mistakes increase. How do we solve this?

Solution

Overcoming the challenges of limited face-to-face communication in remote work requires a proactive approach that utilizes technology and intentional communication methods. One way to tackle the challenge is for remote employers to focus on thorough and clear communication by using video conferencing tools for team meetings, presentations, and group discussions. It will help to create meaningful connections among team members and a more collaborative work environment. Periodic check-ins are also necessary to mimic the casual interactions in the traditional office context.

Timezone Differences

Obviously, remote working has opened up the horizon for job seekers and recruiters. More than ever, the net is cast across many parts of the world to hire remote employees. It’s A big win for business, as it becomes easier to spot talent from all around the world, especially affordable ones based in Africa. However, it can be challenging to manage time zone differences. Soon, you may deal with the difficulty of keeping your team in sync as real-time collaboration becomes tedious.

Solution

Create flexible working hours that can accommodate remote employees across different locations while emphasizing the need for availability in the time slot provided for each team member. Also, you can use some scheduling tools available for remote work. For example, a shared calendar to avoid conflict in working hours among team members.

Tracking Productivity And Accountability

It is true that remote work comes with the perks of convenience and would sometimes look like “easy work”. But we find it difficult to finish that article, close that sale, and complete that task when there’s no “real accountability” in check. It’s a big challenge to create and stick to a schedule when working with remote employees.

Distractions come with little or no supervision and working from home has its fair share. From domestic chores to pick-ups, social media, and kids, managing your tasks can become challenging with the flexible work culture and distractions. These factors cause strain on productivity and can lead to a decline in overall team efficiency.

Solution 

Maintaining focus while prioritising work items requires time management mastery. When working with remote employees, remote managers may need to set clear performance indicators that streamline activities for each workday. Deadlines should be set for task delivery with clear and measurable expectations

Working hours should be set with clear expectations on work items to be delivered each work day. As a remote work manager, you may need to push for a dedicated work area for your employees to reduce the distraction of just working from anywhere(This is not necessary except your task demands). You should also be ready to use time tracking and task management tools to improve focus.

When working with remote employees, you may need to apply different approaches to ensure accountability. As you set clear goals for your remote employees, frequent check-ins are required to push and drive them to productivity. You can also add project management tools to help with visibility on deliverables and project timelines.

Work-life Balance

It can be challenging to separate work from personal life when working from home. Since there are no clear boundaries, remote employees almost always have to need help with the balance between getting work done and living their best lives. As emails trickle in way past official work time, increasing work items and deadlines to meet, overworking has become the order of the day. This often results in burnout and underperformance. When do you draw the line between personal and work time?

Other challenges would be the resulting psychological impact of working from home. Remote employees no longer need to get in a queue for coffee or have a work-related chit-chat with a colleague. Small activities like these are cut off from your employees, leaving a feeling of disconnection and loneliness. For some, feeling isolated can cause bigger issues than just loneliness. The lack of human connection can introduce mental health challenges like depression and reduce overall well-being 

Solution

Balancing work and personal life is pivotal to remote work demands. Apart from advocating for a dedicated workspace, the remote manager should define specific work hours that signify the start and end of work for the remote worker. It should also include regular work breaks while exploring a flexible work structure with workers.

Creating a virtual community where co-workers can connect and engage in non-work related discussion activities like team bonding and online trivia games, will confront feelings of isolation and disconnectedness often felt by remote workers. 

Motivation

How do you motivate your remote employees to get the job done? Some may have mastered self-motivation while others may need that constant energy to keep them going during long days. Unfortunately, the distraction they face at home may require more than an alarm or scheduler to complete their work items. However, remote workers need to stay motivated for optimal productivity.

Solution

One way to address this challenge is through learning and development opportunities. This can come as dry runs from group knowledge-sharing sessions and general staff training. The impact of training your employees is seen in their performance almost immediately. There’s a feeling of importance and relevance right after. This can motivate them to work effectively from home.

You may also consider using incentives for top performers, creating a culture of reward and recognition for them would encourage others to deliver their best and push through the distractions they face while working remotely.

Hire Affordable Remote Employees with Elite Outsource

In this blog post, we’ve discussed some of the challenges of working with remote employees and provided solutions. However, finding the right candidate can also be a significant hurdle. What if the person you hire isn’t the right fit for the role?

That’s why it’s essential to outsource your recruitment to a trusted firm like Elite Outsource. We have a vast network of African talent across various industries. And here’s the best part – we don’t charge an agency fee! Recruitment is completely free.

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