Purdue University Northwest > Human Resources > Employee Learning and Development > Successfully Managing a Remote Work Team

Successfully Managing a Remote Work Team

As with any on-site positions, it is important to set expectations up front for performance and availability.  Managing performance for remote or hybrid employees is, in many ways, the same as for staff working on campus.  It involves defining the necessary work outcomes from staff, defining a communication plan among the team, and a clear distribution of work among the unit.

See Purdue System Remote Work Guidelines and Learning Resources

Top 9 Characteristics to Successfully Lead a Remote Team

When people describe their favorite manager, they talk about who that person is, not necessarily, what that person did. Here a few behavior traits to consider to successfully navigate your team in a remote work environment.

  1. Maintain Communication – Make a concerted effort to frequently share information, answer questions and facilitate employee interaction by using multiple communication methods.
  2. Set Clear Expectations – Establish team and individual expectations for performance and daily operations. Being clear with your team will keep everyone focused and working toward the same goals.
  3. Manage Performance – Create results-based goals with clear performance measurements. Schedule time to meet with your employees, assist with setting priorities and establishing timelines to meet deadlines.
  4. Lead with Empathy – Listen to your employee’s perspective/feedback/concerns without judgment. Be present, supportive and understanding.
  5. Be Flexible – Respond to changing conditions and individual circumstances. Be open to new ways of doing business or processes.
  6. Be a Coach – Empower people to solve their own problems, with your support. Enable your employees to do their best work and develop themselves. Give positive and constructive feedback.
  7. Motivate and Engage – Show appreciation through reward and recognition. Say thank you. Share positive stories. Create a sense of belonging. Seek input and ask for feedback.
  8. Manage Work/Life Balance – Take care of yourself. Designate your own scheduled work times and share with your team. Encourage employees to establish and adhere to work schedules. Refrain from constantly checking email on evenings and weekends.
  9. Build trust – Do what you say you will do when you say you’re going to do it. Model the behaviors you seek. Admit what you don’t know and be transparent. Remember, when there is a lack of information, false information fills the void.

Tips and Ideas

  1. Communicate health and wellness resources to employees
  2. Create a shared document where everyone can review and edit ie: To-Do lists
  3. Celebrate successes, no matter how small
  4. Assign different team members to lead weekly staff meetings, projects, etc.
  5. Form ‘buddy’ relationships by pairing up team members to act as a resource and support one another
  6. Reach out to individuals more often just to check-in
  7. Create informal and optional opportunities for the team to connect. Virtual coffee chats, water cooler talk, play games, or lunch and learn.
  8. Identify sources of online collaboration ie: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx
  9. Be flexible in considering non-traditional work hours

Work Schedule Expectations

  • Core Hours. Some teams have found it helpful to set core hours that everyone will be available, such as 8 a.m. CST to 4:30 p.m. CST.  This alleviates the frustration of not knowing when to reach each other and allows for more real time collaboration.
  • Business Needs. Design schedules to do what you need to do to fit the business needs of your area.
  • Meeting Times. Keep different time zones in mind when scheduling meetings.
  • Scheduling Meeting Considerations. Consider scheduling meetings to end five minutes early, such as in 25 or 55 minute increments, to allow transition time.
  • Calendar And Email Tips
    • Schedule available work hours on calendars.
    • Keep calendars up to date and use out of office messaging when away.
    • Schedule emails to send during work hours.
    • If you often send emails outside of regular work hours, consider adding something to your signature such as “I recognize that we may work different schedules; I do not expect responses to email on evenings, weekends, or when you are out of the office/on vacation.”

Communication Expectations

    • Team Check-Ins. Decide upon the timing of regular check-ins for your whole team.  Some teams have daily huddles, while others meet monthly.
    • Individual Meetings. Discuss and schedule recurring regular individual (one on one) meetings.  Some managers find weekly one on ones to be helpful, while others find monthly to be sufficient.
    • Response Expectations. Set response time standards.  Employees should know your expectations for responding to emails, phone calls, chats, etc.
      • Best practice is to respond within 24 hours.
      • Encourage your employees to acknowledge receipt, even if they do not know the answer, as quickly as possible.

Foster Engagement

  • Connect. Be intentional about helping to foster quality connections amongst your team.
    • Plan gatherings or team meetings where there is a social element.
    • Encourage team members to take time to foster a connection with their teammates.
  • Communicate informally as well as formally. Connect with individual team members on a regular basis, both through formal meetings and informal (such as Teams chat).
    • Watch for behavior changes in employees and refer employee to resources as appropriate.
    • Provide feedback on a regular basis to help the employee have an accurate sense of how they are performing.