Remote employment has become one of the fastest growing trends of the business world that doesn’t seem to hit the brakes any time soon. The number of remote workers is expected to reach 63 million, or 43 percent of U.S. workforce, by 2016. We at Weekdone are helping many remote teams across the world to successfully manage their remote teams. We would like to share the insights and best practices managing remote teams, so the transition would go smoother for everybody. Here are the 10 tips how to successfully manage a remote team.

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III
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VII
VIII
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X
THE “X”
COMMANDMENTS
OF MANAGING
REMOTE TEAMS

2. Remote employment is one of the fastest
growing trends of the businessworld.
34M
americanswork
frome home
2015
63M
americanswork
frome home
expected for 2016
43%
USworkforce
willwork from
home in 2018

3. How to successfully manage remote
teams?
Managing a remote team makes employee engagement even harder.
Despite being in a long-distance relationship, following these 10
commandmentswill make sureyou andyour team to stay engaged.
managers
account for
70%
variance in employee
engagement

4. THOU SHALT CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Have good
communication
skills
Willingness to
write and
distribute status
reports
Self-motivated
Capable of
working under
minimal
supervision
I
CHECK OUT THE BEST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL

5. Employeeswhowork for engaged managers
are 50% more likely to be engaged*
THOU SHALT BE LEADING BY EXAMPLE
*www.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/182531/managing-employees-remotely-ways-work.aspx
engaged not engaged actively disengaged
79
62
50
75th percentile & above
50th to 74th percentile
less than 50th percentile
18
32
45
3
6
7
59% more likely
II

6. THOU SHALT EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Google Docs - everyday
interactive file sharing.
Make sureyou categorize.
Dropbox -suitable for
teams to share bigger
files
Skype -chat and calls Weekdone -saves time
and tells thewhole story
within a glance on team‘s
objective, plans,
progress and problems
Communicating can be difficultwhenyou lack the benefit of having
face-to-face interactions.
III
CHECK OUT THE BEST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL

7. •Develop timelines and milestoneswithyour team.
•Set plans and review themweekly -that makes sureyou are on top of things
THOU SHALT SCHEDULE A PLAN
Plansgoals, objectives
what I’ll do this week
problemschallenges, questions
delayed or stuck issues
Progressresults, accomplishments
what got done last week
Remote team manager is, in essence, a juggler. In order to maintain
consistencyyou need a concrete plan.
IV

8. Objectives.
You start by defining 3-5
key objectives on company,
team or personal levels.
Results.
Under each objective, define
3-4 measurable results, not
more. OKR results can be
based on growth,
performance, revenue or
engagement.
THOU SHALT SET GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Use Objectives and Key Results to keep remote team members in the
same direction.
V
CHECK OUT THE BEST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL

9. THOU SHALT PROMOTE PRODUCTIVITY
review employee
weekly plans and
progress
assess team's overall
happiness and
productivity
Remote team managers should always be aware of the current status
of each team member. Use aweekly reporting tool to do so:
VI

10. “I DON’T HAVE TIME TO GIVE
YOU A FEEDBACK REVIEW.
YOU’RE DOING FINE. WHEN
YOU’RE NOT, I’LL TELL YOU”
THOU SHALT PROVIDE FEEDBACK
Team performance hinges on feedback, andyou can greatly boost it
with a strategically placed comment or call.
FIX: Schedule a call to offer feedback or arrange avideo chat to be
able to read the reactions of your team member and act accordingly
VII
CHECK OUT THE BEST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL

11. Discusswithyour team
members the reasonwhy
the team exists
Clarify the company’s
mission and everyone’s
responsibilities
THOU SHALT CREATE A
COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT
Building team spirit is difficult as it is. Working remotely,you can
lose the feeling thatyou are a part of something greater.
VIII

12. Always remember that there is a
breathing human being on the other
side of virtual conversation. Do not
exclude anyone from important
information.
•Share details aboutwhat is happening
in the company, keep others informed
and engaged
•Schedule regular get-togethers in
person
THOU SHALT BE OPEN AND APPROACHABLE
IX
CHECK OUT THE BEST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL

13. Working in remote teams giveyou a certain degree of freedom but it can often feel
dispiriting. Times and times againwe underscored the importance of positive
reinforcement.
•Send gifts on birthdays or just call them personally –or betteryet, togetherwith
the rest of your team
• Offer small rewardswhenyour team reaches a milestone
THOU SHALT BE APPRECIATIVE
X

14. google.com/+weekdonefb.me/weekdonelinkedin.com/
company/weekdone
@weekdone
WEEKDONE HELPS YOU TO SUCCESSFULLY
MANAGE REMOTE TEAMS
Quick insights into your team
increase
engagement and
communication
Quickly know
team status