Every year Fortune, Forbes, and other business publications release their lists of rising and thriving industries. Researchers share their data, analysis, and opinions on how the economy will unravel and affect our lives in the upcoming months.
Last year, experts considered that businesses related to Personal services, Travel, Information technology, Healthcare, and Construction will immensely grow in the coming years. The increasing demand in these industries has created opportunities for skilled individuals who can provide professional remote support services. Presently, these skilled individuals are known as remote workers or virtual assistants.
Industries Known For Hiring Offsite Workers
Information Technology
Casually known as IT, the industry is a broad professional category covering functions including building communications networks, safeguarding data and information, and troubleshooting computer problems.
Personal Services
The Business Research Company defines personal services as any business that offers day-to-day household, and individual assistance services. Some examples of ventures that are considered personal services are event planning, pet care, beauty salons, spas, massage parlors, and even funeral homes.
Travel and Hospitality
The travel and hospitality industries have recently seen a resurgence as Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease. Some businesses in this industry are hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, and transportation rentals.
Healthcare
Examples of organizations classified under the healthcare supersector are telehealth software solutions, medical equipment rental and maintenance services, nurse concierge services, medical staffing agencies, medical billing services, and drug testing businesses.
Law
Attorneys and law firms have also started hiring remote employees. Besides law offices, remote team members can also perform tasks for a legal consultation clinic, and legal coaching company.
Real Estate
This supersector includes buying and selling residential, commercial, and industrial properties such as flats, bungalows, offices, and villas.
Benefits Of Onboarding Remote Employees
- Save time from tedious tasks
- Boost work efficienct
- Reduce operation cost
- Gain access to specialized skills and services
- Reduced micromanagement
- Healthier work environment and avoid work burnout
- Improved customer service
Best Practices For Managing A Remote Team
Hiring remote workers has many benefits, especially for business revenue growth. However, similar to handling onsite employees, managing remote employees also has challenges. An article published by Forbes identified some common challenges inherent in working remotely including lack of face-to-face supervision, lack of access to information, social isolation, and distractions at home.
Experts conducted research and later determined the steps managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees. A newsletter discussed how to best manage remote teams, they are as follows:
- Schedule daily check-ins
Employers do not interact face-to-face when leading remote teams. To establish a professional relationship with remote workers, managers are recommended to schedule daily check-ins.
Experts admitted that regular check-ins may sound overkill but it is necessary. Moreover, where email, phone, and texts may have once sufficed, leaders successful in their remote leadership endeavors are leaning toward more frequent use of video conferencing. Communication through video meetings attempts to make up for the eliminated face-to-face interaction.
- Over-communicate
In an onsite work setup, a lack of proper communication can already be a challenge. For this reason, experts advise employers and managers to over-communicate when managing remote teams.
It is crucial to have formal and informal communication channels when discussing tasks, duties, responsibilities, and desired outcomes.
In support of over-communication, the following work practice will cite the important role of technology in remote working.
- Take advantage of technology
Remote work setup demands the utilization of different technologies and tools to establish proper communication among remote employees. When conducting team meetings, or individual conversations, employers and managers are recommended to use technologies like Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams. These are the most common channels and big and small companies like them for a reason.
The simple platforms can also function as a project management tool to oversee the workflow of the remote team.
- Establish rules of engagement
According to the study, remote work becomes more efficient when employers and managers set expectations for frequency, means, and ideal communication time for each remote employee.
An example of this practice is appointing videoconferencing for daily check-in meetings and on the other hand appointing instant messaging for something urgent. Establishing such rules provides ground rules, uniformity, and awareness of communication preferences.
Moreover, managers and employers should also designate the best times of day for communication. This is important because remote work setup typically means having employees from different time zones.
Employers should advocate boundaries and work-life balance by designating time to communicate, so employees feel respected.
- Manage expectations
Another best work practice in a remote work environment is to manage expectations. Experts believe this is an imperative action when managing remote team members because it affirms that the employer, client, and worker are on the same page.
Employers and managers can motivate employees to improve job performance by discussing clear expectations and requesting feedback to ensure alignment. Great leaders never assume the entire team understands where to focus their energy.
- Focus on outcomes, not activity
In line with the previous best practice of managing expectations, employers and managers of individuals who work remotely should refrain from micromanaging.
Remote work setup has a company culture of allowing employees to work at their own pace and place, sometimes referred to as asynchronous.
To increase employee engagement and encourage employees to collaborate, managers should grant employees the freedom to conduct their work process. This management style boosts productivity as long as all parties engaged in a certain project are regularly communicating and have a clear understanding of their goal.
In a remote environment, managers and employers should focus on the output of remote employees rather than micromanaging their minute-by-minute activity.
- Provide resources
Equipping remote employees with tools and resources shows that employers and managers put value in being able to provide emotional support to their workers.
When a virtual team member does not have to worry about their old laptop that takes hours to turn on, their energy and enthusiasm can be poured and focused on performing their virtual work.
With the right tools and reliable internet connectivity, employees are encouraged to increase their productivity even without increasing their working hours. Managers, on the other hand, can receive outputs on time or even before the deadline.
- Remove obstacles
Many remote teams and employees face unforeseen obstacles like physical and emotional isolation, distractions at home, children engaged in home-schooling, and other similar situations. These distractions are on top of the attention demanded by work.
To assist remote employees to perform better, managers and employers are encouraged to remove basic work obstacles. Good leaders protect the team to the members remain focused on their immediate responsibilities. One way of removing obstacles in a remote work setup is to refrain from putting unnecessary pressure and establish clear rules at work.
Employers can also discuss company values with all staff working remotely. This way, old and new employees have a better understanding of how to function as individuals and in a team.
- Encourage remote social interactions
Team building activities can transcend from face-to-face interactions to remote social interactions.
If employers and managers can substitute in-person meetings with video conferencing, then they can also find ways to organize virtual events for remote employees. A few ideas for virtual team activities are pizza parties and recognition sessions. The remote team goes online simultaneously and the manager finds a way to arrange company-paid pizza deliveries to each member.
According to experts, virtual get-togethers should not be overdone where employers mandate additional online meetings but rather the activities should be integrated during scheduled meetings and check-ins.
- Mentor more than manage
The last tip on best practices for managing remote teams is to coach more than manage.
Good leaders understand the distinction between the disciplines of leadership and management. The online reportmentioned employers and managers of remote workers should conduct work in such a way that employees feel they are learning new skills and how to improve in their jobs rather than being commanded and micromanaged.
Contact The Best Outsourcing-Offshoring Agency Now
Many managers put in several work hours and hard work in managing team members. However, sometimes, even with all the extra effort, employees are still difficult to handle. Challenges are present both for in-person and offsite work setups.
One way to minimize stress in handling employees is to connect with a legitimate workforce solutions company like Remote Raven. The agency has highly-skilled Talent Acquisition Specialists who can screen applicants and provide a list of qualified candidates for the position you need to fill. Depending on the specific needs of your business, Remote Raven will conduct background checks and identify the best applicant fit for the job role.
If you are looking for remote workers who need minimal supervision, contact Remote Raven now! The company will connect you with skilled individuals who have talents and experiences in working remotely utilizing collaboration tools. With their professional backgrounds, business owners and managers will have an easier time managing remote teams.
The benefits provided by hiring virtual employers should outweigh the challenges of managing them. You can achieve success in onboarding remote workers by connecting with Remote Raven.
Schedule an appointment now!
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