The most difficult pieces of having a remotely working staff is ensuring that each team member is working efficiently, engaging regularly, and maintaining company culture.
Due to COVID-19, many companies are transitioning to remote work without having the ability to come up with a telecommuting policy or having the knowledge of what it takes to maintain a company’s productivity, which is crucial during what may be an economic downturn.
With no definitive date this will end, I’ve put together this plan that businesses can utilize to continue meeting business objectives during this time.
REMOTE WORK PLAN:
Break up into teams – Divide employees up to be no more than 6 employees reporting to one manager or supervisor. Managing more than 6 people remotely is bound to have it’s pitfalls. There just isn’t enough time in the day to give quality support to more than that. If it is not possible to break up into smaller teams, then break up the team by projects they’re working on and assign a team lead.
Set Daily Hours – Determine Primetime working hours within the team to make sure that team members are available during pertinent times. This should be a collaborative discussion and hours selected should work for everyone on the team. Designating these hours will help team members prioritize their day in order to push items forward.
Set Daily Objectives and Individual Expectations – Create a Daily Team Plan (DTP) or meeting agenda with specific objectives and how each individual is expected to contribute each day. Setting clear expectations of the team creates an accountable team. An accountable team produces results.
Begin Each Day Reviewing the DTP with the team – Create a standing meeting for the earliest time slot all team members are available for a Morning Team Huddle (MTH) to review the DTP via video conference. Meetings should be between 10 to 30 minutes. NO LONGER. These meetings are designed to create visibility among the team so that every person knows what they should be doing and streamlines FAQs being answered.
End Each Day Reviewing the DTP with the team – Create a standing meeting toward the end of the work day when all team members are available to discuss what was completed, what wasn’t completed, and why via virtual conference. These meetings should also be between 10 to 30 minutes. Reviewing the DTP increases accountability and allows the team to problem solve together where necessary.
Complete Daily Performance Record (DTR) – Complete a performance report for each employee measuring specific areas such as attendance (being on time to virtual meetings), job quality, efficiency, and dependability. These reports shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes for each employee. They create the documentation necessary for future staffing decisions such as merit increases, promotions, and lay-offs.
If you’d like a free Daily Team Plan template or Daily Performance Record template, please comment below with “DTP”, “DTR” or “BOTH” and we’ll reach out for your email address.
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