How To Boost Productivity for Teams that Work from Home

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Working from home has become the new normal, and before this year companies had little experience managing remote workers. While many at-home professionals are reporting success in their environment, managers face many challenges with distant teams.

Staff morale, work-life balance, and personal performance all have suffered during these difficult times. With parents working from home alongside their children, employees can feel isolated from their peers. Companies are facing untold challenges within this difficult economy and managing a team successfully in this space takes a certain skill set.

This is where virtual team building coaches can help. They’re able to read team dynamics with ease and present solutions based on the unique needs of those within it. If you’re a manager or corporate executive struggling to oversee your team of professionals, working with a professional coach can help.

How to Master Working from Home

Finding success while working from home is not something that can be done in a few easy steps. Success in a remote environment happens gradually. As a manager, you can make your team victorious in a work from home environment while also finding personal success by following our strategic facilitation tips:

Maintain Regular Contact with Team Members

One of the aspects that people lose sight of when working from home is the casual interaction that workers have with each other every day. This can be from standing in office doorways, visiting cubicles, and chatting by the water cooler. That same feeling of contact can be gained with additional effort from you and the right tools. You can call team members regularly to check-in even if there’s nothing specific to discuss.

Some conversations may be entirely focused on work while others may hone more personal details. Encourage your team members to call one another as well for the same reasons. This regular communication is crucial for building team spirit and helping your employees feel connected to you and one another.

Learn from Other Departments

Check-in with managers from other parts of your company. What’s working for them? What are they doing to bring their teams together? Is there something to learn from? What challenges are they encountering that they can share? Online team building has certainly become a necessary skill in this day and age!

Set up regular cross-team meetings through an online platform like Zoom or a phone bridge to give everyone time to chat and follow up on projects. Have an agenda for your meetings, but also engage in virtual team building exercises that encourage everyone to share. Interactions may be awkward at first, but they’ll grow naturally as staff members become used to the online team building environment. Also, use online chat software to give your team members the ability to reach out to other departments throughout the day as tasks arise.

Pursue Career Growth

Compared to earlier this year, the world has dramatically changed. However, that does not mean you have to put your personal goals on hold. Give yourself something to work toward. Were you planning to take the next step in your career sometime this year? Keep working in relation to that. Attend online training, tweak your resume, and consult with a job coach for help with your upcoming search. Having career goals on your horizon will keep you motivated.

Find Work-Life Balance

Part of finding success while working from home is in achieving balance. Many managers and team leaders find themselves working more than ever when their office is just a few short steps down the hall. While this may seem good for productivity at first, burn out is real and can be detrimental to your success. To find that work-life balance you can:

  • Exercise regularly. Go for a walk or a run outside. Take part in a movement that you can’t do while working.
  • Start tracking sleep and diet. Strive to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night and eat a healthy diet. Tracking your progress makes this easier and forces you to focus on goals that aren’t work-related.
  • Set a cut off time. Stop working at the end of the day. Turn off your computer and enjoy personal time.
  • Let go of the idea that it’s going to be perfect. In this challenging environment, things will go haywire. Stop trying to achieve perfection and instead, give yourself credit for the enormous effort that working from home requires.

Why You Want to Be Successful Working from Home

The challenges we face today in the workplace are an opportunity for the best leaders to show their skills. Keeping up team confidence and maintaining productivity in these unprecedented times will differentiate you as a leader. This is your opportunity to shine.

If you like working from home and would like to continue doing so in the future, this is a chance to show that working remotely can be great for the company as well as the staff. By staying busy, boosting morale, and having your team work as one, you open the door for future remote work opportunities even after the pandemic has subsided.

Why Do You Want to Work from Home?

People enjoy working from home for multiple reasons. Evaluating the benefits of your current work arrangement can help you see beyond the challenges and stay focused on the positives. For you, it may be the increased time with friends and family members. For others, it may be the lack of commute or the amount of gas money saved.

As you’re evaluating what you like about working in a remote environment, check-in with your team. Ask them what they like and don’t like about working from home. If they, too, enjoy this current arrangement, leverage that delight to boost productivity and enjoyment. The more dynamic you are now, the more likely it is that your team can continue working from home after everyone is welcomed back into the office.

Strong Training and Coaching

Ultimately, the way you manage your team during this unparalleled time will impact your career. Working with professional coaching services can help you manage productivity while working from home and guarantee long-term success.

Strong Training and Coaching provides professional team building services and professional coaching services to executives and employees. Virtual sessions including online employee training, strategic facilitation services, and professional online life coaching services are available. Call us today to make an appointment.