Due to the pandemic, many people are working from home. Managers or leaders are often in a constant state of stress as they know the mental state of many of their remote workers isn’t as it should be.

Family members have lost jobs and their lives. As a leader, they worry about their workers keeping focused on the job at hand. Have they got the right tech tools to perform their work remotely and do they know how to log in for an urgent video conference?

They look at the charts

There must be communication and proper equipment for workers to perform their tasks when working in remote environments. Managers have influence over ability with their remote staff and are able to motivate their employees to be more productive.

A manager or leader’s ability to influence employee motivation can affect a company’s bottom line. Process behavior charts are important tools to monitor production. Used the right way, they can indicate early warning signs of something or a process that isn’t working. Patterns show deviations from what is expected to assist the manager in taking corrective action when something is amiss.

Keep team members informed

Employees working remotely face challenges when it comes to feeling connected. Even though they enjoy the flexibility of the work-from-anywhere setup, they can also experience major downsides. It is why all types of communication are encouraged and can be done through video calls, email, and Zoom, etc.

A leader wants to make sure that their remote team is receiving all the support they need to feel connected to the company. Open communication fosters collaboration and when a team feels connected, they develop a sense of belonging and an urge to do well.

Establishing rules of engagement

When managers or leaders set expectations for the ideal timing and frequency of engagement for the teams, remote work becomes more satisfying. With remote teams, most communication takes place over the internet, and it is quite likely that messages can get misinterpreted in transition. The chances of miscommunication are far lower if your entire remote team is acquainted with the different styles that the teams use to communicate.

Poor communication can lead to the inability to complete tasks and to friction among team members. When your team isn’t engaged in the timely sharing of information, there is a chance of deadlines being missed.

Being a leader with empathy

A key factor as to how great leaders motivate their teams in remote environments is to provide supportive leadership. Being sympathetic and someone who can be trusted goes a long way. Role model leaders get in touch with their team at an emotional level. They check in with their team individually to see how they’re doing and to ask about their families.

They empathize with them to show an understanding of the situation, letting them know that they aren’t just a manager or leader, but a person with the same hopes, issues, and dreams as them.

Learning to adapt

Not all remote employees know how to simply slot into their new lifestyle of remote working. As a leader, you want to guide and teach your remote workers how to embrace this new season of their lives. You want to teach them how to be versatile and adapt to changing work trends and cultures.

The best leaders know how to educate their remote team on adaptive performance, which is important for the team’s success over time. It teaches them how to adjust to the changes in the workplace. This can be achieved by setting aside certain days to hold motivational meetings to talk about the way forward.