Managing Remote Employees: How to Hire and Keep Remote Writers
The internet has increased the number of work opportunities available for people worldwide. Now, it is no longer necessary for people to commute long hours to reach their workplace. They don’t have to rush back to the train station to get back home in time for dinner with the family. Working remotely is indeed extremely convenient for people. Part of the reason for this is that managing remote employees has become very easy, granted there’s no micromanagement.
But there’s a catch.
While working online is helping millions of people make a living, employers are increasingly concerned about how they can manage their team of remote employees –, particularly writers. Since a large number of writing projects can be time-sensitive and require a lot of back and forth between writers and managers, finding a system that works for both parties is extremely important.
Top Tips on Managing Remote Employees
Fortunately for you, we’ve compiled a list of the top tips and tricks that you can use for managing remote employees. Here’s what you can do to manage your remote team of writers and boost efficiency and productivity across the board.
Let Them Know Your Expectations
The importance of effective communication cannot be emphasized enough for the modern workforce – and writers are no different. If you’re open to the idea of allowing your writers to work remotely, it’s important to let your writers know your expectations before they get started. This is to ensure that your writers know everything about the nature and complexity of the work before they sign up for it.
Even when they are working remotely, your writers need to respect your deadlines and complete the work that is assigned to them on – if not earlier than – the time that was initially communicated to them. Managing remote employees can be a lot easier if they know just what you expect them to complete and when.
You also need to make it clear to your writers that they will be expected to take feedback well and improve as and when requested. This is to ensure that their write-ups are not only exactly as per your expectations but also that your writers are always growing, learning, and getting better at what they do.
Additionally, it is important to let your remote writers know that you will want them to communicate with you at a certain time every day or week when you can talk to them about everything from projects to deadlines and how they can improve.
Know that communicating and being clear about all of your expectations right from the get-go is your best bet at managing remote employees effectively.
Use Tools to Streamline Tasks and Improve Efficiency
In this day and age, there’s an app or tool for everything from learning a new language to reminding you to drink water (yes, we’re not making that up). As an employer, you should make the most of the latest tools and apps for managing remote employees effectively.
There are countless tools like Asana that will help you assign tasks to your remote writers, set deadlines, and even track progress. In fact, if there’s a large project that requires a lot of collaboration and coordination, that will also be possible through different tools. The interesting thing about the latest project management tools is that they offer graphical information, charts, and reports that can help you pinpoint which one of your employees works best on certain types of projects.
Be Clear and Consistent with Your Feedback
The majority of employees today want to get better at what they do. If they feel like they’re not learning enough in a particular place, they won’t hesitate to move on to greener pastures where they feel like they will be able to improve existing skills and learn new ones.
In order to manage your employees better, it’s not only important for you to be very clear and consistent with the feedback you provide them but also switch things up a bit every once in a while to ensure that they don’t get bored of the monotony. The new generation of writers dreads complacency more than anything else and they won’t shy away from changing their career paths entirely if they feel like writing – remotely or otherwise – is not working out for them.
Know that communicating your expectations and providing regular feedback does not make you a bad employer. In fact, doing so shows your writers just how serious you are about what you do and might just be the reason they take more ownership of their work.
Bonus: Take care of employees’ various other responsibilities, such as their financials. You can do this by providing access to, let’s say, a tax filing tool such as Credit Karma Tax, which is a subscription-based tool.
Managing Remote Employees CAN BE Done
Managing remote employees may seem initially like a hassle but with these tips and tricks, you will be able to complete all of your projects efficiently all while keeping your employees motivated at the same time. Just select the right employment benefits, and watch the retention go up.
