How to Help Your Remote Team Members Manage (and Track) Their Time Effectively

Remote work is quickly becoming the norm all across America, but many managers are struggling with establishing remote teams that can manage and track their time effectively. It’s tough to lead from afar, but there are multiple strategies you can employ right away to help your remote team members maximize their productivity and make the most of their working hours. Let’s break down some of these strategies.

Use Time Tracking Software

One of the first things you should do is implement employee time tracking software, which may include time clock apps or similar solutions. Time tracking software may seem a little controlling at first, but it’s actually one of the best ways to make sure that everyone on a remote team is honest about their productivity and how long they spend on certain projects or tasks.

Furthermore, many of the best time tracking software solutions come designed for easy integration with other remote work platforms and tools, including Slack and other software. Over time, your employees will become used to using time tracking software and be more productive as a result.

Implement Daily Check-Ins

Many remote team members, despite the best intentions, end up feeling like they aren’t as productive as before or cannot track their time without regular checkups. So implement daily checkups with your remote team members by voice or video chat.

In fact, it’s a good idea to have regular check-ins at set times every day, such as noon on every workday. Not only does this set a little regularity and predictability to the workday, but it’ll also help your employees socialize as they used to around the office water cooler or break room. Maintaining solidarity and team spirit is great for maximizing productivity in the era of telecommuting.

Offer Multiple Communication Choices

We’d also recommend offering your remote team members multiple ways to communicate both with you (the manager) and their other team members. It can become difficult to communicate with multiple team members or juggle multiple projects if you all have to speak on the phone.

Instead, use video chat, phone calls, text chat interfaces, and other software solutions to help everyone communicate as freely as possible. This emulates the traditional office environment and can help you create and manage remote teams efficiently. 

Emphasize Face-to-Face Interactions from Time to Time

Lastly, be sure that your remote team members communicate often with you and one another in a face-to-face format. If you have to stick with telecommuting, use video chat software to check in regularly and strive for every major progress update to include video chat as an event.

There are a few reasons for this. For one, it encourages honesty and responsibility – no one likes reporting that they didn’t get their project on time to their coworker’s face. For another, it helps everyone feel connected to their workplace even if they are completing their work from their dining room table.

Ultimately, encouraging your remote team members to manage and track their time efficiently will take a little time to get right. But with the right effort and strategies, remote teams to be just as productive – if not more! – than traditional teams.

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