Tag Archive for: remote teams

Managing Remote Teams and Avoiding Burnout

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Avoiding Burnout is Key While Managing Remote Teams

Burnout is a very real thing. Not only in business or in one’s career, but in all areas of life. Burnout at the gym, too much socialization, too much food, and of course – too much work. After all, there is some truth to that age old adage about all work and no play. In the current state of things, remote teams are becoming a standard across almost every industry and marketplace. With that, it’s important for organizations and managers to find ways to provide remote teams with downtime while still remaining efficient and productive.

The way of the world is changing. Every year we’re inching toward a more digital landscape. More integrated technology. More virtual interaction, and of course, more remote work teams. Understanding that this isn’t just a phase, but a larger societal transition will help managers. With this knowledge, leaders are more able to create successful strategies for managing remote workers and staff. There are many benefits to a workforce that predominantly works from home.

For instance, a stronger sense of work-life-balance has been achieved by many workers who used to feel they were lacking in this area. Additionally, teams have shown higher rates of efficiency in certain areas as time-wasting and energy-draining activities are removed from daily schedules.

What Causes Burnout For Remote Teams

There are many factors that contribute to a remote teams burnout. Just like with any other form of a burnout, it doesn’t necessarily stem from a single source. Rather, it’s a combination of elements that lead to an exhaustion. One of the culprits of remote team burnout is video-conferencing. With the transition to remote teams popular video conferencing applications, like Zoom, saw a major surge in usage. From amount of users to amount of time on video-calls, the application soared. So much so that it actually topped the app charts for the first time in a historic moment.

With all this newfound attention, though, it wasn’t before long that some digging was done. The way most video-conferencing applications work is by framing the users face in a very close-up angle. As such, over the period of the video-call users are up-close and personal with one another. Our brains process this type of face-to-face interaction as an extremely intimate exchange. Usually, we only see close loved-ones in this framing. Hence, why so many people feel drained after engaging over a video-conference.

Beyond this phenomenon, though, there are other factors that cause remote teams to burnout as well. Without the interpersonal exchanges that are normally associated with physical office-spaces, it’s harder now to form personal relationships with our coworkers and colleagues. Add onto all of this that those who are fortunate enough to remain working full time from home; now have the pressure of completing their deadlines without the resources of an office, and almost acting as their own oversight.

Incorporating Employee Incentives

Just because employees are working from home doesn’t mean that your organization can’t offer them incentives for strong performance. In fact, in this economic and social climate, showing your employees that you care goes a long way. There are many ways to incorporate employee incentives into remote teams. As the world was already moving toward a more digital age, some teams were already operating on an almost entirely remote basis. Because of that, certain enterprise apps that already exist on the market are specifically designed for employee incentives.

This is great for current managers for a variety of reasons. First of all, that means there are already options for those looking. Simply do a bit of research, pick the provider that seems most suitable and start the incentive process.

However, for managers and organizations that are looking for a bit more specification and customization with their incentive programs, these options still offer value. In one direction, this information and these preexisting options for a remote teams incentive program provides insight into incentive-functionality that works. In other words, companies looking to build a custom enterprise app to handle the incentives for their remote teams, can look to see how the current incentive softwares operate and function, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Types of Incentive Programs

Just like in a physical office, the realm of possibilities for incentives is far and wide. Therefore, the way that employees earn and spend incentive points can also vary widely from organization to organization. In some programs employees simply earn points based solely on performance. Prizes and incentives have various price-points and the more points that one saves, the better incentives they can earn.

Beyond that though, there are also systems that integrate co-worker and colleague recognition. In these incentive type programs, users can also award points to one-another for exceptional work or high achievement in a certain area.

Not only do the ways in which employees earn and receive points vary, but the types of incentives can also vary. While travel destinations used to be extremely popular choices, with the state of the pandemic, travel, while still exciting and fun, can be quite a bit more dangerous these days. Other popular choices include high-ticket items for the household, new electronics, and various other options. No matter the choice, one thing is certain. In these trying times, it’s essential to boost your employee morale, especially in remote teams. Using incentives is a great way to relieve team pressure, and actively work to prevent burnout.

Improve Efficiency Through Enterprise Apps

A main component to effectively running a remote team that remains productive is equipping your staff with the right tools. Regardless of trade, one of the very first lessons to learn is that without the proper tools – nothing gets done. In the context of managing remote teams, this means providing your team with the proper enterprise applications. Implementing the proper corporate applications allows your remote team access to important data, instant communication, and other vital features.

Similar to the discussion on incentive based programs, there are already a plethora of enterprise apps available to businesses. However enterprise applications already on the market tend to be one-size-fits-all. This is important to note because of the variations in workflows and operations from business to business.

As such, when determining whether your remote teams would benefit from an enterprise application that already exists, or a custom enterprise application, you should take a complete and comprehensive look at your team and their specific needs. If you’re already considering investing in an enterprise application, however, it might as well fit your custom needs for the organization. Build an enterprise application that fits your needs completely with the experts at NS804. NS804 is the mobile app developer of the everyday person and businessman.

A Quick Summary

Remote teams are going to be a part of the normal working landscape for the foreseeable future. As such, there’s really no more time to waste in preparing your business or organization for a more predominantly remote economy. Having a sustainable and happy workforce is an important part of that.

Help your teams avoid burnout by equipping them with the right tools to conduct their work, rewarding them with incentives, and making sure to plan off-work bonding events that can bring the team together like D&D. For more information on the future of remote team management, or anything else mobile app development – continue browsing NS804’s library.

Increase App Retention Among Remote Teams

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Remote Teams and App Retention

There’s no arguing it anymore. The digital era is here and it’s here to stay. While a more digital world has swiftly become the new normal, businesses are still adjusting. This means remote teams, digital conference calls, and no more “office hours”. That said, however, many organizations are still patching together digital solutions. Consequently, leaders, managers, and developers alike need to have their thumb on the pulse of the mobile app market. Doing so, will give your firm insight into some of the factors that drive app retention. Especially in remote teams.

When analyzing the user base of your applications, it is important to remember that the application market is a growing, evolving, and saturated one. As such, users are typically extremely quick to bounce from one application to another after a single negative experience or misstep. That being said, it’s vital that your app development team is diligent and detailed in their user base analysis.

Focus On Full Customization For Business Apps

This seems like it should be a no-brainer, but there is actually a lot of ‘plug-and-play’ type of software on the market. While that type of technology is certainly useful in specific contexts, it limits a remote team’s ability. Rather than using traditional methods or templates to create run-of-the-mill business applications, take a more customizable approach.

Developing custom enterprise applications for businesses and remote teams will enforce them to double-down on their commitment to your application. Ultimately driving app retention and creating a user base that’s less likely to jump ship. Additionally, each organization and each remote team is slightly different, and has different needs. Addressing the specific needs of any single remote team is best accomplished through personalized and customized enterprise applications on which that team can dependently rely.

Improve UX Design

Design is a major influencer in the world of consumption. Not only in art or architecture but in virtually every industry. From the cereal-box industry to the auto-industry; design is a key ingredient to the success of any product or service. The same is specifically true in app development.

The user experience is one of the most telling aspects of an application, and it starts as soon as the user opens the app. From the design of the loading screen to the flow of information on the application itself, to the ease of functionality and navigation. Prioritizing the UX design in your mobile app is sure to increase your app retention rates.

Listen To and Incorporate Feedback From Remote Teams

It’s becoming more and more accepted that people simply want to be heard. When it comes to developing enterprise applications, there is an entire well of value in mining feedback in all its forms. Combing online reviews, soliciting user surveys, and addressing user comments in application updates will show your user base that you hear them, leading to an increase in user-loyalty and app retention.

Finally, if it makes sense for your business model, there are ways you can incentivize remote teams to choose your enterprise application over your competitions.

For more information on app retention in remote teams, or anything else mobile app development, visit NS804 today. NS804 is the mobile app developer of the everyday person.

The Ultimate Guide To Managing Remote Teams

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The Ultimate Guide To Managing Remote Teams During and Post COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 is far from over. In fact, we don’t yet know how far into the future the effects of COVID-19 will be seen. Some would say forever. Whether or not this proves true, one thing is certain: the shift to a remote workforce and the digital age is in a period of rapid acceleration. Therefore, businesses and organizations all across the globe have been making the shift to a remote workforce. With that shift, however, there are new workflows. New communication tools. And other new tactics that your company needs for managing remote teams.

First and foremost, with a remote workforce there are certain perks your company can use to their advantage. For instance, when managing a remote team, your company can utilize a much more flexible schedule. With employees at home, there isn’t as much pressure or urgency to get things done in a certain timeframe; and therefore tasks can be accomplished throughout the entire span of the day, and even into the night, without staff feeling overwhelmed.

A Decrease In Time-Wasters Improves Efficiency

Additionally, a decrease in “time-wasting” activities that only affected in-person staff improves efficiency. One such example is the commute to-and-from-work. Without a daily commute, employees are able to spend more time with their families and in their own home. This, therefore, leads to a stronger sense of work-life-balance, and a happier employee overall.

On average, remote employees are happier and have a better sense of work-life-balance, which usually leads to stronger performances at work. The mood of a staff-member directly affects their productivity, meaning that in the case of managing a remote team, your staff, on average, could have a significantly higher rate of productivity.

Understanding Expectations When Managing Remote Teams

When hiring or transitioning to a remote workforce, one of the core principles is to establish expectations. This is the same as it would be with in-person workers. However, it’s important to have a clear understanding of expectations from the very beginning when managing remote teams. While communication is important in every relationship context, it is specifically vital to managing a remote team. There is a lot of nuance to communication in-person. Between body-language and other non-verbals. However, most communication in a remote environment is non-visual. Hence why communication is so vital to managing remote teams.

Additionally, since many companies are utilizing more flexible scheduling with remote teams; it’s logical that expectations need to be set on both sides of the coin. These details should include things like time-commitment, weekly tasks, compensation, and everything else that would define the employees role and their relationship to the company.

Emphasizing Communication

As discussed above, communication is an integral aspect to any and every relationship. No matter the context. In managing remote teams, communication is more than essential. It truly is a vital aspect of successful teams working remotely. Correspondingly, then, it goes to reason that companies shifting to a remote workforce would want to implement business applications for communication. There are a myriad of business applications that your company can choose to use for communicating internally and externally.

Internally speaking, Slack is extremely popular as a part instant-messaging and part-email communication solution. Zoom is another company that has blown up astronomically since the onset of the pandemic. With global companies, domestic companies, and everyone in between needing reliable and consistent video conferencing capability; Zoom saw an unbelievable amount of growth in 2020, and set some records for themselves while at it.

There are many other internal communication solutions that you can implement for your remote staff, and even softwares that allow you to set up incentives for your team. This lets the culture of your company thrive even in a remote setting post COVID-19. Some incentive-based-softwares for remote teams are all managed by the leaders and decision makers, while others encourage and promote inter-colleague connections.

In other words, colleagues and co-workers can reward each other on a job well done with an internal currency that can then be redeemed for prizes, gifts, vacations, or even donated to a charity of the recipients choice. These are all great solutions to keep your company culture alive, and incentivize your remote staff to keep working hard and hitting goals.

Providing Some Structure When Managing Remote Teams

While flexible schedules and a stronger sense of work-life-balance are great; business is business, and work needs to get done. To help provide some structure to your remote staffs workweek or work-day, and to ensure that tasks are being accomplished managers and team leaders can schedule regular check-ins.

These check-ins might mimic the exact structure of a daily or weekly check-in that you’d conduct in the office. The only difference being that these check-ins occur remotely. Whether that be via a phone call, or a quick video-chat, a swift one-on-one with each of your remote workers is a great way to not only connect about work, but also get to know your workers and ensure they’re doing okay during these trying times.

Encourage Team Building and Team Bonding

Just because the world is shifting to a digital age and a majorly remote workforce, doesn’t mean that team members can’t connect and bond with one another. There are plenty of options for managers overseeing remote work teams who are looking for ways to bond the team. Some examples might be a virtual film-showing, or a remote happy-hour. Another popular choice is the remote pizza party.

However, while there’s nothing wrong with any of the above choices, staff and employees often enjoy trying something new. Being creative with team bonding exercises has gotten a little harder with the pandemic limiting so many options. Yet, where there’s a will, there’s a way, as the old saying goes.

For instance, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) can be an excellent team-building and team-bonding activity. For starters, D&D is all about a group working together, and usually overcoming a few character flaws or group-issues as well. But beyond that, good D&D campaigns, or even one-shots, require the team to think outside the box, put together some creative solutions, and ultimately work together. All in the context of having a good time, and maybe a few drinks.

Use Project Management Tools

While there are some differences and adaptations to managing remote teams, there are some similarities too. For instance, your managers can likely use the same project management software or project management tools that they were using in person. Transitioning to a remote use of these project management softwares is really simple, and they are already built for it, making it an easy and simple transition.

Using project management software when managing remote teams will allow you to set daily and weekly to-do lists, and share updates on project timelines with the whole team.

Wrapping Up

The world is changing rapidly. The shift to a virtual age and a digital workforce is upon us. Many companies are already prepared for the remote environment. Many others are preparing for the shift. Either way, it’s important to be able to properly manage a remote work team and remote customers.

For more information on the shift to the digital age, or managing remote teams, visit NS804 today.

Must Have Apps For Managing Remote Teams

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Managing Remote Teams With Must Have Apps

The shift toward a digital age has been long in the works, however, 202 has accelerated that transition. This is, in part, due to COVID-19 and the way that our society has shifted to limit person-to-person contact. As such, companies have had to embrace the digital age as well. This has brought many to adopt a variety of applications for managing remote teams.

As with any new process or system, there are challenges that come with managing remote teams. For example, one challenge that companies must address in managing remote teams is keeping communication channels open. Many companies have addressed communication challenges with multiple apps.

Solving Communication Challenges

Communication has always been an integral aspect of business. However, as the transition to the digital age continues communication’s role is becoming even more emphasized. One of the most popular apps in 2020 was Zoom. The digital-conferencing and video-calling features have helped communication lines stay alive across the country and even the world. Likewise, they’ve helped professionals in managing remote teams and staying connected both internally and externally. This is significantly important as Zoom has set a variety of user-records in 2020 with an astronomical growth spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated shift into the digital age.

Beyond using Zoom, Slack is another extremely popular application for communication. Slack works as both an email-replacement and an instant-messaging platform for internal business purposes. It’s a great application as it offers users the ability to create and manage multiple channels. Then those channels are populated by team-specific personnel. Administration can limit and control access as well, making sure that only the right people are involved in the right conversations.

Additionally, companies still need to successfully manage projects. Zoom is great for holding and hosting meetings. Slack is a strong collaboration and internal communication solution for teams. Trello, however, remains a strong project-management software. Trello allows for easy scheduling and tracking of project progress. This keeps everyone on the same page. Simultaneously, these three applications in concert makes managing remote teams easier.

The final aspect of communication that businesses and companies need to rely on is document sharing. While there are plenty of options for mass-document sharing, and file-sharing solutions one of the most prominent is the Google-Docs Suite. Using Google Docs, professionals can share access to important files like proposals, and presentations, spreadsheets, and any type of document you might need to create.

Wrapping Up

The application industry has taken off during 2020. Specifically, this is because of the reliance that the business community has had on communication solutions. Zoom is an extremely popular video-conferencing software that businesses use to conduct video-calls, Slack is a great collaboration tool for internal teams. Meanwhile, Trello and Google Suites tackle the project-management and file-sharing aspects of managing remote teams.

In addition to keeping communication channels wide open and operating smoothly, there are even more applications that managers and team-leaders can use to promote team-bonding and team building. One great example of this is using Dungeons and Dragons as a team-building exercise. And with the development of Roll20, even this can be taken remote.

Of course, even beyond all of these solutions, custom apps are still widely in use as well. For more information on managing remote teams and communication solutions, visit NS804 today.