Thanks to modern technology and the growing demand for working with remote teams, managing and building trust are becoming key aspects of organizational success. Remote work can be effective, but it also requires new approaches to interaction and control. In this article, we'll look at how to build trust in a remote workplace with Yaware.TimeTracker.
But first, let's talk about the importance of trust
Without going into details, trust is an important part of the equation for any business owner who wants to succeed. Some would argue that it's even more important for remote workers, as it's harder to achieve. By simply building strong trusting bonds between employees, managers, and the CEO, you get:
- More employee input;
- More productivity;
- Reliability and responsibility for their workload;
- Less turnover;
- Better quality of work;
- Office dynamics that move the company forward.
And while building trust is harder when you're in different parts of the world or different time zones, that doesn't mean it's impossible. It just takes a little more effort.
Difficulties in building trust
The road to trust is not without its obstacles, of course. It seems that these three are the most common among remote workers:
- The company is not sure what method to use to build trust
- Differences in employee personalities
- Work pressure that comes with remote work
So, how do you build trust in a remote workplace?
1. Support collaborative problem solving
Involve employees in working together to solve problems as soon as they arise. Usually, the first thing employees tend to do is to find out who is responsible, although often this information does not help to solve the problem. It will only cause distrust among the group members. So, what can you do as a manager?
Organize a brainstorming session via video call or chat. Hold a meeting to make sure everyone is focused on finding a solution and not on the person who made the mistake. This way, employees can trust the process and that they can overcome the problem by working together.
2. Provide constructive feedback
Employees need feedback. It's what keeps them moving forward, even when they don't feel up to the task. And this is especially true for remote workers, as they don't have the opportunity to see you in person and gauge your reaction to them. They need support more than anyone else to stay productive and happy.
Providing regular performance feedback builds trust in your presence and a fair assessment of their work ethic. What's more, with this approach, employees will feel like you're there for them when they raise the question of a pay raise or have an issue with the job itself.
3. Empower employees to make decisions on their own
Trust also means knowing that employees can make their own decisions about what's best for their workflow and trusting their judgment.
The first step in this is to slowly but surely relinquish control. Leave them to make certain low-level decisions and allow them to solve future problems on their own (unless they need mediation). Team members should work independently. This way, they will see that you trust them and will increase their own responsibility to maintain that trust.
4. Provide reliable and intuitive work tools
Good management is one of the key methods of creating an atmosphere of trust. To prove good leadership, arm your employees with top-notch tools that will make their jobs easier.
One of these important tools is a feature-rich employee time tracker that will help them stay accountable and productive. For example, Yaware.TimeTracker, which has a number of advantages, including:
- Automatic accounting – all statistics are automatically entered into a timesheet that can be viewed or downloaded to a computer for further data processing.
- Efficiency analysis – the ability to see the real workload of teams, which will help you understand whether there is really a need for additional staff.
- Project and task management – the entire scope of planned work in one place, after which you can calculate the cost of tasks, hours of work, and assess how well the result paid off.
- Personal statistics – an opportunity for employees to analyze their work independently.
- Many visual graphs – the ability to analyze the work of employees in just a few minutes.
Want to start using Yaware.TimeTracker? Sign up right now.
In addition, Yaware offers 14 days of free use of the program so that you can experience its functionality to the fullest!
To summarize, building trust in a remote workplace requires conscious effort and a special approach. It's important to establish communication, understand the needs of employees, and create a favorable environment for remote work. By following these steps, your team can succeed remotely and build strong trust among all its members.
