Common Obstacles Experienced By Remote Teams And How To Overcome Them

Remote working is a term that has been on every channel, every newspaper, and every blog for the past two years. Each and everyone have become quite familiar with this new norm. What once used to be a flexible working framework offered to just a handful of employees has become a necessity in organizations today due to the demand of the workforce. With multiple surveys backing the fact that employees have been thriving with the remote and hybrid framework and with organizations expressing their utmost interest in continuing to offer remote work, there is absolutely no doubt that the remote working framework is well and truly here to stay. This is the reason that tools such as the OKR program, performance management, and employee experience program are becoming increasingly popular and relevant.

Despite the fact that remote working has certainly allowed organizations to operate as they usually do, it is a bit naive to buff over the initial hindrances experienced by the remote teams while adapting to the new method of working. As briefly discussed above, employees tend to thrive while working remotely but there are undoubtedly some who find themselves stumbling at certain times. Just as in the office workspace, there are a few common problems employees have to overcome to give their best while working remotely. Do you want to know a bit more about these hindrances along with the best ways to overcome them? Let’s find out below!

1. Remaining productive consistently 

There’s no harm in admitting that you and your employees have far more distractions around the house in comparison to the workplace. From the presence of other members of the family during working hours to the family pet being needy, it is very easy to lose focus and find oneself drawn away from the laptop screen multiple times during the day. Organizations have to ensure that they teach their employees how they can remain to be productive throughout their day. For instance, the employees should be told that creating a specific area in their home to work is one of the best ways to minimize getting distracted. Moreover, having a routine and sticking to it is another thing that can help your employees in overcoming the problem of being consistently productive while working remotely. Having an OKR program can also help your employees boost their productivity and efficiency. 

2. Remaining relaxed while working

This is one of the most common obstacles faced by employees ever since remote working became the norm. When working remotely, employees want to ensure that they are as relaxed as possible, until they have a num leg that ends up distracting them during those lengthy zoom calls. While nothing stops your employees from working at the coffee table or using their comfiest sofa as their workspace, this is not something that is recommended by the experts. Using something like this will surely cause a twinge in the back, that in turn could lead to more severe problems as time progresses. It is also vital to not only distinguish but upload a separation between the areas of working and areas of relaxing while working from home. Having a space solely dedicated to working by having suitable equipment and furniture allows one to complete the job with utmost input while relaxing at the same time.  

3. Feeling isolated and lonely

It is no doubt that social interaction is a primary part of any workplace model. This consists of chanting with the remote team members all day long and collaborating in person on the projects the team is working on. The remote team comes as an impediment and throws a metaphorical spanner in the work. Socialization and human interactions are drastically reduced when working remotely, despite using video conferencing and messaging tools for staying connected. Even though team communication tools do make a little difference in how one might be feeling, it is in no way a substitute for conversations amongst colleagues at the workplace. These feelings are extremely common when your employees are working remotely. So, make sure they feel free to reach out to you and your managers when they experience such feelings. 

4. Technological obstacles

Every person can relate to the times when the laptop ends up getting updated at the most inconvenient moment possible. This generally happens when there are loads to do, isn’t it? Experiencing technological hindrances was something that was already common in the workplace environment but is something that has obviously extended to remote working as well. From the problems of having poor internet speed to low loading speed, these are common challenges faced by many employees and at times can be impossible to be tackled. Moreover, organizations using all sorts of tools swiftly also end up confusing the employees. So, make sure to use as minimum tools or get a single tool that does it all might be the way to go. Tools such as the OKR Software, employee experience software, and PMS come into the picture and provide the organization with user-friendly dashboards for their employees to work with ease. 

No matter if it’s an OKR, a performance management system, or an employee experience software, all of such tools can contribute to removing the common obstacles experienced by remote teams. As a leader, you have to ensure that your employees have everything they need to work with ease while working in a remote setup. It is only after that you can expect your employees to work productively and efficiently while working from home. For more assistance regarding improving your employee experience and giving them the right tools, contact us today!