Leading Effectively Remotely

working from home company culture

Are you one of the many teams facing the new realities of a predominantly Work From Home (WFH) office structure?

The pandemic brought many changes with it, which has posed no shortage of unique challenges to organizational leaders and team managers all across North America. One of the most profound “shocks” to the typical day-to-day for many has been the shift to working from home. Whether your office already had this option available on a part-time basis, or you’ve found yourself suddenly in the deep end, there’s no denying that this new world of Zoom meetings, virtual reviews, and remote onboarding has been difficult to navigate, especially from a managerial perspective.

If you find yourself facing the challenge of how to lead effectively remotely, Pivot HR is here to help. Below, we’ll cover a few ways you can make the transition from office to home a little smoother for everyone involved. Read on to learn more!

Establish Some Ground Rules

Strong channels of communication are vital to any team, and the importance of this only increases with a lack of physical presence. Though the way you interact, especially where personalization is concerned, will understandably look and feel different, you must establish clear ground rules that centre around:

  • Expectations for communication (i.e. are you sitting up daily touchpoints?)
  • Methods of keeping in touch (Slack, Zoom, email, etc.)
  • Availability hours
  • What to do if they cannot reach their main point of contact.

While there will still be some hiccups here and there, especially as everyone adjusts, having clear guidelines helps to reduce confusion and provides much-needed structure to the day. While your team will likely enjoy the flexibility of working from home to a certain degree, setting ground rules makes sure everyone is on the same page.

Vary Your Methods of Communication

In addition to establishing the clear groundwork for communication, you’ll also want to ensure you have a variety of different mediums in place to maintain close contact depending on the situation at hand. For example, while you may be able to clear up a quick question or two over instant messaging, it’s hardly ideal to conduct a review this way. Mixing video, phone, and text communication will help everyone feel better connected, while still ensuring the correct channels are used accordingly.

Check-In Often

Note: when we say check-in, we don’t mean virtually hover. Micromanaging rarely gets the results you desire, but making sure your team members know that you are there to offer support and guidance during this difficult time goes a long way towards maintaining the trust and helping to offset the changes everyone is facing. Be sure to make a diligent effort to check in with your team regularly, and let them know that your (virtual) door is always open for feedback and help!

Encourage Socialization

Finally, encourage your team members to talk with one another and try to facilitate activities that allow for some semblance of normalcy and routine interaction to keep morale up. Consider an office “cocktail hour” at the end of the week, morning stand-ups, and let casual conversations happen as needed. Sometimes, chatting about what’s new on Netflix, weekend activities, and new hobbies is the perfect way to break people out of their funk and remind them that we really are all in this together!

Looking for HR Assistance? We Can Help!

If your company needs some help navigating the ins and out of remote onboarding, team management and conflict, terminations, or even just putting best HR practices in place, Pivot HR is here to help. Our team is proud to partner with clients from all over Canada from our office here in Vancouver to make sure you have the help you need when it matters most. Contact us today to learn more!

What Our Clients say about us

“Robin and Mia were both exceptionally professional and responsive and understood our needs. Their work was of great quality. We are a small non-profit organization and we found them very easy and wonderful to work with. Great value and highly recommend.”

~ Joy Masuhara , Co-Chair Women Transforming Cities International Society

“Cindy is a remarkable professional coach, who goes well beyond expectations in supporting her clients’ development. She knows how to ask the right questions and uncover the real and deep issues that contribute to the limitations we put on ourselves. This type of personal exploration is tough work to do alone and remain committed to necessary change. Cindy’s approach and support made this process one of the most impactful experiences of my life, professionally and personally.”

~ Monique Cotton, Firm Administrator, JFK Law Corporation

“As a medium size business with over 100 employees working in very different areas of our operation, Pivot was able to quickly understand our HR needs and offer practical solutions. Robin and the Pivot team worked closely with our Leadership group to implement effective turnkey solutions on time and on budget. We will continue to use Pivot for our ongoing HR needs and would highly recommend their services.”

~ Adam Zubek, General Manager, Point Grey Golf & Country Club

Pivot HR Services provides personalized solutions for our organization’s human resources needs. By engaging their services, we have been able to successfully outsource our HR function, as the Pivot team has demonstrated their ability to understand the HR priorities of our workplace culture and industry.

~ Areef Abraham, Chief Executive Officer Community Power

“Robin developed our employee policy manual with the goal of engaging and retaining our current staff as well as attracting new ones in this highly competitive marketplace. Her in depth knowledge of current legislation and HR policies proved to be of significant benefit. I would highly recommend Robin and the team at Pivot HR Services.”

~ Christopher Soles, President, Nextgen Technologies Ltd.

“Robin has been and continues to be an outstanding resource for our organization to navigate HR issues as we grow. She always approaches problems with professionalism and a keen eye for our best interest. I’d certainly recommend Robin to anyone looking to elevate their HR processes.”

~ Karim Abraham, CEO, Kambo Energy Solutions

“Our firm turned to Robin for advice and guidance at a time when we faced a period of serious difficulty in managing our human resources. She assisted us through the process of putting our relationship with our staff on a stronger, more stable footing and helped us implement a complete overhaul of our human resources policies. We could not be more pleased with the work she has done and continues to do with us.”

~ Robert Janes, QC, Managing Principal JFK Law Corporation

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