Your business is made up of much more than your products and services. Your business is also your people and your processes. With care and work, they function together smoothly but managing your people can be challenging. Especially when managing staff remotely.
You may be managing your staff well, but things are going wrong, or just don’t feel right, and you are not sure why. This can often be traced back to your core processes.
“For a business to survive and thrive, 100% of all the systems must be functioning and accountable.” Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki says it perfectly, “For a business to survive and thrive 100% of the time, all systems must be functioning and accountable.” So often people get worked up over mistakes, delays and things getting missed without stopping to think about the cause of a problem. Your staff can be doing their jobs perfectly but still not getting results. It can be easy to think that you’re going to solve any problems with more sales and more clients.
When managing staff, remotely or otherwise, you will have expectations and/or goals. When they are not being fulfilled, and your team is doing everything asked of them, then you have to look at your processes.
So today we will be running through some tell-tale signs that your processes don’t work.
Frustration and Confusion
If you and your team are constantly feeling frustrated and confused, the chances are you’ve got a process problem. Processes should be clear. Each step leading to the end goal should be obvious. When you’re not working with clearly laid out steps it is frustrating. This becomes even more true when managing remote staff, as they will not be able to just ask anyone around them to clarify any confusion. Step back to have a look at your processes, it will make a massive difference.
Avoidable Mistakes
There is a problem if your team keeps making unnecessary mistakes. This is when you feel like you constantly have to double-check their work or answer questions you’ve already answered. If this is happening, chances are you’ve got a process problem. Processes should be clear, with easily accessible documentation to answer any questions. You should clean up the steps of your operations to bring excellence and reduce the number of avoidable mistakes.
Abandoning The System
If your people are avoiding using the processes you have laid out, that is an obvious problem. Your staff may be abandoning the system you have in place because it seems “easier” or “quicker”. If you think you’ve set up great processes but people aren’t following them, chances are they need an overhaul. Get some feedback and do just that. Once you’ve done it, your staff should get retrained, and make sure to clarify what the expectations are.
Managing your processes makes a massive difference to the everyday experience of you and your remote workers. Managing remote staff is easier when you have solid processes in place. Stay alert to any problems, and keep up strong communication around any issues that arise. This will free you to grow your business into the great success you have envisaged all along!
