As millions of UK workers set up office at home, a business leader has revealed her tips for managing staff working remotely.

Anita Tweats, founder of The Finance People, believes clear guidance needs to be given to ensure homeworking benefits the employee and the business.

She says trusting the team and their abilities is key to remote working being successful. Regular communication and focusing on goals are other key elements to keeping employees motivated and on track.

Anita said:

“At the moment homeworking is likely to happen for most of us and making sure it’s a success during this difficult period is essential.

“If you have the technology in place, then that’s a good place to start. The next step is to be clear on what you expect but at the same time trusting the team to work well, efficiently and manage their own time.

“It is also important to be mindful of employees wellbeing. Make sure they stick to set hours and don’t go over. Also encourage them to have regular breaks.”

Here are the tips from Anita for managing employees who are working from home:

Be clear on expectations

Working away from the office is less structured and employees need to be clear on what’s expected from them. Agree working hours and availability. Do you want staff to work office hours or is a degree of flexibility built in? If hours are more flexible, be clear who’s working when and make sure staff know if you need them to be contactable during office hours. Discuss daily and weekly tasks, key projects and deadlines to ensure all work is met and completed in time.

Technology

The technology has to be in place for home working to really work. Invest in reliable equipment – you don’t want staff waiting hours for files to download or having conference calls on crackly lines.

Focus on goals

Stay focussed on goals and not the number of hours the team are putting in. If goals are being met, then everything’s on track.

Communicate

Communication is key. You need to make sure you and the team are talking regularly. Agree an appropriate number of weekly catch ups and any formal reporting. Remember to keep the team up to date with how things are going to.

Motivation

If you have monthly one on ones to ensure professional goals are met, do them via video calls and deal with issues head on. It is important to keep the team motivated and on track – not always easy when everyone’s working in isolation.

Meetings

If you can’t do your team face to face, do them via video call instead. Having that time as a team is still important.

Avoid burnout

When working from home, it is easy for your team to do too much. Set daily and weekly maximums for working hours and make sure employees take the necessary breaks.

Trust

Trusting your team is key to making home working work. Set up work from home guidelines to ensure standards remain high and everyone stays motivated and on track.