Strategies for Managing Your E‑commerce Team Remotely

2020 may be the most challenging of years for businesses. The Coronavirus hit like a bolt out of the blue, forcing companies to rethink the way they handle their daily operations.

Perhaps the most glaring change the pandemic has instigated is the need to work remotely. And while most would have preferred a bit more time to prepare and train their e-commerce teams about the ins-and-outs of remote working, many have had to think on their feet and learn as they go along.

The pandemic has raised a crucial question: Should remote working be temporary, or should it become the new normal?

If you’re thinking of transitioning to a remote team permanently, you aren’t alone, as 3 in 4 knowledge workers have reported that their employers permit remote working to some extent. It brings benefits with it, such as reduced overheads and enabling your business to be geographically-independent.

To manage your remote team successfully, however, you will need to map out and put in place sustainable strategies. In this article, we’ll be looking at how to do just that. But first, let’s check to see if your company is ready for remote working and the challenges your employees may face.

Is Your Company Ready For a Remote Working Structure?

There are a number of reasons why your e-commerce business may or may not be ready for a remote working structure. These reasons need to be considered before you move forward in adapting certain components of your business to ensure that minimal disruption is caused. And, here they are:

Your company already largely works online, storing and sharing documents in the cloud
Sourcing local workers is tricky
Your employees were asking about the possibility of working remotely before the pandemic
You already outsource jobs online
Your physical workspace is no longer suitable

Types of Tools to Manage Your Remote Team

Managing a remote e-commerce team successfully is possible if you use the right tools and put in place strategies that will boost engagement. This will ensure productivity remains high so that tasks are completed on time.

Meetings (Video Conferencing)

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Meetings will still need to go ahead now that your team is working remotely. And while they may be a bit trickier to organise, you can use video conferencing technology to make the transition smoother.

When you select a video conferencing tool, try to find one that is reliable and has good screen resolution (for a sharper video), but also one which comes with extra features like recording capabilities and screen-sharing. Zoom’s recording capabilities are great because they allow your team to focus on what’s being said without the need to take notes the whole time.

While tools help to make a virtual meeting smoother, you still need to put effort into organising your meetings. If your team is entirely locally based, it shouldn’t be too hard to organise a time. If on the other hand, you’re now hiring remote workers from other countries, you’ll need to find time frames that suit everyone.

It’s also a smart idea to plan an agenda beforehand so that you’re not wasting anyone’s time. Figure out your key talking points, your structure and who will be saying what.

It's worth pointing out, too, that virtual meetings can make people feel a bit uncomfortable at first because they’re so different from what anyone is used to. This is why it’s always a good idea to begin with an ice-breaker that helps people relax and get comfortable with one another. This is especially useful if you’ve got new additions to your team.

Project Management

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Now that your team is working remotely, you might find that they work at different hours. Some might prefer to get their work done in the morning, others might be more productive later in the day. As such, keeping everyone on the same page could be difficult.

The best way to manage projects with remote workers is via project management software. Tools like Asana make it easy for remote teams to collaborate on the same project, share documents, assign tasks and review milestones. It doesn’t matter what time of the day people choose to work, a project management tool brings everyone together via a seamless workflow.

When looking for a project management tool, it’s always a smart idea to look for one that’s customisable, offers easy and effective team communication, as well as some innovative features, such as a notes app.

Communication

Communication remains the bedrock of success at any e-commerce business. With communication tools, your remote team members can share documents with each other, ping instant messages, share ideas and essentially stay connected and in the loop to complete projects successfully.

Ultimately, communication technology ensures that, even though your team members aren’t working side by side anymore, tasks are still performed at speed, information is shared within a good time frame, and problems are solved as soon as possible.

Good, comprehensive and feature-rich communication tools include Monday.com and also email. Alternatively, you could go with a messaging platform that allows you to create your own chat app which can be used by remote workers who want to maintain contact in real-time throughout the day.

Time Management Tools

The key to the success of any project is time management. The last thing you want now that your team is working remotely is for a few members to fall behind so that the whole project suffers.

Time management tools save the day by boosting efficiency and productivity while negating procrastination and ensuring work is delivered on time.

Some of the best time management tools on the market at the moment include Trello, Toggl, and Zapier. Toggl in particular stands out with its time-tracking reporting tool, while Trello gives your employees a visual overview of where they’re at, what they still need to do, and by what time.

Challenges that come with working remotely

The idea of your e-commerce team working remotely might be sounding more and more appealing to you. However, there are challenges that may cause your top-performing employees to decline in performance, and it’s important you are aware of them. Here they are:

Delays in communication

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When your team is together in the office, it’s very easy for one team member to acquire data or information from another team member. All they have to do is approach the person to make a request, and then it can be transferred within a minute (providing the other person isn’t busy).

When your team is working from home and a team member emails specific questions, the time it takes to get a response can be much longer. What if team member A decides to have lunch at a different time to team member B, and isn’t online for a few hours? This can cause frustrations and friction in virtual work environments.

Too many distractions

Distractions in the office can pop up, but they’re minimal. At home, unexpected distractions can slow an employee down and reduce their engagement. These could include bored children asking questions, family members visiting, knocks at the door and access to their recreational devices.

While distractions are often unplanned, they can present as temptations that might sometimes be hard to ignore.

Shutterstock/Foxy burrow

No physical supervision

Face to face supervision might not always be necessary with absolutely every team member, but some fare better with it than others. Every single employee has different needs and ways of working. If a team member who is used to constant supervision (and interaction) suddenly loses that, their time management and productivity may drop and stress could take over.

Isolation and loneliness

It’s important to remember that some team members are more sociable than others. Some thrive off the office environment. They enjoy interacting with others, catching up during their lunch break and even going out for after-work drinks. Working remotely from home can cause these team members to feel lonely and socially isolated.

It’s also the same for those who are suffering from mental health problems and rely on everyday human connection. Once they start working from home, they lose a huge amount of that.

Conclusion

Remote working isn’t suitable for absolutely every type of business, but it’s perfectly suited for e-commerce teams. It’s important that you’re aware of the challenges but, as we’ve seen, there are strategies and tools you can use and implement that will help you overcome them.

If you get it right, managing your teams remotely will give your team more freedom and help you to grow your business.