4 Tips to Conduct a Successful Online Strategy

It can be hard to conduct a successful online strategy since most are not used to working from home. Working remotely is a necessity for many of us today. Technology keeps on improving and evolving to make professionals’ lives easier as days go by. People can now easily communicate outside of traditional office set-ups and get the work done swiftly.

Remote employees tend to be self-motivated. However, at this time there are many employees working from home for the first time. It is important to ensure that they have enough support and guidance to be productive and prioritise the work.

Communication is key during this time of change where new strategies are needed to pivot businesses in order to survive. How can we ensure everyone working remotely is going in the same direction? How can we maintain our remote employees’ engagement? How can we ensure that they are motivated? And how can we ensure that they’d be with us to reach the team’s goal and their individual goals? An effective remote manager is the answer to those questions.

An effective remote manager would guarantee that the goals of the team and its team members will be met no matter what. And it stems up from setting clear goals with specific directions on how to achieve them. Setting clear goals with detailed metrics, following organised timelines for evaluations, and setting clear expectations could help managers of remote teams foresee success and achieve it.

Here are the 4 tips to conduct a successful online strategy with your team.

1. S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Giving time to have a comprehensive and detailed discussion about goals with your team members will ensure that whatever the goals are, they will be achievable. Using the most basic goal-setting structure like the S.M.A.R.T. goals will make the goals effective and in return, easier to achieve. So, what do we mean by S.M.A.R.T goals?

Specific

What exactly do you want to see your members achieve? Make sure that you are specific in your wording by using words and phrases that could be easily understood by everyone to avoid grey areas.

Measurable

How can you say if your members have achieved the goals or not? Setting clear metrics will save that day. If there are no specific metrics associated with your goals, it is easy to say that your goals aren’t smart enough. Then what should you do as the leader? Re-evaluate the goals. It won’t hurt you if you are to re-evaluate your goals in the beginning as it would save you and the team more time.

Achievable

Are the goals within the world of possibility? Or we are too much into creating our kingdom but without structured foundations? How can the team accomplish the goals? If the goals set aren’t likely to be achieved, then you are wasting everybody’s time. The goals should be realistic and attainable for us to succeed. It could go beyond our capabilities but should remain possible.

Relevant

A way to ensure that our goals are relevant is to have a yes as an answer to these questions.

• Are the goals applicable in the current team’s set-up?
• Are the goals in-line with the company’s mission and vision?
• Are the goals worth the effort?

These questions are keys to ensure that the goals matter to you and the team. The goals should align with you and the members’ values and personal goals.

Time-bound

What is the specific date and time when you can determine if the goals have been completed and achieved? Do you have a clear deadline for everything? Every goal should have a target date so that your team members have a deadline to focus on and something to look forward to. This will ensure that you aren’t stepping on daily tasks from taking priority over your long-term goals.

2. Clear Metrics (KPIs)

Let’s just make this one very clear. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are not the same thing as your goals or objectives. The goals are the things you want to achieve while metrics or KPIs are indicators that will tell you whether you are on track in achieving those goals. If we are to set clear metrics these could guide our team members to work on the goals at the same level of understanding.

3. Touchpoint

When team members are working from their homes you won’t have the chance to stop by their desk and ask them how are they coming along with their goals. It would be best if you would schedule a regular touchpoint or a 1on1 with each of your team members. Review their goals and check where they are at in achieving their goals. You could also see if they’re experiencing any roadblocks and would make them feel that they have your support.

4. Open Communication

One of the keys to ensure that everything is on track is to have an open communication. Even in personal relationships, right? Break the ice with your team members by reminding them that you are always reachable whatever they want to talk about, either about their professional or personal life. Your team members already know the what, why, and how in achieving the team’s goals. It is now your responsibility to encourage open communication, feedback, and discussion about any matter regarding your goals. It will give your members the sense of belonging because their voices are heard. In return, you will gain your members’ trust and confidence.

Send me a message now to receive more pro tips on how you and your team can achieve your goals even when working remotely and have a successful online strategy.