Managing a digital marketing team was hard enough before the pandemic. For those of you with a 100% remote staff, you probably have never been so nimble and adaptive.
Keeping your digital marketing team primed and ready has never been a greater challenge.
Here are six recommendations for making your remote digital marketing team efficient, effective, and collaborative.
1. Hold Regular Check-ins
Schedule check-in meetings with undeniable regularity. Hold them weekly or even daily if necessary. Your visual presence is critical, so just audio conferencing won’t cut it. Seeing leadership brings certainty in uncertain times. And have a structured agenda where everyone knows what information to bring to the check-in.
As far as video conferencing tools go, I like Microsoft Teams because of the ability to share comments, content, and files with fellow team members when you are offline. Everything can be organized by a group so everyone in that group stays informed about your progress. If you are on the Google Workspace platform, use Google Meet. Reliable options also include Zoom and GoToMeeting.
2. Be Accessible
You probably have a good understanding of your team members work. Some do well independently with little oversight, while others need more hand-holding and guidance. And loneliness can be a real issue for staff who rely on coming to the office for comradery. Have a reliable presence.
Set times when you are accessible, including the means in which to reach you. Share your leadership strength while you help individuals with issues they won’t address in a group. Using chat programs like Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and Slack provide a convenient way for side conversations.
3. Revisit Workflows
Let’s face it; everyone loves routine. Prior to the pandemic, your marketing team relied on in-office systems and repeatable patterns for collaboration and production.
It is never too late to restructure those workflows for a remote digital marketing team. Things to consider include:
- Technology. Consider carefully what software and platforms align with your way of working. You don’t want to adopt something that is overly complex and requires a lot of training.
- Schedules and deadlines. With everyone’s personal schedules twisting and turning because of the pandemic, it is vital to understand realistic timelines for producing and publishing.
- Prioritization. Remote workers are now empowered to make more decisions and prioritize tasks. Make sure, at a minimum, there are frequent discussions about where the focus needs to be.
- Bottlenecks. Chronically look where project bottlenecks occur and troubleshoot your workflow accordingly.
On some days, things don’t go according to plan. Be ready to operate on a day-to-day basis because remote teams are no longer in a familiar rhythm and holding conventional working hours.
4. Set Realistic Goals and Expectations
Position your team for success by detailing the scope of work, work breakdown structure, and deliverables. You may want to consider dialing up and dialing down project scopes until you have your remote team optimized. A project management communications plan outlining, roles, responsibilities, information types, and contact methods helps, too.
Without in-person side conversations or yelling over cubicle walls, teams need project documentation. Provide a place to go online to understand goals, deliverables, roles, and due dates.
For the project managers out there, look to the numerous tools like Microsoft Planner, Asana, Monday.com, Trello, and Basecamp. If you are evaluating these tools now, be sure to place heavy emphasis on features that automate workflow and trigger alerts.
5. Redefine Productivity
You may be accustomed to a face-to-face working team where you can pick up unspoken clues about productivity and morale. Productivity is now measured by what gets done. Keep focused on the quality of what is produced and not how it gets done. What is important is if the work is good and outcomes are being met.
I like weekly analytics reports that break down digital marketing performance with emphasis on four or five KPIs. Have those reports ready for your weekly check-in meeting. The data encourage discussions and bring transparency. Everyone can help troubleshoot performance with the same data set.
6. Solicit Feedback and Share Tips
Additional mental and physical health issues come with a global pandemic. Hold a monthly meeting dedicated to tips and tricks for balancing work and family.
The pandemic is testing teams, and they need new forms of support. Topics may include:
- Home office space (both dedicated and “pop-up”)
- Early morning and evening working hours
- Internet and Wi-Fi issues at home
- Childcare at home and scheduling challenges
- Stress during the pandemic
For months, and perhaps longer, remote work may be the norm and not the exception. I hope these tips help you effectively manage your remote digital marketing team.