The mobile workforce has been in practice for a while, but current advances in technology increase the numbers. When you have a team working off-site, you need to incorporate policies and technology for maximum effect. Technology can ensure that you execute well your internal and external communications.

As your mobile team works on individual projects, you can regularly keep the group up to date. In so doing, you encourage teamwork and help increase the team’s productivity. If the team compiles reports, software platforms make it easier and offer timely submissions. Your mobile workforce can utilize technology like videoconferencing, group chats, fax online, and other software applications.

Ways You Can Connect With Your Mobile Workforce

As a team leader, you need to ensure you keep up with your team’s progress. In addition, you need to find ways to promote engagement, satisfaction and keep their productivity high. One of the ways is connecting with them to maintain teamwork, help promote company goals, and improve productivity.

Use Current Technology

You may experience delays in reaching your team members from time to time. The platform you use can create this delay if it doesn’t support different devices. In addition, good technology should support both active and passive communication.

The right software platform should enable you to hold group chats, group calls and provide back-office interactions. In addition, your team members can use the same medium to schedule events, write and submit reports to avoid the risk of non-compatible software. Thus, working on a document and sending it out using one platform is productive and more accessible than sending it using another medium. The ease beats using two software that may not support the identical document versions, slowing down employee productivity.

Another point to note is that you should go for technology that can run on mobile phones, allowing your team members to access group communication at any time. As such, you can assign tasks and provide support on the go. In turn, the team can easily send feedback and increase their engagement.

A simple rule of thumb is that the software or application you use should be easy to install and use. It shouldn’t require extra IT support to make it work.

Manage Results

You can agree that each team member has a different working style. However, the result can be the same or even more than expected. As a team leader, you can set out goals and give a deadline to report back. After which, you let each team member plan how to accomplish the goals within the period.

Even though you may feel not in control, it gives the team a sense of responsibility and ownership when you allow them to plan their schedules. In the end, this can prove counterproductive and improve the team’s morale.

Hold Group Sessions

Because you can’t call for weekly office briefs, you can organize group calls and group chats to connect with your mobile workforce. However, you should ensure that there are sessions for different agendas to avoid the group sessions lasting long and losing their purpose.

For example, you can host a web meeting at the start of each week and share your plan for the week while also reviewing the previous week. Then on a different day, you can schedule a bonding session where the team can have interactive communication.

Balancing official and unofficial sessions can help the mobile workforce feel like a family. With a platform that allows instant messaging, you can have water cooler conversations that let the team have social interactions.

Recognize And Appreciate The Team

Just as with onsite workers, the mobile workforce can still feel left out when there’s no official recognition or praise. Therefore, when team members complete tasks ahead of schedule, recognize their efforts and encourage them. Also, if a customer gives positive feedback, pass the compliments to the team.

Recognizing and praising your team makes them feel welcome and can motivate them to produce more results. You can also give them gift cards or vouchers, thus creating a happier workforce.

Hold One-On-Ones

The mobile workforce spends a long time alone and can quickly feel the disconnect. As a team leader, you can schedule one-on-one sessions even to talk about something that doesn’t involve work.

Your conversations can be through instant messaging, voice calls, or video calls. Whichever medium you decide to use, you create a bond and trust with the team. Bonding with each member develops a sense of belonging spread through the mobile workforce.

Conclusion

To summarize, connecting with your mobile workforce can be challenging. As such, you should look at ways to easily break that challenge and bring the team close together. Choosing the right technology, holding one-on-one sessions, and having group sessions are some of the ways you can create a connection.

Additionally, recognizing and praising reasonable efforts also builds morale, increasing productivity. You can have a happier and well-connected mobile workforce when you continuously practice these. As a result, it can help you achieve organizational goals.