How to Manage a Business Remotely Using Modern Technologies

Managing an online business is different from traditional: using other formats, tools and communication methods. The task is to select programs for managing employees and configure everything so as not to feel discomfort.

How to Manage a Business Remotely Via Modern Technologies

Online business is often chosen because it provides the opportunity to live and work on travel. But, if you do not build process management, the business will take too much time and is unlikely to allow travel.

The complexity of remote business management is in remoteness. The owner does not come to the next office to monitor the work of employees, give instructions, or hold a planning meeting.

Since you may live in another city, some employees fly away, break deadlines, and are not serious about tasks. Plus, there are problems with planning, setting, and monitoring tasks. But some tools help control employees remotely, create the effect of presence, and allow the team to communicate with each other.

How to Manage Your Team Workflow

There are a lot of online business management tools. It is impossible to cover everything in one article. The choice of tools often depends on the principles of the company. For example, someone works on the principle of a resource – when it doesn’t matter how much time an employee spends on a task, only its implementation matters.

Skype. It is usually used for planning meetings, phone calls with a supervisor, interviews, and training. Skype ringtones help create the effect of presence and personal communication. And some issues are much faster to solve by voice than to discuss in writing. One of the most helpful tips is the following: report bad news on Skype and discuss issues in your voice. It’s easier to quench the negative and find a solution.

Whatsapp Chat. It’s a convenient method to solve some small, daily issues. Usually, a team has a general chat, in which they send information that is important to everyone, discuss common matters, and there are dialogs in private messages. Chats give a sense of belonging to a common cause, and help employees feel part of a team.

Slack. It is such a big messenger with different channels. In each channel, you can send messages, files, mention employees. Usually, there are several channels: the main, flood-control, and channels of departments or teams, for example, the channel of designers. It turns out that all employees discuss common issues, and they speak about specialized tasks in separate channels. So the team remains in touch, but no one bothers each other with off-topic messages.

Bitrix24. Bitrix, and indeed almost any other CRM-system, allows you to set tasks, control deadlines, remind employees about what they need to do. And also, keep records of customers, calls, meetings and generate reports on sales, sources of leads. For each task, the leader sees the time spent and the degree of readiness. Employees are disciplined by the fact that their actions are visible to management.

Trello. Another option for managing large projects and team tasks is Trello. Here you can create different boards: team, private, personal. And the tasks are laid out in columns, for example, according to the degree of readiness. At the same time, there is a function of adding deadlines, participants, checklists to the task card.

Vital Rules for Remote Business Management to Follow

Time Difference

• First, the most commonplace is the time difference. This is an unpleasant thing that many people are just starting to get used to. We now have people scattered in eight time zones. As a result, firstly, from time to time, you have to work quite well after hours, for example, call up at 5:00 or, conversely, at 23:00. In general, any businessman is used to an irregular working day, but, given the time difference, this day becomes not only irregular but also crumpled and torn.

Time Management

• Secondly, you have to monitor the time of solving problems more closely. Time management is now everything. But the great thing is technology: mobile Internet, smartphone – and no one noticed the difference that you are not in the office and not with a tie.

How Modern Technologies May Boost Your Business

Customer insight.

Various systems are present for collecting client information that can tell the client everything: geography, gender, age, interests. These are tools such as social network statistics, GoogleAnalytics data. “This data allows you to set up advertising campaigns, help competently interact with customers, giving them only what they need at this stage. Also, these data will enable you to understand the target audience, identify needs in order to sell more, and provide quality service to customers, “says Ben Grant, a marketer at LinksManagement.

Use of programs and services.

Mobile applications, digital presentations, social networks – all these are tools that help build relationships with customers and create additional channels for communication.

Creating points for interacting with customers – the same social networks, chatbots, and Google forms – tools that create additional channels for interacting with customers.

Customers can send feedback and suggestions, complaints. Seeing that the business does not hide, but cares about its reputation, customers begin to trust the company more.

Automation.

The most routine areas of product production, customer service can be entrusted to automate processes and free up time for employees to solve other problems. Tools such as electronic mailing, collecting requests, leads, a support service through a chatbot, automatic notification of clients – all this can be done using digital tools.

Remote mode.

All documents and working materials are collected, grouped, and stored electronically, which means that there is no need for employees to go to the office and spend all day here. After all, all the work can be done remotely. So the company can save on staff wages, on the maintenance of the office, office equipment, pay for Internet and telephone communications, as well as find the best specialists in their field in the country and work with them.

Business management.

Managers using digital management in business receive statistical data from various sources regarding all the processes of their business, which means that they can make decisions based on these data and improve all business processes. Thus, with the help of statistical data, the effectiveness of various managerial tactics is measured, and tactics change depending on the results.

Conclusion

Thus, modern technology in business is our present, without which business is unthinkable. Indeed, those companies that strive to be customer-oriented, already create additional sources and channels of communication with customers, optimize business processes within the company, become more successful and competitive, because they keep up to date.

Marie Barnes is a writer for Bestforacar. She is an enthusiastic blogger interested in writing about technology, social media, work, travel, lifestyle, and current affairs. She shares her insights through blogging.