Starting from the financial side of the business and moving on to the successful and effective management of its employees, the small company must be agile enough to quickly deal with any arising issues before they become nearly insurmountable challenges. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the now post-pandemic economic environment, have made it even more difficult for SMEs to successfully navigate the early phases of their operations and achieve steady and consistent growth.
When it comes to financial planning, bookkeeping, and tax documentation, it may be best to leave those to an accounting professional. Any incorrectly recorded financial transactions, bad tax planning, missed deadlines, etc., could have dire consequences. One effective option is to hire an outside firm to handle the accounting of the business. Work with experts that know both the typical struggles of an SME and are proficient with the local laws and regulations, such as choosing small business accountant London. With professionals handling the more specialized tasks, small business owners can focus more of their time on finding the right approach when it comes to motivating and managing their employees.
Team Management In a Remote Environment
Team management has been undergoing rapid development and foundational shifts ever since companies of all sizes and nearly all industry sectors were suddenly forced to provide remote work opportunities for vast portions of their workforce. The remote work model managed to disapprove many of its opponents, with remote employees exhibiting increased productivity while enjoying better mental wellness. As such, many businesses have decided to permanently incorporate remote work in at least some capacity, leading to the creation of hybrid work models.
Improve Communication
Working from home even for a couple of days each week, reduces the opportunities for organic communication that are present in an office environment. It introduces artificial lag in the communication chain as team members may not be immediately available to answer a couple of quick questions. Badly implemented remote work options could also impact collaboration and productivity. Many of these team management problems can be eliminated almost entirely by using the right communication tools.
There are plenty of platforms on the market that can work as a company-wide system providing video conferencing, direct messaging, group chats, file sharing, and more. To get the most out of the chosen tool, and any other work-related app for that matter, both managers and employees should be given plenty of time to familiarize themselves with it and the various features it offers.
Provide Support
Remote employees are also further distanced from their managers, creating difficulties when it comes to providing them with the necessary support. Managers lose many of the natural opportunities to communicate with their team members, requiring them to now think of other methods to compensate for it. The scheduling of daily or even weekly check-in calls with the team members could deliver the needed results. Make sure that you communicate with each employee privately in one-on-one sessions while also having regular group calls where the team can freely discuss work-related problems and provide relevant suggestions.
Create Opportunities To Socialise
To retain morale, keep spirits high, and prevent employees from starting to feel disconnected from their colleagues and the company as a whole, managers have to come up with appropriate ways to keep everyone socializing. After all, people create interpersonal work bonds naturally while in the office. However, it is much harder to do the same while communicating via a screen as any messages and contacts require far greater effort and are usually about a specific work-related topic.
A potential solution could be a dedicated voice channel for informal conversations. It can be made available to employees during a certain time slot, for example, before the start of the regular work briefings. This way, employees and team members can quickly catch up with one another and start the day with a positive attitude. To further facilitate social interactions, the teams may also decide on certain 'social hours' during which anyone with free time can play online games with their colleagues or participate in other team-building activities.