If you and your team are back working from home (WFH), you need to make sure your remote team management is fit for purpose. Your team might not be able to attend meetings physically or come to your desk for a chat, but that doesn’t mean communication needs to falter.

Before we jump into our top tips for managing your team during this time, let’s quickly run through what remote working means for managers in the field service industry.

What Is Remote Working?

Remote working generally refers to taking your everyday work outside of its usual office environment.

But what about the service industry?

Remote working can mean taking you and your team out of the typical office environment. But considering global events, it also means that the physical office has been replaced with a home office or laptop on the sofa. Whether that is taking calls from clients or managing your jobs.

As a manager of an electrical, plumbing, catering or HVAC business, it’s down to you to make sure remote working doesn’t become a problem. Or make an impact on the service you deliver to your clients.

You might have a reduced number of engineers attending onsite jobs, whilst other members of staff are working from home. Some of your team might be returning from furlough, or perhaps extending their time of leave. Whatever your situation, if your team is divided, it is important to establish a management approach that works for everyone.

So, if you are adjusting the way you manage your remote workforce, how do you prepare to make sure the transition is a successful one?

Tips To Manage Your Remote Team

1. Get the right software

And that leads us to our first tip: make sure you have the right software to suit your new or updated business setup.

Having a central CRM database located in the office allows you to store all your customer information and important details. You can then remotely access this or deploy other solutions to ensure you can carry out the work you need to complete, wherever you are. A web-based program would be useful in this scenario.

Clik Remote is the easiest way to access several of your usual Clik Service modules from anywhere using a remote URL. Without having to move your current database. The Manager login gives you full access to the available Clik Remote modules. This includes jobs sheets, quotes, sales orders, a customisable dashboard and more.

Have some engineers attending jobs onsite? Equip them with mobile apps to ensure they have access to the jobs they need. Both web-based software and mobile apps have their benefits, so you can choose the one that best suits your team.

Have a look at these other software options to help with remote working.

2. Be adaptable

If you need your management software to adapt quickly if your location changes, a VPN might be the answer.

What is a VPN?

A VPN, or virtual private network, is a way to securely connect to the internet. In this case, it will help you work remotely, whilst giving you better privacy online.

So, if you’ve been using Clik Service comfortably in the office, you can still access your data if you need to change your working environment. With a remote access server and VPN, you can continue to create jobs, complete certificates and keep your business organised.

If a VPN is not the solution for you, there are other ways to access what you need remotely. Installing Clik Service on a hosted cloud server, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS, could also be an adaptable option. This environment would give you the functionality and speed you need to continue to support your staff and customers.

Your IT department will be able to help you with setting this up. Unfortunately, Clik will not be able to set this up for customers.

3. Train your team

If the program or application you choose is a new solution, you might need to consider training options. This will speed up the learning process and help you get to grips with the new program in no time.

A popular option would be online one-to-one training. This format allows you to easily watch the training from your home or office. Tailor the training to suit your management style and existing knowledge. So, if you’re a novice or a complete beginner, you can get all the basics covered on a schedule that suits you.

If you just need a general overview, there are always online guides, videos and tutorials. You can access these whenever you need them to build your software knowledge. Keep your eye out for upcoming webinars or training courses and join other users in learning something new.

With a clear management plan and with the help of technology, you can continue to keep your business running smoothly. If you haven’t yet discovered what service management software can do for your business, try it out for free.