Although the workforce is changing with more and more people working remotely, quality standards stay the same. These refer to specific guidelines that help organizations harness their processes, stay compliant, boost customer satisfaction rates, and refine their standard operating procedures.

But with more businesses moving to the virtual realm, meeting these standards is becoming a challenge. For instance, it can be very challenging to manage quality standards across teams and entire processes while working remotely.

Thankfully, technologies are being developed that help make this task less challenging. Here are tips for managing quality standards remotely.

Find the Right People

The best members of a remote team are self-sufficient and can be trusted to complete tasks. As a manager of a remote team or project, the outcomes matter more than the actual activities. Remote work features fewer face-to-face interactions and opportunities to provide feedback instantly; therefore, management styles must be more flexible. If you want employees to own their position and be trustworthy, you must give them flexibility.

Use Technology

Remote work is quickly becoming a norm in almost all industries, and companies are focusing on implementing relevant quality assurance policies. But many organizations are finding it hard to increase their remote capabilities and still meet quality standards because they often struggle to manage remote teams effectively.

That’s where the use of technology comes in.

There are technologies and platforms available to help manage projects and teams. These are excellent ways for both internal and external parties to receive updates on every aspect of a project. Apart from informing your standard operating procedures, you can use this software for managing client relationships. These are also useful in boosting communication with online messaging and video chat capabilities.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

With companies continuing to embrace the work from home directives issued during the pandemic, most teams are physically separated. Traditional ways of communicating, like walking into someone’s office or scheduling a meeting in the conference room, are no longer possible with remote work. It is best to rethink how you communicate, such as asynchronous meetings for people in different time zones and shareable documents.

With remote teams, you would rather over-communicate. However, be careful not to bombard your team with unnecessary communications. Look for a way to keep it manageable and clear for all parties. Consider scheduling when regular email updates are to be sent or utilizing messaging platforms. Using project management platforms helps facilitate communication and saves you from having to chase people down for updates.

Assign Tasks and Responsibilities

Designate all tasks to specific people. Even if multiple people are involved in completing a task, it is best to have one person responsible for ensuring the work gets done. Be sure all tasks are understood with clear descriptions. Also, allow for people to complete the task in their way.

Using a platform that manages projects is useful here, too. They often state who is responsible for a specific task, so if someone is trying to inquire about the stage of the process but doesn’t know who to contact, they can find the answer quickly.

Set Clear Expectations

Set clear expectations as to what is to be completed and how you want it done. With remote teams, it is best to have your communication expectations in place. For example, do you need certain team members available to chat within certain timeframes, or do you require daily email updates at the end of their day? Automating processes as much as possible helps to express and set standards to ensure quality work is done.

Stay Organized

Industries with varying and often changing standards must be carefully understood and monitored. House quality standards in one place in an easy-to-read, digestible format. Within the quality standard guidelines, try to answer as many questions as you can anticipate so people can find the answer themselves without waiting to hear back from you.

Bottom Line

The shift to a remote working environment offers the perfect opportunity for organizations to streamline their processes and increase workflow. This move similarly poses the challenge of maintaining quality standards and remaining compliant. All the above tips can help you manage quality standards remotely and unlock extra efficiency. Keep in mind that there is also technology available to manage teams and customer interactions easily.