The Skills You Need to Be a Successful Remote Employee

5 skills necessary for remote work success 

Remote work’s popularity continues to rise. According to the Owl Labs State of Remote Work Report, 74 percent of employees are happier when working from home. And, according to Buffer’s State of Remote Work, 98 percent of professionals say they’d like to work remotely – at least part time – for the rest of their careers. 

However, remote work isn’t a natural fit for everyone. Consider the following five skills necessary for remote work success. You may recognize them in yourself, but if you don’t, now is the time to cultivate them. 

1. Time-management skills are necessary for remote work success.

When you work from home, co-workers and bosses aren’t around to remind you to stay on task and meet deadlines, but you still must meet employee performance goals and metrics. Companies with remote teams seek independent workers who can manage their time responsibly and schedule projects efficiently.

Time management – at work and in your personal life – takes mental preparation. As a remote worker, you must complete work according to set deadlines and attend online meetings on time and prepared. If you appear distracted and disorganized, your reputation and work will suffer. 

Remote work isn’t a fit for people who are consistently late and disorganized. However, time management is a skill that any dedicated professional can cultivate. Tech tools and time-management tips and tactics can help: 

• Tech tools for time management: Tools like Toggl can help you track how you spend your time and how much time you spend on each task. Additionally, use your Google Calendar to keep appointments and commitments straight and use Outlook or iCal for scheduling. To-do list apps can also help keep you on track. 
• Time-management techniques: Specific methods and techniques can help you prioritize tasks. For example, you can use the Pomodoro technique, where you work for 25 minutes at a time and take routine breaks to recharge. 

2. Communication skills are crucial for remote work.

Remote work is a completely different environment from office work. There’s no commute, face-to-face co-worker interactions and in-person impromptu meetings to discuss ideas. Robust, clear communication is critical for remote teams.

The onus is often on the remote worker to initiate communication and speak up when there’s a problem. Poor communication skills are a recipe for disaster, including missed deadlines, misunderstandings and a toxic company culture. 

The good news is that remote workers and their companies can enhance communication skills and channels. Consider the following suggestions:

• Remote workers must proactively practice communication. If you’re a remote worker, make communication a habit. Don’t hesitate to call, text or email your boss with questions about tasks and expectations. Additionally, touch base frequently with co-workers so everyone is updated and on the same page. Communicate your needs regarding team projects, and ensure you’re crystal clear about what you need from others.
• Tech tools can enhance communication. Businesses can help remote teams communicate more efficiently by implementing communication tools like Asana, Slack, Trello and DialPad. These tools help remote teams feel connected and engaged with their colleagues, giving them the resources they need to succeed.

3. Remote work requires technical knowledge and skills.

You’ll need some level of tech knowledge to succeed in a remote position. Remote brands thrive on technology and wouldn’t exist without it. Even non-remote companies require substantial technical expertise – making every company a tech company these days. So, whether it’s your job to create websites or assist the CEO, technical proficiency is a must.

Remote workers must understand the tech their companies use and how it helps reach brand goals. In addition to business software and communication and collaboration tools, proprietary portals and systems must be learned and understood. 

The good news is that you don’t have to be a born techie to cultivate tech skills. And tech skills are transferable, helping improve your hiring chances as you navigate your career path. 

Here are some tips: 

• Check with your company for training opportunities. Many companies provide employee training resources and professional development opportunities to help their employees amass the tech skills and proficiencies they need for success. 
• Pursue tech education on your own. Numerous resources can help professionals learn and brush up on tech skills. For example, investigate online classes offered by Coursera, Udemy or Codecademy. 

4. You need collaboration skills to succeed in remote work.

Collaboration skills are a must in every company. Workplace teamwork is always essential. However, having the skill set to collaborate with team members remotely is critical when telecommuting. Whether creating a new campaign or launching a new product, how well you work with others can spell the difference between remote work success and being out of a job. 

Remote workers rely on the internet to collaborate with their teams. This means actively listening, delegating and communicating via digital channels. Collaboration also involves completing your share of the work on time and sharing credit and responsibility. 

To improve your collaboration skills, become intimately familiar with your company’s collaboration tech tools. (Note that there’s some overlap with communication and collaboration tools.)

Popular tools that help employee teamwork and collaboration include the following: 

• Slack 
• Zoom 
• Asana 
• Google Drive 

5. Remote work requires work-life balancing skills.

Some people struggle with working too much; with work always readily available at home, overworking can be a problem. Conversely, remote work’s inherent distractions – pets, chores, kids – can mean not getting in enough hours. 

Successful remote employees find the sweet spot, putting in sufficient hours while maintaining a positive work-life balance. It can take some time and discipline to achieve the right balance of working hard and enjoying the freedom and flexibility of working from home. However, with practice, you can develop positive remote work habits that boost your career while allowing you to enjoy your life.

How to overcome the challenges of remote work

Remote work brings significant benefits. Remote workers are often more engaged and productive. They avoid commutes and enjoy the flexibility of managing their lives. However, remote work has some significant downsides. 

Here are some of the biggest challenges of remote work and how to overcome them.

1. Remote workers are often confined to the home.

According to the Buffer report cited earlier, 33 percent of remote workers say being home too much is an issue, and 21 percent say it’s their biggest struggle. There’s no need to commute, so if your job doesn’t entail seeing clients, you’re at home most of the time. This can cause boredom and feelings of stagnation. 

Solution: Exercise your time management skills to overcome this challenge. Take the time you would otherwise commute to work and walk in your neighborhood or a nearby park. Seeing and interacting with others will help you feel more social, give you energy, and boost your mood and overall mental health. 

2. Remote workers may feel isolated or lonely. 

Working from home can be inherently lonely. The Buffer report revealed that 23 percent of remote workers struggle with loneliness, with 15 percent saying it’s their biggest challenge with remote work. Offices have easy access to co-workers, lunch opportunities and even close workplace friendships. While you still communicate with colleagues while working remotely, email and video communication lack the warmth of face-to-face communication.

Solution: Practice your work-life balancing skills by reaching out to co-workers to chat about non-work topics. This can help you form friendships and closer relationships. If you live near co-workers, you can even plan to get together for coffee or lunch. 

Be diligent about maintaining relationships with non-work friends and family, and make time to connect with them regularly. It can also help to get a pet – especially a dog – which will force you to get out of the house to walk.

3. Remote workers may find it hard to unplug.

With the blurred lines between work and personal time, it can be difficult to draw boundaries and know when to set work aside. According to the Buffer report, 22 percent of workers say this is an issue, with 11 percent calling it their biggest challenge. 

Solution: This is where time management skills come into play. Schedule personal tasks before or after work hours to force yourself to shift gears. During your designated personal time, silence work notifications so you won’t be tempted to check your email or work collaboration tool. When on vacation or during the weekends, leave your tablet and laptop at home.

4. Working across time zones is challenging for remote workers.

Many companies with remote workers have employees living in different time zones. Varying time zones can be challenging because you must shift your schedule to interact with colleagues who are typically sleeping during your work hours.

In addition to lost sleep, working across different time zones can cause communication lags because the person you message may have to respond much later. 

Solution: To meet the time zone challenge, utilize your communication and technical skills. Limit synchronous communication with people in other time zones to short periods while working on projects that require efficient communication. When the pressure is off, communicate with geographically remote colleagues asynchronously via email or messaging.

Chris Christoff contributed to this article.