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8 Remote work best practices for managing teams
8 Remote work best practices to help managers run productive, secure distributed teams.
Managing a remote team takes different habits than managing one in an office.
Without hallway conversations or a shared workspace, expectations, communication, and accountability have to be built deliberately instead of assumed.
This guide outlines eight remote work best practices for managers, covering how to manage remote teams to keep them productive, secure, and connected. We’ll also look at how Holafly for Business keeps distributed and traveling teams connected.
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1. Set expectations and ground rules
Managing a remote team starts with expectations that are stated, not assumed. Before a new hire’s first day, put your remote work strategies in writing: which channel is for what, when people are expected to be online, and how decisions get made when the team can’t meet face to face.
At a minimum, it should define:
- Communication channels: which tool is for urgent messages, project updates, and casual chat.
- Working hours: core hours where the team overlaps, plus how much flexibility is outside them.
- Decision rights: who signs off on what, so work doesn’t stall waiting on one person.
- Meeting cadence: which meetings are mandatory and which are optional.
2. Measure results, not hours
One of the biggest mistakes in remote team management is trying to replicate office-style oversight with monitoring software, activity trackers, and constant pings about availability.
Instead, agree on specific, measurable outcomes for each role, then let employees decide how and when the work gets done. Review outcomes on a regular schedule (e.g., weekly or biweekly) rather than watching for activity as it happens.
3. Build a reliable and secure tool stack
A toolkit for managing remote workers needs to cover three areas: communication, project tracking, and security. Otherwise, this creates friction that shows up as missed messages, duplicated work, or a data breach.
- Communication: a mix of live chat and video conferencing, plus tools for remote team communication to document decisions asynchronously.
- Project tracking: a project management platform (e.g., Trello, Notion) so work and deadlines are visible to everyone, not just the person managing them.
- Security: password managers, multi-factor authentication, and cybersecurity practices for remote employees.
4. Prioritize check-ins
Regular, structured check-ins do the work of hallway conversations.
A recurring 1:1 with each direct report, separate from project status updates, gives employees space to raise concerns before they become problems.
Keep team-wide check-ins short and frequent: a 15-minute daily or twice-weekly stand-up keeps everyone aligned. The goal is visibility into progress, not surveillance of activity, so employees feel supported.
Fun fact: Employees who meet with their manager regularly are almost 3 times as likely to be engaged as those who don’t.
5. Standardize remote onboarding
Remote recruits lose the informal learning that happens by osmosis in an office, so onboarding needs to be more structured to compensate.
Send equipment and account access ahead of the start date, assign a buddy or mentor for the first few weeks, and schedule daily check-ins through at least the first two weeks.
A remote onboarding checklist keeps this consistent for every new hire.
6. Coordinate across time zones with async-first habits
Global teams often don’t share a complete workday, making it key to use asynchronous communication for anything that isn’t urgent. Write down updates, decisions, and instructions instead of relying on a live meeting that only some team members can attend.
Define a short window of overlapping hours, even just two or three, for the discussions that need a live conversation. Everything else (e.g., status updates, feedback, documentation) can happen on each person’s own schedule.
7. Support employees who travel or work internationally
Distributed teams are increasingly made up of members who travel for client visits, conferences, or relocation. To manage a remote workforce like this, plan beyond the traditional home office environment.
That includes setting corporate travel security guidelines and a straightforward way to handle international business payments for employees working across borders.
8. Invest in connection and culture
Remote work can leave employees feeling isolated from the company and from each other. A study found that people working in remote-capable jobs spend 58% more time alone than those in jobs that can’t be done remotely. It also found their odds of going an entire day without any human interaction are at 72%.
To counteract this, introduce deliberate, low-pressure social time: an optional virtual coffee chat, a non-work Slack channel, or a few minutes of small talk before a meeting starts.
You should also recognize wins publicly, even small ones. In an office, good work gets noticed in passing, but when everyone’s remote, it has to be pointed out on purpose, or it goes unseen.
Keep your remote team connected with Holafly for Business
When your team has people traveling internationally, reliable mobile data is part of the plan.
Holafly for Business is a business eSIM provider available in 160+ destinations that activates on your team’s devices, so they don’t have to worry about sourcing local SIM cards or roaming charges. You also get access to the Holafly Business Center, where you can manage individual eSIMs, invoices, and data usage.
Holafly Plans for Business come in four tiers:
- On Demand (€3.40/day): unlimited data in a single destination with no fixed costs, for occasional business trips.
- Always On (€9.95/year): 1 GB per month, best suited for employees taking up to four short trips per year, with the option to upgrade to Unlimited.
- Unlimited (€57/month): unlimited data with a built-in VPN, ad blocker, and web protection, ideal for teams who need to work securely while traveling.
- Enterprise (custom pricing): geo-blocking, priority support, and customizable data limits and coverage, tailored for large organizations.
Not sure which plan is right for your team? Book a demo.
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I’m a writer with over eight years of experience in digital content. My work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, and the BBC. At Holafly, I write clear, practical guides to help travelers stay connected with eSIM technology. In my spare time, I enjoy car detailing, biking around Warsaw, and capturing portraits.
