I was delighted to read in the news yesterday that family-owned fashion retailer Reiss has said it plans to expand overseas next year by adding 40 new stores to its portfolio of shops after it revealed record sales and profits.

The upmarket high street brand, a favourite with royals and celebrities including the Duchess of Cambridge and Olivia Palermo, said strong growth through its website and existing stores help drive a 10 per cent jump in sales to £128m in the year to 31 January. Great news to hear!

The company now has 130 outlets in 12 countries worldwide, and so the plans for a further 40 will be quite an achievement for this 44 year old company, which is also one of the few British retailers to successful crack the American market.

Bottom line, any company expansion, be it national or international, brings a whole set of additional challenges to its staff, but especially to managers, especially if they are managing a team remotely. This often creates many challenges for managers over and above those faced by those in charge of more traditional teams. When you’re not in regular physical contact with your team members, you have to work doubly hard to build trust, team spirit, relationships, and a common focus.

So if you are in a position like this with your company now, or poised to experience it in the future, here are 5 Top Tips to help you avoid many of the pitfalls in managing a remote team and so provide a solid basis from which to work:-

1.Be visible

It is vital to be seen by all members on a regular basis. Even though that may mean spending more time than would be ideal travelling, scheduling time to meet people face-to-face is important!

The motto ‘out of sight out of mind’ couldn’t be truer when it comes to managing a remote team.

If your team members never get to see you in the flesh, they’ll build stronger bonds with colleagues that are physically around them and develop a natural allegiance to them rather than to you.

2.Clarify goals

When people are separated geographically or functionally, they need to have a very clear idea of what you want them to do.

Taking time helping people to translate the bigger picture into personal goals or objectives that they feel committed to is very important.

3.Be seen to be fair

It’s not good enough to treat people fairly – you must be SEEN to treat them fairly.

It’s only natural that when people you spend most time with will (rightly or wrongly), be considered to be treated more fairly.

Resist temptation to rely on those people closest to you or easiest to contact.

Make an effort to equally involve each person in the team. This may be something as simple as moving the location of your monthly meeting so that each month one person doesn’t have to travel.

If you work internationally, consider the time of your web conferences or calls.

4.Empower People

You simply can’t micromanage a remote team!

So be clear about what you want your people to do, any restrictions or parameters, give them the necessary information – and leave them to it. They are professionals, after all!

But it’s also important to delegate responsibility to a certain point so you don’t become a bottleneck.

5.Recognise and reward success

Because many team members will be remote from each other, as well as from you, it’s up to you to sing the praises of those who do a great job.

By letting other team members know about the successes and achievements, you’ll help to build respect within the team, strength, and trust, and also act as a motivator if some people are going through a particularly tough time.

It’s vitally important that everybody can see the part they play in the bigger picture.

Do you manage a remote team? Want to learn how to how to effectively manage a dispersed team? Click here to book to register to join our ‘Leading A Remote Team’  Virtual Training Course on Friday, November 6, 2015 – 15:00:00 PM BST – 16:30:00 PM BST

Or for more Top Tips on mentoring or a variety of other workplace issues, visit the Creativedge ‘Top 10 Tips’ mobile App available for iPhone and Android smartphones:-

Appstore – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/top-10-tips/id796349890?mt=8

Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elixsoft.creativedge.top10