Time Doctor: the art of managing remote teams and working remotely as an individual

We are thrilled to share today, on our blog, the first guest interview. We met with Carlo Borja, the Online Marketing Lead at Time Doctor, who talked about the art of managing remote teams and working remotely as an individual.

Varvara: Hi Carlo, thanks for talking with us. Could you briefly introduce yourself and the company you work at for our readers?

Carlo: Hey! I am Carlo Borja, and I lead the Online Marketing team at Time Doctor, a time-tracking software that can be used by remote workers and the companies who manage them.

V: That sounds challenging! Tell us more about Time Doctor: how can it help companies to improve their performance? And what are the most common solutions your clients are seeking when they get in contact with you?

C: At Time Doctor, we offer an efficient employee monitoring software. Providing detailed time analytics, it's becoming popular with remote workers who want to give their best as well as companies that want to determine how productive each of their workers is and how to improve their overall productivity ? a win-win. We offer the solution to common time-management and supervision issues that are related to the home-office solution.

V: I have done a little research into Time Doctor, and it seems that one of the major goals of your software is to help companies manage their remote workers. We at greatcontent work with freelancers (copywriters, translators and editors) too, and we know very well the challenges of working with remote teams. Would you say that today's companies are well-prepared for working with remote employees, and what could the major benefits of such collaboration be?

C: Well, I?d say that everything companies need to facilitate working with remote employees or freelancers is already there. With so many tools today that allow for online collaboration and communication, almost any company could use remote workers and teams. The ultimate advantage of remote working and online collaboration is that they enable people to work at any time and from anywhere. Making this possible for workers is our core mission, and this solution offers flexibility to both the companies and remote employees.

V: Which industries, in your opinion, are more interested in having and using the remote-workers solution?

C: I would say that any industry that doesn't rely on physical presence and labour would benefit from this type of work! And even some professions which used to be strongly associated with face-to-face interaction, such as teaching and tutoring, are now often being done remotely. The professional fields that have seen a significant increase in home-office workers over the last years are accounting, transcription, copywriting, editing and customer service (the last having led to the rise of the now indispensable virtual assistant!).

V: You also work with people who wish to achieve a better work-life balance by facilitating working from home. Are there any particular challenges they are often trying to address when turning to your software for help?

C: An issue facing the managers of remote workers is that they don't get to interact with their team-members physically, in person, and this makes it harder for them to ensure they are working efficiently and are feeling confident in their tasks. Time Doctor assures both employers and employees that the right work is being done at the right pace and that productivity levels are good, even if the team is spread across the globe!

V: Perhaps you have some copywriters among your individual users. What would be three tips you would give them when it comes to making the most of time spent working on the computer and being more effective when working remotely?

C: I would say:

• Find your most productive hours during the day and do your best work during those hours. This is only possible with the flexibility that comes with remote working.

• Do not isolate yourself. Just because you can work from home doesn't mean you should just stay at home. Go to a coffee shop, a coworking space or wherever you can be the most productive.

• Stick to a ?work? schedule. Do not check emails when you are at a family dinner or while in bed ? I think, you get the point.