If you’re a manager overseeing a team in virtually any kind of business today, you know that the days of a standard 9-5 desk job are long gone. As Time magazine recently reported, studies show that 45 percent of the U.S. workforce now has a job suitable for full-time or part-time telecommuting.
But for longtime managers accustomed to face-to-face collaboration with their employees, making the management leap to conference calls, Skype, face-time, GoToMeetings and email communication can be a major challenge.
As more businesses embrace remote workers, many managers are finding that traditional management techniques either don’t work at all or are counterproductive. This trend forces both managers and remote workers to quickly adapt and modify their management and work styles. This is not an easy process for managers who can feel a loss of control and accountability or for remote workers who can feel isolated or out of the loop.
Here are five key strategies I suggest to make the most of remote employees:
1. Focus on the result and not the timesheet. The standard 9 to 5 workday is not necessarily appropriate for many offsite employees. Offsite employees often report being more productive in the off-hours and value the flexibility of time-shifting. Their managers face the unique challenge of being unable to physically check in and see what their employees are working on; however, just because employees may be out of sight, does not mean they are less productive. In many cases, it can be the opposite. When it comes to remote workers, a foundation of trust and the appropriate management style is imperative.
Start by concentrating on the outcomes employees achieve rather than the process and how many hours they spend working on any given day. Written performance plans or management by objectives tools with a focus on results and resources makes this much easier for both the manager and the employee. When you clearly articulate the results you seek it will be easier to resist the urge to assume that employees may be “slacking off” if they’re not immediately reachable during the traditional workday. This is a pretty good strategy for all workers. Results should always trump time in the office.
2. Work to keep them in the loop. It can be easy for the office group to jump into spontaneous meetings about key topics without stopping to bring in their remote teammates. After all, the remote team member isn’t there for lunch or coffee or for those conversations that happen in the hallway. This can be made even more difficult because many remote employees have a non-traditional workday. As a leader, make it a point to reach out to remote team members. If you need to speak to or meet with your offsite employee, try scheduling a time to talk via phone, instant messenger or Skype. If you want the worker to keep blocks of free time to be reachable, then make that a clear expectation. Otherwise, try not to assume that the person working remotely will always be available the moment you need them. If the team meeting needs to take place in real-time, be sure to bring your remote worker into the loop as quickly as possible.
I also encourage managers who call their remote employees to first ask if now is a good time to talk and if not, try to respect that and schedule a mutually beneficial time to chat. It is the same courtesy you would extend to someone working behind closed doors on a project or attending a meeting.
3. Make yourself available. Many remote employees can feel out of touch with their managers. Anyone overseeing a team or an individual, who is remote, knows that communicating is not an easy feat. Managers play a pivotal role in keeping that communication open and steady with their staff. Be sure you are communicating with your remote workers the same way you would with your in-office employees. Make sure you are engaged and present throughout the conversation. You wouldn’t multi-task or distract yourself if you were talking to an employee in your office, so be sure you treat a phone conversation with the same respect and stay focused. The person on the other end of the phone can tell when he or she doesn’t have your full attention. One of my favorite ways to do so is through Skype or video conferencing.
4. Be mindful of emails. With the absence of face-to-face interaction, basic pleasantries are often forgotten. When sending an email or speaking to the person over the phone, try to open the conversation with a friendly greeting and ask the person how he/she is doing. There may have been things that have come up during the day (or even the week) that have not been discussed yet and it’s important that your employee has the opportunity to briefly connect with you on these items. Email should not be your primary means of communicating with remote team members. There is no substitute for real human interaction.
5. Provide the proper space, tools and technology. There will be times when your remote employees need to be in the office and when they do, it is important they have a shared workplace where they can temporarily settle in, feel comfortable and be productive. One of the challenges I have encountered with remote employees is that they can feel like an outsider — even when they are in the office — so provide a personal space for them that has the right technology so they can be connected and feel like a valuable team player. Be sure that you also pay attention to their remote space and the technology you will use to keep in touch on a daily basis.
Remote workers are an increasingly crucial part of many businesses’ success and represent the changing face of business today. Work with these employees and you can have a growing, robust and successful team, both in and out of the office.
Douglas Brown is an academic program manager for the online MBA degree program offered through The Malcolm Baldrige School of Business at Post University where he heads up the program’s concentrations in entrepreneurship and corporate innovation. He has more than 20 years of practical experience growing and innovating companies and organizations.
