We’ve put together this handy infographic to help you and your Managers focus on what matters when managing remote workers. We hope it’s helpful! There’s more information on each tip below, and if you need some more detailed advice please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at hello@hroverload.co.uk.
Stay Connected – Just because your team members aren’t sitting next to you every day, it doesn’t mean you can’t feel and be equally connected. Have a chat over a coffee, plan a meeting, make sure you meet face to face as regularly as possible (pandemic allowing) and when you get your remote team together make an extra effort to help them connect and build team morale.
Accomplishments, not activities – We get that not seeing what your team members are doing can make some managers feel a little wary. All your team members should have clear responsibilities and goals, and so if these are being completed and met then you’ve got nothing to worry about! If not, you need to face into it the issues in the same way as you would with an office based employee.
Communicate – Use all the channels available to you, phone, email, video call, message, face to face. Make sure those key messages related to their role and the wider business are shared as a priority, not an afterthought a few days later.
Check your tech – When you’re working from home and conference calls cut out or you can’t access the shared drives it can be very frustrating and slow you down. Look out for these things happening and listen to your remote workers to help to resolve technical difficulties permanently as soon as possible.
Recognition – When they’ve gone the extra mile, it can seem more difficult to show recognition publicly, but take time to do this and raise their profile internally.
Take advantage of their key skills – Encourage your team to help each other, including helping or seeking help from those who are remote.
Buddy up – Especially with new hires, having a buddy gives an employee another contact point other than their manager. This can really help with those etiquette style questions (like who’s the most helpful person on the IT support desk, or how does the staff discount work) and helps get your team up and running more quickly.
Be available – In an office environment, its easy to sidle over to someone’s desk for a quick chat about something – not so easy when you’re 50 miles away.
Ask for feedback – Asking your remote workers what’s going well and what isn’t, including what you or the business can do better to support them, is vital.
Support and respect boundaries – Home working can creep into your personal life as your laptop’s always only a few feet away, and no commute often means longer hours at the screen. Support your team members to switch off at the end of the day, and don’t expect them to be available in the evening or on their days off unless it’s truly urgent.