It is onerous for those employees who work from home or any other remote locations (telecommuting) to handle the issues rather than the on-site workers for co-workers to fight for their priorities, according to the survey of Vital Smarts Australia’s employee strength of 1153, a corporate training firm. Roughly half of those who responded primarily worked remotely.
It is evident that survey, conducted in September 2017, highlighted “the importance of organizations figuring out how to manage remote employees”, says David Maxfield, vice-president of research at Vital Smarts and the study’s co-author.
Majority of Australian employers let staff telecommute sometimes, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Companies oblige that remote work improves employee satisfaction and retention while helping recruitment.
Make your expectations clear from the beginning
If your expectations are that workers working from home are finishing projects ahead of timelines you would give in office – make sure that is especially clear. If you want everyone to be checking in on your cloud apps once, twice or three times throughout the day this needs to be laid out before anyone on board onto your remote team. By setting these expectations and guidelines it will never be unclear as to what you want
Create policies that work best for your team
Set a proper start and end time to your day and stick to it, this helps keep employees in a routine and ensures that nobody is over/under working during their days. Additionally, encouraging people to do take breaks, stretch or even go for a walk makes sure that your at-home team is staying healthy and in the end will keep them more alert.
Set Goals and focus on their outcomes
As with any project, people are more productive when they know there is an end-result. By focusing on these goals and setting milestones along the way you are ensuring that your team is always working towards something. Finish a project or meeting these milestones triggers a reward response and gives your employees something work-related to look forward to.
Share your daily checklists
Checklists, in general, can be a great way to make sure you’re getting your work done – but by sharing with your colleagues you are holding yourself accountable to get these things done. Even minor things, like submitting expenses or updating vacation calendars are part of everyday work life. When you put it out there for everyone to see your employees are just that much more motivated to get tasks done.
Utilizing apps and cloud sites
Sites like Ezzely keep you and your team in contact, allowing for peer contact and collaboration all while working from home. It also allows you to train staff for projects/systems, recognize achievements and reward. Sites like Salesforce.com allow for you to manage your customer-facing relations.
Video, video, video
It is so easy to just send a chat message on a work thread. Make the effort to get everyone on video chat as much as possible, humans by nature are more responsive to visuals and it forces people to see and interact with one another on a more intimate level. Anyone on one conversation that can’t be answered quickly in a chat should be held on video chat because it creates a space for clearer communication as well as it lets colleagues react to facial responses, a tone of voice and hand gestures.
Encourage a formal “work” space
Whether it’s at the booth in the corner of a coffee-shop or an in-home office, seriously encourage your employees to create a space that is just for them and their work. This not only helps decrease distractions but helps keep people healthy by putting them in a spot to sit up straight and not lounge hunched over.
Establish trust between manager and employee
There is a line between checking in and micromanaging. It is likely that employees working from home are already trying to over-deliver to prove that their remote employment is worth it for the company. Checking in too regularly distracts employees from whatever task they are trying to accomplish. Trust that your employees want what is best for your company and that they are working to meet any expectations you have put in place.
About the Author
Ben Fewtrell is a sought-after Business Coach, Keynote Speaker and trainer who has featured in Virgin’s Inflight Magazine and Entertainment Portal, SKY Business and “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed”. He is also the host of the popular Business Brain Food Podcast where he interviews leading experts on anything and everything business.
