Managing And Engaging Your People Long Distance – Part 2 of 3 (Read Pt 1 ‘Will Working Remotely Be the New Normal?’ here.)
It has happened so quickly. At work – now at home. We thought it might be for a short time, but it has extended longer than we thought. In the beginning, there was an assumption that we would return to work as it was. But something changed. As people worked from home, we figured out some things. This new model seemed like it might stick. As the country begins to “open” again, with remote working, at least for some, might be the new normal. What is so appealing?
“We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they [are] at their desk or in their kitchen. Yours truly has never worked out of an office and never will.” Richard Branson, Founder & Chairman of Virgin
Some reasons people like working from home:
- Productivity increases – less “Gotta minute?” interruptions, more focus, less office drama
- Comfort level for individuals –ability to move around and work in various places at home
- Commuting eliminated – saves time and stress
- The atmosphere may be more quiet – less noise and distraction than in more open floor plan spaces
- Work in own rhythm – early bird or night owl productivity cycles
- Money saved – clothing, cleaners, transportation, food
- Time with family may be enhanced
- Health is better – time to exercise, control over quality and quantity of food
Some challenges:
- Loneliness – cut off from impromptu interactions, lunch with co-workers, knowing what’s going on in the organization
- No separation between work and home
- More personal discipline needed to get things done
- Unreasonable demands from managers to control their time, creating a serious lack of trust
In a survey by Owl Labs, they found that some employees would be willing to take a pay cut and 20% would be willing to take a cut greater than 10% for the opportunity to work at home. They also found that, given similar job opportunities, 80% of job seekers would turn down positions that don’t offer flexibility. From an employee point of view, working from home is great or, at least, mostly great. From an organizational perspective, it creates some challenges, particularly if it becomes a new business model.
Business owners and managers are concerned about:
- Knowing if people are working if they can’t see them
- Telling if people are engaged or not
- Being able to talk face-to-face
- Measuring productivity
- Managing people in remote environments
Out of necessity, businesses have been experimenting with this over the last several months. How we can handle this new model long term is still a moving target, but there are some ideas that are beginning to point the way.
Managing people
Define expectations
We’ve relied on seeing people working to determine if things were getting done. If we’re honest, we all know that plenty of time is spent not working at work. Now, we worry that we can’t tell if people are working or binge-watching Netflix. When we worked in the same place, some expectations were implicit: getting to work on time, attending meetings, scheduling work. Now, we have to do a reset and be more purposeful in communicating expectations.
- What needs to be done and by when
- Responsibilities and accountabilities
- How and when we communicate
- Response time to each other, teammates and customers
- Availability during each day
Some of these will be defined on a corporate level and others developed collaboratively between managers and staff. It is essential to take the time to be sure everyone is on the same page. In a remote environment, concrete deliverables are the only measure for work and performance.
Stay connected
The creativity of the human spirit is astounding! During quarantines and stay at home rules, we have found amazing ways to come together through social media, car parades to celebrate birthdays, opera from balconies. We are social beings. Much of our social interaction has been with our coworkers. If remote work becomes the norm, we’ll need to find new ways to help our people stay connected and thrive in the organization.
Let’s get together
We’ll have a chance to use our creativity to bring people together. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Virtual coffee breaks or cocktail hour with a topic to discuss
- “Water cooler” with informal conversations about how people are feeling
- Celebrate wins – large and small
- Team activities create opportunities for people to play together
- One company had employees design and create masks. Theme days – Hawaiian shirts, sports jerseys, college team hats. All just for fun. It’s good to laugh together, even online.
- Have people give virtual tours of their home offices and introduce their family members and/or pets
- Community activities – easier to do once we are able to participate physically, but a team might volunteer at the food bank in their own community as a “team”
These activities should be voluntary. People have different levels of need for social activities, just as it was when we were on site. It’s also important to remember our Gen X and Millennials are much more comfortable in the world of social media and online connections than some of our Boomers. As life opens up, we’ll be able to plan times to be together. Quarterly onsite staff meetings or team project meetings can maintain business relationships. In-person annual meetings, townhalls, holiday events will help people connect with each other and the organization, even when they work remotely.
Clarify protocols for communication
During the pandemic, we’ve had to be especially flexible. Employees are not only working from home, they’ve been teaching their children, caring for others, figuring out how to get groceries and adjusting to a completely different lifestyle. As children go back to school and taking care of life’s necessities becomes easier, working at home can focus on working. We’ll want to figure out how we will communicate on an individual and team basis.
- How do individuals want to communicate? – text, email, phone, Zoom or not to Zoom
- What kinds of communication are best for the situation? – phone calls or 1-on-1 Zoom meetings may be best for more in-depth discussions or personal matters
- How often do we need to connect? – daily, weekly, whenever the need arises
- Find a balance that keeps everything on track but doesn’t become disruptive or give people the sense that they are not trusted.
- How do online meetings work? – who leads, ways to participate, expectations on technology
Using Zoom or other online meeting options can be a great way to connect; too much Zoom is exhausting! Use it judiciously. And a word of caution – Email can be deadly. Poorly worded or rash responses can create serious rifts with co-workers. Be mindful – if you’re upset, stop and think it through before you dash off a sassy email. Plan a phone call, where words and sentences can be clarified in real-time to keep relationships whole.
Maintaining productivity
Without the casual interaction of an office, we need to be purposeful and structured in managing workflow. To make good connections with people and keep projects on point, consider the two questions Marcus Buckingham suggests:
- What are your priorities for the week?
- What can I do to help?
This isn’t checking up on people; instead, it’s checking in. It’s a “How are you doing?” touchpoint. The beauty of the questions is that they require people to think for themselves about their priorities and what they need, instead of having the manager telling them what to do. This helps people take ownership of their work and priorities. As a manager, you may have information that means a course correction, so you can share it and have conversations about how to rebalance their work.
Frequency is not as important as consistency. Work out what is best for each employee and schedule conversations. These “check-in” conversations create a foundation of trust and mutual respect between the manager and staff.
Commitment and connection
More than ever, people need to connect to the mission and values of the organization. Why do we do what we do? What is our contribution? How does my individual contribution make a difference?
It’s easy to feel left out of the loop of organizational information. Managers can help people and teams feel connected by talking about the importance of their work or project and how it fits in the context of broader corporate goals. A manager also has a higher vantage point and can add information and perspective about what’s going on in the organization so people can connect. This is especially important for Millennials, who want to be connected to something bigger than their jobs.
Beyond Business
More than a business connection, there is a need for a personal connection. The relationships that can easily develop in the workplace are harder to create at a distance. It’s important to take some time to ask about feelings. “How are you doing?” is easily answered with “Fine” — regardless of the truth. Here’s another way to ask: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how are you doing today?” This is an easy way to open the door to further conversation – “What’s going on that makes you feel like a 6 today?” These conversations help build relationships that are essential between managers and staff. This is also an excellent way to discover signs of disengagement and open the door for further conversations that can turn it around.
Remember the Managers
Managers need help, too. They are struggling to adjust to change. They need training and resources to help them manage people remotely and to cope with their own challenges of working from home.
- Provide managers with communication training and skill-building to meet the needs of a remote workforce
- Effective goal-setting processes
- Productivity measures
- Follow-up and feedback
- Guidelines to be a coach, not a boss
- Performance evaluation criteria
- Give managers the same kind of support from senior leaders that managers are giving staff
- Be sure managers have technology and structure they need to connect with staff on a regular basis.
- Create opportunities for management groups to meet virtually and share what’s working or not working for them in managing their teams.
The best practices of management and engagement remain the same. The implementation is changing. We have tools to make remote work successful, productive, and profitable. With a new perspective on how work is conducted and how work relationships can be grown at a distance, we’ll be ready for people working remotely. Welcome to the new normal.
And a final note: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy
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