How to Manage (Remotely) with Mind & Heart
Some of us have been managing remote teams for years, but for many this is a brand new (and slightly anxiety-producing) experience. Here are some quick and easy(ish) practices and tips to help you set your remote team up for success:
1. Create an individualized communication plan with each employee.
Be intentional about this right up front. Have a conversation with each employee to mutually agree on a check-in cadence that meets the needs of both of you. This plan should be relied upon to provide structure, consistency, and connection. For example, you might plan two regular weekly 20-minute check-ins – one for Monday mid-morning and the other for Thursday mid-afternoon – to touch bases, outline the week, check on progress, do some problem-solving, etc.
2. Create a new “open-door policy” system.
The check-ins outlined above certainly don’t replace “in-the-moment,” as-needed communications. (The remote version of the “open-door policy.”) You still need to be generally available to your team members, and them to you. A method that reduces the distracting interruptions of calls throughout the day is to make good use of your technology. Agree together, for example, to send texts or chats like these: “Please call me when you have 10 minutes,” or “Let me know when’s a good time to call.” This allows you and your team members to better organize and manage the flow of the day.
3. Stay connected with your team.
Similarly, meet with your team to agree together on a cadence for team meetings. Your group may decide that a daily 30-minute Zoom meeting is exactly what you need in order to keep everyone informed and connected, or you may decide that a weekly 1.5-hour meeting is more appropriate and helpful – or anything in-between. One of the hardest things about working from home, especially if you’re used to an office environment, is the sense of disconnection that can set in. Keep your team connected and informed on a very regular basis.
4. Focus on outcomes.
It’s impossible (and highly annoying for employees) for you to try to manage every aspect of the work done by a remote team. (Actually, you shouldn’t be trying to manage every aspect of any team, but that’s a topic for another day.) Focus on outcomes and completed tasks instead of the amount of time people are spending on any particular task. Employees who are working from home are going to need a certain amount of flexibility in their work lives, especially if they’re managing children and other household duties and responsibilities. This will probably require that you extend to them a higher level of trust and autonomy than what was needed while they were sitting in their cubicles at work. Punching a clock for eight hours is out.
One of our favorite tools to successfully manage remote employees’ productivity is to use your first weekly check in with each employee to mutually create an individualized productivity plan for that week. (This might instead be done monthly, depending on the kind of tasks at hand.) Questions you might explore during this conversation include:
What are you going to be working on this week? (And here’s what I need you to be working on this week.)
What do you hope to accomplish by (end of the week)? (And here’s what I need you to accomplish.)
What by-whens (due dates) should we establish together?
What do you need from me in order to be successful this week? (And here’s what I need from you.)
5. Maintain relationships and team camaraderie.
This is not the time to ease up on your scheduled monthly one-on-one conversations with employees. Remember, these are distinct from your “check-ins.” Think of these as “summit meetings” that give you an opportunity to check in with employees in a deeper way; ask for their input on a particular decision; inquire about their workload, their training needs, their work-life balance; offer praise and appreciation – and so much more. Give yourselves between 45-minutes and an hour for these. Ask good questions, listen well, practice empathy…you know the drill.
Additionally, use the occasional team meeting to spend time being social instead of focusing on tasks and projects. Is your team used to going out after work every so often? Well, why not host a virtual happy hour at 4 PM on Friday afternoon? Or take some time at a meeting to put people into breakout rooms and task them with answering some fun get-to-know-one-another questions.
6. Be flexible and understanding.
Understand that, especially in the current environment, your employees no doubt have a lot on their minds. Human beings don’t typically adjust well to change and uncertainty, so it shouldn’t be surprising if some of your employees are feeling anxious, or are temporarily less organized than usual, or need more assurance or guidance, or maybe are acting more aloof or uncommunicative than what is typical for them. Ask people how they’re doing, what they need and how you can help. Listen in a way that shows them that you care. Let them know that you are always interested and receptive to their ideas and suggestions as you all navigate the new work environment. This is a time, more than most, to demonstrate to your employees that you are in their corner – that you have their best interests at heart. Remember, the more understood and supported employees feel by their boss, the more likely they’ll be to “volunteer their hearts and their minds.”
“You can pay employees for their backs and their hands, but they volunteer their hearts and their minds.” - Stephen Covey