As most of America has now been forced into working from home, managers are having to shift the way that they manage their employees. Everything has to be done virtually, via email, phone, or video conference. As if managing wasn’t hard enough, now you have to deal with physical distance as well.
If you are not accustomed to managing remotely, it can be a very tough transition. In order to help you be more effective as a work from home manager, we’ve compiled the following three tips.
Set Clear Expectations
If you ask me, this is the number one requirement for managers whether remote or not, but it becomes even more essential when you’re not working in close proximity to your employees. It’s extremely easy for anyone to get sidetracked while working from home. You need to make sure that you are helping set clear priorities and objectives for your staff. I recommend a check in call in the morning and a check out call in the afternoon. This helps keep you and your team on the same page both starting the day off and wrapping it up.
Over Communicate Everything
Communication is key when you are not right down the hall from your employees. Just like in tip number one, it is easy for employees to get sidetracked or distracted by new, or more fun, projects. But this also ties into the need to communicate what is going on with the company. Your employees need to hear from you more frequently than ever in this time of crisis. You need to be able to communicate your plan, your thoughts and your concerns. You don’t have to know all the answers, but you need to stay in contact with your team to make sure they know everything you know.
Be Flexible
Remember that your employees are new to this as well. There will be some missteps and you’ll have to try a few different things before you really get this new way of working nailed down. Give your employees and yourself the room to get there. Work with each employee to find the schedule and structure that works for them and do the same for yourself. You don’t necessarily have to stick to the traditional 9-5 schedule, be creative. And most importantly remember to put people first.
Leading remotely adds another layer of complexity to managing your people, but it doesn’t have to cause your team to lose its effectiveness. Implement these tips today to get the best out of your newly remote team.
If you’d like to discuss more specific aspects of how to lead your company through this crisis, give us a call. We’re here to help.
[email protected] – www.eureconsulting.com – (434) 202-8590
