{"id":5795,"date":"2011-04-13T01:47:56","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T08:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5795"},"modified":"2011-03-18T16:20:57","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T23:20:57","slug":"what-remote-managers-need-to-know-about-staying-on-top-of-remote-and-global-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5795","title":{"rendered":"What remote managers need to know about staying on top of remote and global employees."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last article we discussed some of the down-side to working remotely (either from home or from an off-site office).\u00a0 We discussed some techniques an employee can stay in the spotlight, even when they are not located in the same site as their reporting manager, cohorts or those making the salary decisions.\u00a0 Today, we\u2019ll cover the challenges and solutions from the managerial position.<\/p>\n

A primary concern for a manager is : as your team starts to grow apart in location, how do I assure the team doesn\u2019t also \u201cgrow apart as a team\u201d.\u00a0 How does one keep a cohesive workforce across both distance and time zones?<\/p>\n

Also, when your team is remotely spread out, how does a manager effectively determine:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How many hours are they actually working?\u00a0 If the manager doesn\u2019t know how many hours they are actually putting in, how do they know how productive their employees are being?<\/li>\n
  2. And there is the \u201cout of sight, out of mind phenomenon\u201d as well.\u00a0 Managers have many issues that cross their path in a day.\u00a0 How do they ensure that the employees that do not cross their paths are getting the right amount of attention, feedback and guidance?<\/li>\n
  3. How do 2nd line managers effectively compare performances across their departments?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Communication is the key to keeping your team close-knit, even when they are far apart.\u00a0 Consider the following recommendations.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Clearly articulate your vision.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know where you are going, how can you effectively steer the ship and command your crew?\u00a0 Clearly articulating your vision is only the first step.\u00a0 You must also understand how it translate or \u201cwhat it really means to each role in your organization\u201d.<\/li>\n
    2. Articulate your measurable goals that you need to accomplish for your vision to materialize.\u00a0\u00a0 For instance, if your vision is to increase sales by 50% by year-end, you need to identify reasonable milestones and projects that will accomplish those goals.\u00a0 If your vision is to deliver on-time, quality service or products, you need to identify reasonable requirements, the needed talent\/technology and appropriate resources.<\/li>\n
    3. Verify that everyone is on board and understands your direction.\u00a0 Merely reporting your vision, mission and goals does not guarantee that your team understands your direction.\u00a0 You need to verify that they understand not only your vision, mission and goals \u2013 but what impact your vision has on their position, their performance goals, and their career path.\u00a0 Ask each employee to paraphrase your vision with \u201chow does this impact my position\u201d perspective.\u00a0 Have a candid conversation on what this mission means to them, their value and how they specifically fit in the big picture.\u00a0 Often times, when the crew knows exactly where the ship is headed, they can do the steering themselves, with very little interference from the captain.<\/li>\n
    4. Identify clear roles, expectations and responsibilities.\u00a0 Write these role and responsibility description for each organizational title as well as the entire \u201cpromotional ladder\u201d. Have candid conversations with each employee to show them what is required for each ladder rung.\u00a0 Understand where they see themselves in the organization today, next year and in 5 years..\u00a0 Make sure each rung, role, and responsibility actually supports your vision and goal.\u00a0 Using a generic template that has little association with your mission or business goals will not be as effective.<\/li>\n
    5. Clearly outline your communication plan with each employee.\u00a0 Your communication plan may be different depending upon how your employees work best, which time zone they are located, and job role.\u00a0 To be an effective manager, you don\u2019t necessarily schedule meetings at your convenience.\u00a0 You need a communication plan that is both effective and efficient for both side of the table.\u00a0 Also, consider web conference calls or SKYPE technology even for one-on-one meetings.\u00a0 Don\u2019t depend on phone calls where you cannot see your employee\u2019s reaction and body language.\u00a0 Realize that silence on the other end of the phone may be interpreted as \u201cagreement\u201d on the managers\u2019 end when it really is a \u201cdisgust, eye-rolling\u201d moment for the employee.\u00a0 If weekly written reports are required, consider also scheduling follow-up phone or web conference calls to clarify, paraphrase what you\u2019ve read or just to comment on their great accomplishments.\u00a0 If the majority of your team is onsite, and there is one or two off-sight, schedule special meeting times with those off-site employees using the face-to-face meeting technology we now have available to us.<\/li>\n
    6. Design specific 2nd-line project exposure for your employees.\u00a0\u00a0 Devise ways for your employees to get 2nd line management exposure.\u00a0 For instance, if you give regular status reports to your 2nd line manager in a general meeting, chances are that all the other managers of your same level attend that same meeting.\u00a0 Take this opportunity to bring in one of your employees to report on the status of one of their projects (or piece of your status report) that the 2nd line manager would be interested in.\u00a0 This exposes your employee to not only the 2nd line manager, but all the managers on your level that report to your boss.\u00a0 Your employee will appreciate the acknowledgement and continue to do great work.\u00a0 Also, knowing that they will be periodically reporting to the executive level inspires greater pride in their work and loyalty to you.<\/li>\n
    7. Reward the behavior you want to repeat. Avoid creating a hero culture in which the only way to get your approval or acknowledgement is to \u201csave the day\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 If it\u2019s impossible to get your product or service out the door without heroics then your project management skills are lacking.\u00a0 Every once and a while, working a few extra hours to get a high-profile product or service out is necessary.\u00a0 But when working 12 hours, 6 days a week is \u201csituation normal\u201d; the problem is with the employee\u2019s (or your) project management skills.\u00a0 If you turn around and continually reward and promote the people that continually work late and on weekends, then you send the message that bad project management skills is not only acceptable but applauded. \u00a0\u00a0In reality, the behavior that you want to promote and repeat is efficiency and productivity.\u00a0 Employees that are effective with their time and talent; who are proactive in avoiding time-consuming errors are the ones that should really be highlighted.\u00a0 \u00a0Employees that are on top of their craft, are accurate labor estimators, are self-aware of their own abilities (and gaps), and networks with those who can fill their gaps are not the ones working late to correct a \u201cstop-production\u201d defect that they overlooked or created.<\/li>\n
    8. Highlight the right things to upper management.\u00a0 Often times when there is a problem, that problem is highlighted to the upper management tier and therefore, those that fix the problem (which often are the same people that created the problem) are publicized as the \u201chero\u201d to that same upper management tier.\u00a0 What about the people that devise a solution before it becomes a \u201chigh-level visible problem\u201d?\u00a0 Encourage a repeat of that behavior by inviting those employees to share their secrets with your 2nd line and cohorts.\u00a0 Unfortunately we are also in the habit of reward those that work late with extra compensation time-off.\u00a0 What about acknowledging people that have perfect on time, no hassle delivery records with a bonus of extra time off?\u00a0 Recommend those folks to write, publish and present their secrets to conferences and trade shows.\u00a0 Reward them with additional travel and time-off when they present their papers at various speaking engagements. \u00a0Bottom line: Highlight and reward what you really want to encourage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      These are just a few recommendations to stay ahead in these fast moving times.\u00a0 You can still have a close-knit, smoothly running team even if they are scattered around the world.\u00a0 It just takes a little extra forethought, a little ingenuity and willingness to try something different.<\/p>\n

      Times have always changed.\u00a0 \u201cThe only constant is change\u201d is old news.\u00a0 What is different today is that things change faster.\u00a0 These days we don\u2019t have the luxury to get comfortable with our current methods. \u00a0To stay ahead,\u00a0 we need to be comfortable and be at ease with \u201cchange\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Last article we discussed some of the down-side to working remotely (either from home or from an off-site office). We discussed some techniques an employee can stay in the spotlight, even when they are not located in the same site as their reporting manager, cohorts or those making the salary decisions. Today, we\u2019ll cover the challenges and solutions from the managerial position.<\/p>\n

      A primary concern for a manager is : as your team starts to grow apart in location, how do I assure the team doesn\u2019t also \u201cgrow apart as a team\u201d. How does one keep a cohesive workforce across both distance and time zones?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1508,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,856,847,848,849,851,850],"tags":[39,13,204,64,1370,38,54],"class_list":["post-5795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communications","category-pmbok-process-monitoring-and-controlling","category-self-leadership","category-1-1-leadership","category-team-leadership","category-global-leadership-leadership","category-organizational-leadership","tag-best-practices","tag-career-development","tag-change","tag-communication","tag-leadership","tag-project-management","tag-soft-skills"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5795\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}