6 solutions for effective remote management
13 June 2014
Read by 3616 persons
The relocation of companies, the implementation of new organizational forms, and the advent of new activities have given rise to a new form of management called "remote". Whether managing consultants assigned to clients, field sales representatives, or employees based on other sites, cases of remote management have multiplied, along with problems related to communication, control, and team spirit.
How to maintain communication and with what tools? How to effectively control the work? How to foster team spirit among remote employees? Here are 6 solutions that will help you answer these questions and effectively manage your mobile teams or those based far from you.
1. Set the framework from the start
It is certain that with a remote team, instructions cannot be given gradually as is done when working side-by-side. Therefore, from the outset, you need to dot the i's and cross the t's. Who does what? What processes? How are responsibilities distributed? Do not hesitate to define all these aspects of the relationship in writing.
Also, since discussions with these teams are more discontinuous, it is essential that you specify the expected objectives for each of them in detail from the start. It is not enough to give an activity growth figure; you must provide the keys to success in detail from the outset.
2. Strengthen the hierarchical relationship
You must absolutely maintain the relationship with your teams, especially when they are working thousands of miles away. To do this, it is essential to schedule weekly telephone meetings with them to take stock, "take the pulse" of their activity, their achievements and their projects, but also to share information they may not be aware of because of the distance. Beyond the information exchanged, you will also be able to sense their state of mind and motivation, equally essential indicators that are not found in reports or emails.
By establishing these telephone meetings as rituals (specific, scheduled days and times), you will also create a structured work environment that will reassure employees who sometimes suffer from feeling isolated and forgotten.
3. Be available
When working away from your teams, you must be particularly available. However, this is far from obvious, as a remote employee who does not know their manager's schedule is likely to call when the manager is online, in a meeting, or in an appointment.
You must therefore set up periods of availability, which you will integrate and share with them in your calendar, during which you undertake to respond to requests from your remote employees, whatever they may be. Take advantage of the new technologies now available, which offer a wide range of solutions to facilitate collaborative work despite the distance (shared documents and calendars, videoconferences, internal chat).
4. Show appreciation
Beyond the simple work relationship, there are ways a manager should show appreciation to their teams, especially when they are mobile or remote.
For example, wishing a departing employee a good holiday, especially when they are not on site, will please them and strengthen their relationship with you. Similarly, upon their return, send them a simple text message on their first day back. This will motivate them and remind them that they are not isolated and are important to you; they will appreciate it.
5. Foster team spirit
Maintaining a manager-employee relationship is already difficult; imagine maintaining a relationship between colleagues who are not neighbors? This is a real management challenge. To achieve this, organize a group meeting with the different employees involved at the start of a new project or the launch of a new product. Even if they are not required to work side by side every day, this will allow them to get to know each other and, on the other hand, to build something together from the start.
To create a team spirit, you can also give two or three remote employees who are far apart the task of brainstorming improvement ideas for the project or team operation. Not only will their results benefit everyone, but this joint work will have brought them closer together and created cohesion even from a distance, which can only be positive for the company.
6. Learn to trust without controlling
Besides the fact that remote management requires adapted methods, techniques, and practices, it is essential for effective management that you trust your employees without having to control everything. This is the only way you will be able to manage remotely effectively, and if this character trait is not innate in you, you must absolutely learn to develop it.
If you try to control everything they do, your employee will feel that this is micromanagement and a lack of trust, which will only demotivate them. Learn to let go, provide your employee with a framework that allows them to do their work well (give them useful information, ensure they have the necessary skills...), and for the rest, the results will speak for themselves...
By following this advice, you should be able to manage your mobile or remote teams more effectively. However, face-to-face meetings remain necessary in certain cases, particularly during disciplinary actions, which will never have the same impact over the phone, and annual reviews, which deserve a face-to-face meeting to improve communication.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
How to maintain communication and with what tools? How to effectively control the work? How to foster team spirit among remote employees? Here are 6 solutions that will help you answer these questions and effectively manage your mobile teams or those based far from you.
1. Set the framework from the start
It is certain that with a remote team, instructions cannot be given gradually as is done when working side-by-side. Therefore, from the outset, you need to dot the i's and cross the t's. Who does what? What processes? How are responsibilities distributed? Do not hesitate to define all these aspects of the relationship in writing.
Also, since discussions with these teams are more discontinuous, it is essential that you specify the expected objectives for each of them in detail from the start. It is not enough to give an activity growth figure; you must provide the keys to success in detail from the outset.
2. Strengthen the hierarchical relationship
You must absolutely maintain the relationship with your teams, especially when they are working thousands of miles away. To do this, it is essential to schedule weekly telephone meetings with them to take stock, "take the pulse" of their activity, their achievements and their projects, but also to share information they may not be aware of because of the distance. Beyond the information exchanged, you will also be able to sense their state of mind and motivation, equally essential indicators that are not found in reports or emails.
By establishing these telephone meetings as rituals (specific, scheduled days and times), you will also create a structured work environment that will reassure employees who sometimes suffer from feeling isolated and forgotten.
3. Be available
When working away from your teams, you must be particularly available. However, this is far from obvious, as a remote employee who does not know their manager's schedule is likely to call when the manager is online, in a meeting, or in an appointment.
You must therefore set up periods of availability, which you will integrate and share with them in your calendar, during which you undertake to respond to requests from your remote employees, whatever they may be. Take advantage of the new technologies now available, which offer a wide range of solutions to facilitate collaborative work despite the distance (shared documents and calendars, videoconferences, internal chat).
4. Show appreciation
Beyond the simple work relationship, there are ways a manager should show appreciation to their teams, especially when they are mobile or remote.
For example, wishing a departing employee a good holiday, especially when they are not on site, will please them and strengthen their relationship with you. Similarly, upon their return, send them a simple text message on their first day back. This will motivate them and remind them that they are not isolated and are important to you; they will appreciate it.
5. Foster team spirit
Maintaining a manager-employee relationship is already difficult; imagine maintaining a relationship between colleagues who are not neighbors? This is a real management challenge. To achieve this, organize a group meeting with the different employees involved at the start of a new project or the launch of a new product. Even if they are not required to work side by side every day, this will allow them to get to know each other and, on the other hand, to build something together from the start.
To create a team spirit, you can also give two or three remote employees who are far apart the task of brainstorming improvement ideas for the project or team operation. Not only will their results benefit everyone, but this joint work will have brought them closer together and created cohesion even from a distance, which can only be positive for the company.
6. Learn to trust without controlling
Besides the fact that remote management requires adapted methods, techniques, and practices, it is essential for effective management that you trust your employees without having to control everything. This is the only way you will be able to manage remotely effectively, and if this character trait is not innate in you, you must absolutely learn to develop it.
If you try to control everything they do, your employee will feel that this is micromanagement and a lack of trust, which will only demotivate them. Learn to let go, provide your employee with a framework that allows them to do their work well (give them useful information, ensure they have the necessary skills...), and for the rest, the results will speak for themselves...
By following this advice, you should be able to manage your mobile or remote teams more effectively. However, face-to-face meetings remain necessary in certain cases, particularly during disciplinary actions, which will never have the same impact over the phone, and annual reviews, which deserve a face-to-face meeting to improve communication.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
