How can we manage people when we can't see them?

Asking a line manager this question a few years ago would have been unusual. Most people went to an office and were surrounded by their team. They could see when they were busy, could see when they needed help and they could see when there were “momentary lapses in concentration”. But now remote working is bigger than it’s ever been. And with most businesses proving it’s possible to move their entire workforce to home within a few days this is likely to result in a bigger shift to remote working than we’ve ever seen before

But this isn’t as simple as enabling technology. As a manager you have to consider those in your team and think about solutions for how to keep in contact with them without being too distant or too micro-manager. And that can be a difficult balance in an office, but when remote it takes real thought

There are 3 key areas you need to think about:

1.       Can I trust this individual to do their work? If the answer is No then that says a lot doesn’t it? Regardless of being remote this is something that needs addressing. Why is the individual in this job? What would motivate them to do better? Think about their individual needs until you can unlock some answers – or if you can’t ask yourself why there’s someone in your team who you cannot trust or motivate

2.       Do they know what needs to be done? Most people have a lot of different tasks to do and unless you are clear about priorities everyone can make a different decision about what is important. By being direct about your expectations, the results of their day will be outputs that move the team/project further forward. A simple brief from you can help establish this early on and then the team know what it is they need to do

3.       The 3rd area is simple. How do you know if you are checking in with someone enough? You ask them! Some people need a lot of interaction whereas for someone else that might feel a waste of their time. Come to an agreement about a level that works for you both. If remote working is new to you, shorter but more frequent catch ups are likely to help establish a routine better than a weekly 121.

There are lots of things that can be done for remote management, but planning these 3 core areas will give you a solid foundation and help both you and those you manage create a structure that works