Making Remote Working Work!
For many employees around the world, we find ourselves faced with working from home due to lock down restrictions in our countries. Although many people already do undertake remote working as part of their normal business activities, for a great deal of us it’s a new concept, and not one that we’re necessarily set up to succeed at from the get-go. By ‘set up’ we aren’t referring to the IT and mobile equipment and devices you need to make it possible, because that’s another topic altogether. As a People Manager it’s fairly straightforward to provide the equipment your team need ‘work remotely’. What we mean is the soft skills and different practises we might need to adopt in order to communicate with, and get the best from our team members whilst not working in the same location.
In our book ‘The First-Time People Manager’ we write about the different interactions that you as a Manager will have with employees who work remotely (whether it’s at home, or in a different country!). It starts with the most simple of differences: “as you walk into the office each morning, you probably quickly greet your team as you arrive, perhaps asking them how things are going. This simple interaction is easily done, and is something you take for granted in dealing with onsite teams.” Although obvious, it presents a challenge when your entire team is now working remotely. Teamwork and maintaining rapport with your reports is an important part of your working relationship. So, from the comfort of your own home or remote-working base, how do you really connect with your team members and provide the support that you as their manager give under normal circumstances?
As we discuss in the book “the modern workplace is quite different from the one our grandparents might have recognised. The idea of working remotely — and doing so successfully — wouldn’t have been a reality 50 years ago! Although tools such as Slack, Skype and Google Hangouts let us quickly communicate with people half a world away, in reality there is still a virtual ‘wall’ between us and the people on the other end of the line. The subtleties that you can pick up on in a face-to-face conversation can often be lost over the line.” With this at the forefront of our minds we have put together some tips that we are also using right now, to stay connected with our teams in this difficult and unnerving situation.
Start a Conversation
It seems obvious but during your first ‘remote’ conversation with your team member, whatever format that may take, simply ask how they are doing…and listen to the answer. At times like this, getting straight down to business might not be the best way to start a conversation. We are experiencing a potentially long period of remote working , so establishing a routine or regular meet-up is a great way to support employees. Talk about a time and cadence that works for both of you. There may be family commitments to take into consideration, or times of the day that feel more productive than others. Avoiding unnecessary pressure and stress (for both of you) is the key. A regular, recurring meet-up gives some sense of structure and routine to what can be a very unusual working scenario.
Offer Options
In the office you might be reliant on email, but when working remotely from your colleagues it shouldn’t be the only way you communicate. In a One-to-one situation, the actual connection with your team member either by video, audio or both is fundamental in helping you establish a supportive connection. In our book we dedicate a whole chapter to the importance of one-to-one meetings, but to focus on the reason they are so important in the current climate “this chat/meeting/discussion is a focal point for coaching and mentoring, sharing feedback, discussing personal issues affecting productivity and even letting off steam.” For this reason email (and its inherently de-personalised style) shouldn’t be relied upon as the only method of communication. Brief, simpler communications, and team-sharing updates are possible with messaging tools such as Slack, Zoom and MSTeams. Daily check-ins can be done easily and quickly with team members or groups enabling you as a manager to be visible and be available.
Which brings us to video calls. Faced with long periods of working remotely from your team members and colleagues, being able to see the person at the other end of the call enables you to register facial expressions, body language and other indicators that you otherwise would be missing. This personal connection can reduce the feeling of isolation for remote workers, and this works both ways. Employees can benefit from video calls to learn from your ability to cope with the situation and be looking to you for clues about how they should be dealing with it. Through your own responses and communication style you can give assurances to team members that you are with them through these challenging times. Offering supportive comments such as “we’re in it together” or “I’m here if you need me” might just provide the confidence they need to deal with challenges or difficulties they are facing while working remotely.
Adjust your Expectations
Everything we are currently experiencing is part of an extraordinary situation. No-one can honestly say that they are not affected by this pandemic and its impact on our lives. So why should our expectations of each other at work be any different? No-one is invincible and now is the time to be radar-aware of the things that may change with your team members.
Productivity is the biggest candidate for change. Expect productivity to decrease and be aware of it changing during this time. Many factors, personal and professional will contribute to this, but in the working world information, help, advice and teamwork that would normally be straightforward to obtain may now be much more difficult. Newer recruits or those with less experience will be even more affected by remote working — their feelings of isolation and inability to get as much help as they need from colleagues will slow them down. Similarly with all teams who thrive on collaboration and integration — frustration levels will grow, and work practises and processes that were taken for granted in office-life will now render some tasks much more difficult or even impossible. Make allowances for this — don’t expect the same level of productivity from your teams. Help work around problems, suggest adaptations or encourage changes in plans and goals. Easing the pressure on people is what is important now, until things can return to ‘normal’. A factor of decreased productivity is also loneliness. Some people thrive in a solo work-space, uninterrupted by others, and not dependent on teammates. Many people are the opposite. If someone is used to a collaborative, sociable working environment, suddenly replaced with a desk and PC at home, with the added pressures of family or dependents, illness or financial worries, it might have an unexpected effect on their mental health or ability to self-motivate. As a manager this is where your one-to-one connections are vital. No-one is expecting you to solve the problems yourself, but listening and offering support and advice regularly keeps you in touch with your teams and enables you to reset your expectations accordingly.
Do the Right Thing
The most unhelpful and counterproductive thing you could do as a Manager right now is to be out of touch/lose touch with your reports. Yes, you should be encouraging and enabling your teams to be able to work as effectively as possible — if circumstances allow — but above all else they need to know that you are with them in this: being visible, available, supportive and looking out for them. Because that’s what a great manager does.
Stay safe wherever you are.
