5 Critical Factors for Managing Your Remote Staff
Managing remote workers can be a challenge. Currently, you may have staff members performing remote work. This arrangement may be a short-term solution or part of the long-term “new normal”. In a recent survey of 200 companies conducted by SHRM, 59% expect some of their remote workforce will continue to work remotely after the pandemic. With the right tools and technology, you can create a work culture that is as efficient and productive as the office environment.
5 Factors to Consider:
1) POLICY & AGREEMENT
You should make sure you have your remote workforce read and agree to a Telecommuting Policy & Agreement. Your policy should outline who is eligible for remote work agreements, what are expectations of remote workers (e.g. hours of work, meal breaks, reporting of hours, etc.), and the rights and responsibilities of the employee. Additionally, there should be a detailed agreement that both employer and employee sign that sets for the timeframe of the telecommuting arrangement and the agreed upon performance standards/expectations.
2) WORKSPACE & TECHNOLOGY
It’s essential to the success of the remote worker that the proper workspace and technology are available. Computers, internet, cell phones are all tools the remote employee will need to access. Technical support and training are vital. If you will be using a remote meeting platform like Zoom or GoToMeetings, employees will need the app and an understanding of how to use it.
Reminder: Any business expense for setting up and maintaining a remote workstation at an employee’s home is considered a reimbursable expense under the law. Employees may need help setting up their home workstations. You want to ensure they have a private, dedicated workstation free from distractions and noise. Your team members won’t be very productive if they are performing childcare or homemaking duties during work hours. You will want to conduct a virtual tour of the employee’s workstation to ensure not only is it a productive work environment, but also that it is a safe work environment. The organization is responsible under Workers Compensation for any workplace injury or illness even if that workplace is the employee’s home.
3) COMMUNICATION & ENGAGEMENT
How will you communicate with your remote workforce? How will you keep them engaged and informed? In a survey conducted by fyi blog, 27% of the 500 respondents said that communication is the biggest challenge with working remotely. You may want to consider having a daily check-in with remote workers to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding projects, priorities, and any issues and questions are resolved in a timely manner. It may be beneficial to have employees come into the office for weekly team meetings (if feasible). If you are having a social event/gathering, make sure you include your remote workers.
4) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT
Managing and measuring performance is fairly straightforward when it comes to your exempt staff. You are measuring performance on project completion, deadlines, and quality of work. It’s a little trickier when you are managing your hourly team. It is difficult to measure productivity of the hourly employee unless you have a standard or expectation of how the job should be done, how long it should take, and what the end product will look like. For instance if the job is to call shut-in members of the congregation, you will need to provide talking points, an estimate of the average length of a call, and what is the outcome for the calls (e.g. log all calls, indicate, name, date, time, emotional and physical status of callee, etc.) Remember, not all individuals are cut out for remote work. You will need to hold your team accountable and if someone is not successfully performing in their job as a remote employee, you need to bring them back to the office environment. (see #1 Policy and Agreement)
5) TEAM DYNAMICS
It’s easy for remote employees to feel isolated and disconnected from the rest of the team. On the flipside, those working in the office may also feel disconnected from their remote teammates, and possibly a bit envious. Your challenge will be to ensure you maintain the team spirit for all staff members even when everyone is not together. One idea could be to pair a remote worker with an office “buddy”. Every day the two employees would zoom or call each other for a few minutes. This gives the remote worker access to information about what is happening in the office. I’m not condoning office gossip, rather touting the importance of engaging remote workers in the social interaction of the office. Maybe the “buddies” share prayer requests, encouragements, and ideas for making their areas better. Think of projects that you can task the two employees in performing. Also, as mentioned above, weekly staff meetings where all employees attend are critical to maintaining an engaged and informed team.
If you need assistance creating remote workplace policies, performance management standards, or setting up onboarding for remote workers, Christian Compliance Resources is here to help. Contact us at info@christiancomplianceresources.com.