What are you finding to be the biggest challenge over the past four months after quickly, with little to no planning, adapting to a remote work environment?

For some employees and some companies, working remotely is the norm. The need to adapt to working from home that occurred in March for so many companies and employees as a result of the pandemic, caused a great deal of disruption.

In speaking with individuals and leaders, four common themes I have heard include challenges with:

• Communication
• Boundaries
• Engagement/Connectedness
• Performance Management

There are many more, but let’s focus on these.

Though this is no longer a “brand new” issue, the challenges continue. If you are a leader managing remote employees and you are not already paying attention to the below, or if you were recently promoted, here are some areas where you may consider focusing your attention and adapting your style to best help you manage your remote employees.

Communication

There are numerous challenges around communication. The biggest challenge I have heard from leaders is not knowing how often to communicate and how to best communicate with colleagues and direct reports. And similarly, I’ve heard from some individuals that there is too much communication causing them to have a challenge staying on top of their work. Others feel completely out of the loop and disconnected based on the lack of quality communication.

If you are trying to figure out how best to communicate with your direct reports, consider engaging them with the process. Have you asked them what they need/want? How often to meet; how best to communicate – email, phone, Zoom, etc. Have you taken a pulse check on how, what they said they wanted, is working? Is it still working or does the process require some adjustment at this time? Together, you can come up with a best solution. Don’t forget to check in going forward, because what feels right today, doesn’t necessarily work well going forward.

Also, be sure to share what you know from an organizational perspective. Your direct reports don’t necessarily have access to the “water-cooler” chatter any more. To help them keep current, you likely will need to assist here.

Boundaries

If you and your direct reports are among the many working from home, it’s important to understand that just because employees are now “accessible”, through technology, around the clock, it does not mean that they should be expected to be work around the clock. This is not a new problem for everyone, but it is a new challenge for many. As a leader, what can you do to not only set your own boundaries so that you can have time for your personal needs, but what can you do to set expectations for your direct reports to ensure they realize you do not want to overstep your boundaries?

Communication is key here. Being open, honest and transparent about your expectations helps to ensure clarity all around. If you want to choose to send an email at 10pm because that works best for you, be sure to let your colleagues know you do not expect them to, nor do you want them to respond to you at that hour. If this type of communication has not yet happened, it’s better late than never. This is critical if you want to ensure you continue to provide a positive organizational culture and keep your direct reports committed and engaged.

Engagement/Connectedness

Engaging your direct reports and ensuring they continue to feel connected to you as their manager, their team, and the organization, requires focus. First, it helps to understand what is important for them. It may be hard for them to articulate, and this may mean some testing and modifying will be necessary. As mentioned above, how often, and how should you communicate? It is most likely, that the frequency of communication will need to be more with a remote staff. Does that mean you have a team meeting more than weekly? If that was your pattern when you were working together in the same physical space – possibly.

I am aware of many teams that are holding daily huddles. They are effective and efficient – setting everyone off on the right path for the day. These can be 5-10 minutes, they don’t need to be long. I know of teams holding virtual happy hours; walking together virtually while on a conference call – this is especially great if you’re trying to tie in “wellness” to your culture; even holding virtual lunches. What matters is to identify what people want and to keep trying until you find what works.

And, if you try the virtual happy hour (after work) – please don’t make it mandatory. Instead of engaging your employees and helping them feel connected, they may end up feeling resentful.

Performance Management

Many managers have shared that it’s more challenging for them to properly assess their direct report’s performance. When I get curious about that, I have learned that regular communication around performance has not been happening. I have also learned that many employees have had a hard time clearly self-advocating to their manager all that they have been doing.

Consider how you have stayed connected to your direct report’s performance when working together in the office. What’s different? Are you still holding your direct report accountable for the work that needs to be performed? Are you using the same “measurement” tools as you did before? Are you being more understanding of their personal challenges managing their work responsibilities vs. their home responsibilities? Perhaps it’s become more challenging because you are not physically present with one another. This may make it more difficult to measure behavioral competencies, for example, which is often part of the performance management process. Finally, consider if this is a new challenge or simply a symptom of what you have experienced in previous performance management cycles. In reality, this comes down to communication as well.

To help you and your direct report stay connected on what’s important, regular conversations around performance can help you each stay connected to what’s important, what is actually taking place, and what needs to change.

Summary

Each of the above areas that have raised concern for managing a remote workforce encompass communication. If you take time to understand what is important to the individuals who report to you, maintain their trust by following through, and adapt as needed, you will have a much better chance of successfully managing remotely.  Remember too, to keep the lines of communication active and open. And when you’re unsure, keep asking. Be curious and collaborate for the best results!

I hope touching on these few topics was helpful. If you or someone in your organization would like to dive deeper, let’s connect. I would welcome learning about the challenges you or your organization have faced and how you have addressed them. And, if you are looking for a thought partner, I can help.

“Everyone knows that not all change is good or even necessary. But in a world that is constantly changing, it is to our advantage to learn how to adapt and enjoy something better.” – Kenneth H. Blanchard