Top ten tips on managing remote workers

12Aug08

 

The key is providing a balance between authority and autonomy. How much a remote worker is being observed and managed and how much they are left to their own devices to get the job done.

      1. Set clear performance objectives. Specific tasks and objectives that need to be achieved should be identified. Objectives should also be prioritized at this point. Always outline these objectives before work commences.

     2. Criteria by which the professional will be measured, needs to be clearly defined. For example will it be by the number of projects or the piecework that is completed? Also outline whether changes are expected during the course of the project, as this can be very frustrating for someone who has worked hard for a long period of time, only to find that extreme changes are required. Changes are not so daunting if you are asked to expect them!

      3. Deliverable and deadlines should be put in place in advance, ie. Break down the project into smaller bits or sections and have deadlines in place for each part.

      4. Keep your parameters as equal as possible for both on site and off site workers, that way there is little room for bias to creep in from either side. This applies to the guidelines you provide or the communications hardware that is installed at their desk, all aspects should remain as consistent as possible.

      5. Involve the off site workers in the office culture to provide them with a tie in and make them feel part of the work community. Where possible, have them visit the office. This is especially the case for people working on lengthier projects.

      6. Recognise that people working from home will have distractions like the phone, children, pets, neighbours, domestic staff etc. This leads to two pointers. One being that when you interview the person, try and gauge how much of an independent worker they are and whether they can stay focused on the job, when there is nobody there to manage such situations. The second is to lay down certain criteria about working conditions at home. For example, candidates should have a separate room, with a dedicated phone line and dedicated internet connectivity. (see top 10 tips on setting up a home office)

      7. Look for candidates with clear communication skills in their area of expertise. By ensuring that they can communicate feedback, information, requirements etc properly you are one step closer to ensuring a proper flow of information through the course of the project.

      8. Touch base regularly. Although a project-based employee is working on a time bound assignment and is not a permanent member of the team, productivity goes up if the person feels they are being kept in the loop. An employee with an active and supportive manager is much more likely to be productive. Remember at the first sign of a problem – take action! Whether this directly involves the project worker or not.

      9. Allow for more forms of communication than just email. For example IM, teleconference and on site visits etc allow for the person to interact in ways that are not bound to written text. Email reduces the ability to read body language and non-verbal communication that come across in day-to-day interactions. By providing the ability to interact in numerous ways, as well as software that allows people to remain clued in and on the same page as the rest of your staff, you are allowing for your project based professional to work as part of a team. Even though they are not in the office.

      10. Be willing to spend that extra penny. This again is two fold. The outcome to the project may not be what you expected, but if all your criteria have been met and your project working professional has kept their end of the bargain, then you must too! Second, by spending on visits to the office every few weeks for your professional; or ensuring she has the right hardware / software through which they can communicate effectively with the office – you are providing that extra support to your project worker to get the job done. An additional bonus is that you could also be reducing the ability for people to easily hack into your system if extra technical support is provided to your project based professional.

Always remember that your project working professional knows that they are blessed to be in a position where they can work from home, so with the right support and cooperation, the sky is the limit!

 

http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netsysm/article.php/3517041

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/qt/mngtips.htm

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/qt/evaluations.htm

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24124238-5012427,00.html

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