Nearly 3 percent of the United States workforce works remotely. As telecommuting and dispersed workforces become more prevalent, so too do the hurdles associated with it. A solid conference call services provider can maintain collaboration and communication, but management must remember that remote workers simply don’t work the same as they would in the office.
As Dan Ingram, vice president of marketing at Wired, proclaimed, “The problem is that many companies, Yahoo included, manage telecommuters exactly the same as they would manage people in the office. This doesn’t work.”
Let’s take a gander at some of the more common mistakes made by management when working with a remote workforce.
It’s easy to forget about an employee when they are not in the office. As the old saying goes; out of sight, out of mind. It is imperative that management maintains a relationship with its remote workers. An informal conference call with the team; or even a regular call with each employee to ‘touch base’ lets them know management appreciates the work they are putting in. Additionally, by staying in constant contact allows management to get to know and understand each employee for who they are.
It’s not just as simple as a weekly call to the team, if management hires the wrong people an exciting new hire can quickly turn into a nightmare. Someone looking primarily for a remote job may not be the best candidate if the flexibility is all they seek in employment. For instance, if management hires a millennial fresh out of college that is easily distractible forget about it—Facebook (News - Alert), fantasizing and distraction here we come.
This type of situation could be red flagged by the warning signs of missed deadlines or issues with communications. A solution may be more Web conferencing and collaboration to ensure that all team members feel as though they are part of the team, and everyone is working in the same direction.
A rather large issue for management is a lack of understanding in regards to what their employees actually do. Seeing an employee sitting at their desk in the office can bring peace of mind to management regardless of the amount getting done but, understanding each person’s duties can allow management to allocate its human capital appropriately. Without the knowledge of who does what how can manager even manage their in-house team?
These are just a sampling of issues that pop up when teams are not managed properly. The use of reliable and user-friendly conference calls services can help keep everybody on the same page, but it is management’s responsibility to ensure everybody is reading the same book.
Edited by Alisen Downey