Managing Staff and Their Managers Remotely

With today's globally distributed organizations, managers are frequently contending with the situation where distance, unfamiliar cultures and language differences add to the challenges of managing people. I've experienced many of the possible combinations: I had experience at various stages of my career with my manager being remote; I have managed staff located remotely, and I have managed managers from afar, including managers who themselves had employees in other countries. As a result, I have picked up a few tips.

Without doubt, I would say the underlying foundations of managing people remotely are the same as managing them locally. As outlined in "First, Break All The Rules", it is important to pay attention to the following:

1. Does the employee have a clear understanding of what is expected of them at work?
2. Do they have the right resources needed to do the work right?
3. Do they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have they received recognition or praise for good work?
5. Do they feel that you, as a supervisor, cares about them as a person?
6. Do you encourage them to develop their skills and capabilities?

I have found it very useful to formally set quarterly objectives with employees to clarify expectations. I like to use a prioritization scheme, where each objective (from three to six) is weighted to convey importance. Using a SMART-like approach (Specific, Measureable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-based) helps focus on the desired outcomes, versus the process or work style expected (and therefore giving the employee the most scope to use their individual strengths). The objectives list is a useful default agenda (or at least a regularly occurring agenda item) for regular one-on-one meetings.

While the weighted list of objectives itself is useful, at least as useful are the conversations in setting, discussing and reviewing the objectives. Many remote employees are not just located separately from their manager, they also are distant from the company headquarters. Unless care is taken, remote employees can lose sight of their role in the company’s mission. Assuming the company sets corporate and departmental quarterly objectives, this gives a handy springboard for making a connection between the employee’s role and the company’s priorities.

With managers located remotely, being clear on the company’s priorities is even more important. This is because those remote managers must be able to clearly articulate the vision to their own staff.

Spending time with the remote employee on their home turf is usually helpful. When feasible, combining a visit with quarterly objectives setting and review can be effective.

Keeping to a regular schedule of one-on-one meetings by phone is good. But using video / web conferencing can be more effective, as it keeps body language and other visual cues in the mix. I find video conferencing particularly helpful when not everyone speaks the same language natively. Time zone differences can make the logistics difficult, however. Not everyone has good web conferencing infrastructure at home, and if they do, not everyone wants to use it there.

I often look to find ways for the employee to take the lead on video and web conferencing sessions -- particularly when sharing with or presenting to an extended team. "Lunch and Learns" and similar initiatives can bridge the distance for dispersed teams and strengthen team relationships.

I have often found that keeping to a regular schedule of one-on-one meetings is most useful at the beginning of a manager-employee relationship. Over time, I tend to see more frequent, casual connections between manager and employee develop. This is the result of the employee feeling more comfortable picking up the phone or scheduling a quick meeting. Taking time to call the employee whenever the manager sees them doing good work certainly helps foster the idea that the manager is accessible to the employee. Plus, of course, it reinforces that the manager values the remote employee’s contribution.

When managing managers remotely, I like to incorporate into their regular one-on-one with me a recap on each of their direct reports. Not only does this demonstrate that you care about their team, but it helps surface any issues which the manager might not proactively bring up. It has been my experience that remote managers don’t like to bring up issues with their staff, such as attitude issues in meetings, unauthorized absences or "working from home", work quality issues or missing deadlines. But a few probing questions can identify such problems, allowing the supervising manager to talk it through and provide some guidance.

I have found there are a few potential pitfalls to avoid. Overuse of email is certainly one of them. These days, I consciously pull myself up before writing emails to remote employees, to think through whether I can get the job done as effectively by picking up the phone or scheduling a quick video call.

Another thing I watch for is when remote employees overuse email to carry on long conversations with dispersed teams, often including far too many people on the CC list. When I see this happening, especially if combined with a relatively negative or critical tone, I normally suspect there is something else going on. Often there is an undercurrent of frustration or dissatisfaction between the remote employee and a headquarters function, which should be directly addressed. A form of “them versus us” mindset can set in, and may be fueled as remote employees band together and seek to create a sense of identity for themselves. Handling this as a manager in the headquarters function takes diplomacy. In the short term, taking the conversation out of email and into a phone conference call often works best, and if the conflict is between just a couple of team members, I usually recommend they stop emailing and instead pick up the phone to call each other.

Whereas traditional "team building" events (e.g. dinners, go karting, etc.) can deliver variable business results (sometimes great; sometimes not), I find that getting together remote teams to collectively participate in the planning process is nearly always a success. Remote employees can feel disenfranchised from the decision making in the headquarters, and so having them be part of the planning process is usually greatly appreciated by them, in addition to injecting some valuable insights that might otherwise have been overlooked.

With remote employees being distant from the HQ, they are also often distant from the central HR function. This can mean they miss out on HQ-centric pushes on employee development, from the casual events (e.g. Lunch and Learns) to formal training. For this reason, I like to be the advocate for remote employees at corporate meetings (e.g. making sure there is video conferencing set up), and I put additional emphasis on employee development for remote staff. For example, I like to ensure they sign up for local classes, attend community learning events, complete projects aimed at practicing new skills, etc.

As with locally managed employees, I recommend both manager and employee discuss the employee's strengths, preferred work styles and core values. A good framework for this is provided in the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths". Not only does this typically boost individual productivity, but it helps demonstrate the manager is taking a genuine interest in the remote employee as a person.

With these thoughts in mind, managing staff and managers remotely can be highly effective. And with today's globally distributed teams, can be a key driver of organizational health and productivity.