Remote and hybrid work arrangements have become the norm in recent years with more than half of employees working from home at least three days per week, according to PWC. While some jobs remain possible only in person, creative solutions have allowed many workers to be able to work remotely with the same level of success they had in the workplace.
The benefits of remote work are numerous. Those with children have noted that they appreciate the ability to plan their working schedule around their child’s school day or activities. Some people who work entirely from home with no tie to a set location or office building appreciate the ability to live anywhere they’d like, including lower cost of living cities, or being able to live a more nomadic lifestyle. Many people have enjoyed getting time back in their day given that their commute might now be across the house rather than across town.
In fact, Gallup reports that 85% of employees indicate that working from home or on a hybrid schedule gives them more time to spend on their family obligations and on themselves. Being able to control your own workspace, work without distractions from colleagues and set your own routines are among other benefits noted by remote workers. For many people, remote work can improve their quality of life – in both their work and personal lives.
Whatever the reasons for going remote or hybrid, employees and organizations alike are reaping the benefits. According to PWC, 52% of employers reported that employee productivity improved after making the shift to remote work. Employees seem to agree, with 81% sharing that they’re satisfied with their productivity levels when working from home, according to GitLab.
Ensuring excellent performance from remote workers
It’s clear that remote work can be a great thing for companies and for employees. It can also present challenges for managers however. In particular, less in-person interaction with team members can make it difficult for managers to review and, when necessary, address performance problems. Additionally, it’s easy for employees to feel isolated and under-appreciated when they’re working remotely. This comes at the cost of productivity and employee satisfaction. Team leaders should be aware of this risk and work actively to ensure that employees feel seen and valued for their hard work.
Luckily, through a few simple adjustments, managers can be excellent leaders for their remote and hybrid teams. The first key to success is to ensure regular contact with team members so that performance problems can be identified before they become a significant disruption. While allowing for employee autonomy is important in remote contexts, this doesn’t have to mean a complete lack of communication from managers. Rather, team leaders should aim to provide appropriate support that will allow their employees to progress with their work while also ensuring they’re meeting agreed-upon objectives.
Regular performance reviews have always been an important feature of effective management; however, they become even more important in a remote or hybrid workplace. When managers aren’t able to have casual check-ins with team members, there is a risk that employees run into performance issues under the radar that aren’t picked up on by the manager until it’s too late to easily correct them.
Luckily, when managers make an effort to communicate regularly with their team, they can review performance on an ongoing basis so that they can act quickly to provide appropriate support if employees seem to be struggling. When conducting these regular check-ins, team leaders should ensure that they’re being objective and open-minded, allowing the employee to demonstrate what they’ve accomplished and express where they may need a bit more support.
Efficiently addressing performance problems
While a face-to-face meeting is the ideal place to address performance problems, this won’t always be possible in remote and hybrid work environments. When these types of conversations need to happen remotely, managers should aim to conduct them over a video call or, if preferred by the employee, a phone call. Written communication about performance problems should be avoided as it runs the risk of misinterpretations from both the team member and the team leader.
The CEDAR approach can be a useful way to structure conversations about performance problems. To learn what the CEDAR approach entails and to hear more about how team leaders can become more effective managers in remote and hybrid workplaces, contact a ServiceSkills representative today and request a free demo of Managing Remote Teams.
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