You don’t get much more remote than my ranch office; it’s 30 miles by highway to the nearest stoplight. And other members of my team are geographically dispersed as well. So it was with great interest that I read an article by Elizabeth Garone in The Wall Street Journal that deals with the challenges of managing remote employees.
Among her recommendations for success:
- Hire people who are successful at working independently
- Set expectations and define the conflict resolution process early and often
- Train the team members in the technologies you use to communicate
- Gather information on the team members in order to form a more complete picture of them
- Communicate in clear, simple terms
Another concept that Elizabeth discusses is the need to form deep, personal relationships early on in the collaborative engagement. She recommends traveling to the employees’ locations regularly in order to establish and maintain these ties.
The most emotionally charged times in the life of a group project are when the team first forms, during sensitive conflict resolution and when the results are delivered. When a team is spread around the world, it’s hard to establish the necessary early trust or successfully manage conflict.
Often times technology can be used as a catalyst to the formation of trust early in the life of a project team. By bringing virtual teams together via online meeting tools, the emotional sense of connectedness can be increased, ultimately leading to greater success. And the depth of understanding that multimedia communications tools bring can also help make sure there are no misunderstandings during critical negotiations.
These tips apply to particular projects, but in a world where remote workers are becoming more commonplace there’s a need to make all employees feel connected as well. Debbie Tegart talked about this issue of connectedness recently and says that, “Remote workers quit more times than not because of lack of connection NOT because they are unhappy with their job description/tasks.” She recommends using technology to make resources more immediately obvious and to increase a remote worker’s sense of belonging.
Leaders who understand and use these tips can increase the success and satisfaction of their remote teams.
What tips do you have to help improve remote relationships?
#1 by Richard - February 1st, 2009 at 13:21
You are correct that communication is the key! Lots of great advice here for anyone working with a new team.
I’ve also learned when assigning members of a team to a job that the most knowledgable is not necessarily the best leader. To lead correctly the person must have enough knowledge to catch mistakes, trust in his team, the integrity to inform you of any mistakes he makes, and to worry more about getting the job done right than making friends.
#2 by John Bolin - February 1st, 2009 at 20:52
Setting and clearly communication expectations is key. IMO an important component of that is mapping out a progress measurement/review process that involves everyone. That way, if course corrections are needed, all important input and buy in is part of the process.
#3 by Mig - February 3rd, 2009 at 17:04
Roger, your point is well made and one I have mused on as all this great communications gear insinuated into our lives.
On my first fishing trip to Alaska many years ago I was incommunicado for TWO WEEKS! and my staff was perfectly cool with that. When I finally hung up my spurs 3 years ago the expectation was an instant response to email, cellphone, whatever, 24/7.
In some ways the immediacy of communication is awesome and I like it a lot. None of those dragged out delays waiting for a decision from higher up.
In many ways however the communication is damaged by the lack of the ‘filter of time’ between thought and response. As you noted, the lack of voice inflection, visual clues, etc. allow for frequent misunderstandings.
I think it is up to every manager to establish a coherent communication process that takes into account the whole life needs of his reports. We all need time away from the office, both physically and mentally.