TIPS FOR THE LEADER OF REMOTE WORKERS
One of the big ways the work environment is changing is that if we believe in this "war for talent," sometimes we're going to hire people who live hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of miles away. Over the last 20 years we have seen an incredible rise in the amount of people who work from home. It gives employees greater freedom, some say it increases productivity, and it appears to appeal to millennials who say that flexibility is a major factor in the job they choose. However, we have seen some issues with allowing people to work remotely as well. In fact Yahoo and IBM (who lead the way for remote workers in the 90’s) have significantly reduced their remote workforce over the last 5 years.
The common response from people is if we trust they can get the job done, who cares where they live, right?
Well, the common argument against "who cares" is that you need a team together in order to interact, build relationships, become comfortable with each other, and subsequently grow the business.
Let me give you a personal example.
Property Doctors DFW is an inspection company that I’ve owned for the last five years. Currently, we have two assistants, a scheduler, and seven inspectors. We don’t have an office, and several of the inspectors live over 100 miles apart from each other.
So how can we maintain support for each other and the purposed culture that we desire?
Here are a few of the tips that I’ve learned over the years:
Address feelings of isolation: Several of the inspectors have come out of environments where they had friends at work who they saw every day. They had interaction with people every day. They knew who to talk to about sports, and who would want to eat lunch. Now they are driving for most of the day and in homes by themselves. This can lead to feelings of isolation. One key to this is to hire the right people. Not everyone can adapt to this type of business structure. That’s okay, and it’s your job as the leader to make sure that the right people are in the right spots.
Use technology to increase communication: We have a text thread that we can communicate on every day. This helps a lot. The problem, as you probably know from your personal life, is that stuff can be miscommunicated or misinterpreted on text pretty easily. Sometimes we use Marco Polo for facial expressions, but a good rule of thumb is this: If something needs to be corrected or changed, stop texting and call. It's much easier.
Hold regular meetings for both professional development and relational development: We have meetings with the entire team about once a quarter. This is typically at least a half-day. We are intentional to plan times that are both for relational development among the team and professional development for the team. Most of the Property Doctors team says that the relational/social elements are the most impactful parts of these meetings.
Call each other: Goes without saying. Just because you have lots of cool stuff on your phone didn't phase out actual conversations with people about what's happening.
Strive for transparency: Some stuff in the business needs to be proprietary or only discussed with 1 or 2 people, sure. But in general, everyone should have access to as much information as possible. It helps people do their specific jobs better.
Leave no one out: Especially with smaller teams, it’s easy for people to feel overlooked or left out. Inclusion is sometimes a buzzword, but it's really important for people to feel like they're "part of something." The world, and the economy, are rapidly changing. People need something to root to. That is often family, religion, working out, friends, etc. -- but work is a big component of life, so the inclusion piece needs to be there, too.
What have you tried with teams that are dispersed? Or what has been your experience as a remote worker?
Stay tuned for tips for the remote worker.
-Greg