7 Things Work-From-Home Employees Wish Their Managers Knew
Remote work isn’t a trend. It may be new to you, your organization, or members of your team, but to treat it as something to be endured is a mistake.
I was a remote employee, and a remote manager, for a decade. I survived reorganizations, mergers, and was promoted while managing a remote team. Trust and technology are the first things that come to mind, but it goes so much deeper than that. Since WFH is here to stay, it’s time to understand how to best manage a remote team.
1. Implement systems
It’s not the time to wing it. There’s enough uncertainty in the world without ambiguity around team protocol and expectations. Adopt a project management system, like Asana, a communication channel, like Slack, and set up a recurring weekly webinar in Zoom.
Then, keep it consistent. Don’t move meetings, don’t let deadlines slide, set hard stops on calls, use templates and guidelines to standardize processes, and please, for everyone’s sake, limit emails.
2. Articulate the vision
Make sure you, as the manager, know your marching orders from above, how they connect to the broader organizational strategies, and create a team plan to implement them.
Each role needs a robust assignment, clear boundaries, and accountability to the team and organization. Overlap, competing agendas, and misalignment will prevent the team from achieving its true potential.
3. Trust your team
If you try to micromanage your team, you’ll fail, because of the distance, and you’ll undermine your credibility. Trust your people to show up, do the work, and get to the goal line, any way that works for them.
Be available to offer resources, advocate internally, provide guidance, and remove hurdles, and always treat them as the professionals they are.
4. Lead with heart
Everyone is feeling extra pressure and uncertainty right now. Your staff is worried about their family, their future, managing complex home dynamics, and adjusting to new information in real-time. They know what the market is doing and where the economy is heading, and they are grateful to have jobs with the flexibility to work-from-home.
Help them be successful by eliminating as much of the distracting low-return work, pointless projects, redundant meetings, and unnecessary complications.
Give purposeful assignments, tie actions directly to results, and offer end-to-end ownership. They will show appreciation for your strong leadership by working hard.
5. Respect their differences
A remote team, spread across time zones, has different tech setups, diverse communication styles, and varying degrees of comfort with visibility. Some will thrive while working from home, some will struggle, most will figure it out, but it may be a big adjustment. It might go smoothly too.
Respect them, respect their differences; recognize their commitment and contribution. Don’t make unreasonable requests, don’t ask them to always be on, or work around the clock.
Don’t reward those who respond first or immediately or volunteer for anything and everything. Encourage balance and sustainability, and think long-term.
6. Schedule fun
When everyone is feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed, and trying to figure out how to be relevant without face time, create opportunities to connect and engage. Host open office hours once/week and give everyone a chance to ask anything.
Hold a weekly morning coffee chat to check-in on each other. No business talk, only social time, catching up, and building camaraderie. Schedule a bi-weekly virtual party to celebrate big wins, highlight key activities, and honor their efforts.
7. Reinforce the big picture
The key to successfully managing a remote team is to realize that your team can still smell the bullsh*t from home, even through their computer screens.
When you, as the manager, are withholding information, spinning it, not playing fair, downplaying risk, overplaying confidence, drinking the Koolaid, spouting company-approved talking points, or out of alignment with senior leadership, they’ll know. Just as sure as if they were down the hall from each other — bad news, good news, gossip — it all travels fast.
Remind them why they are there and why it matters. Be an example, model good behavior, help them stay focused, keep them connected, in a growth mindset, and give them the benefit of the doubt.
Remote work isn’t a trend. It may be new to you, your organization, or members of your team, but to treat it as something to be endured is a mistake.
Embrace the opportunity to take your team farther and become a better leader. Managing a remote team is a valuable skill to add to your leadership toolbox.
