9 recommendations for combining telework and management brilliantly

According to a study from February 2021, 7 out of 10 French people want telework to be generalised. But leading a team remotely is a challenge for managers who are obsessed with loitering/laziness. Another reluctance that is felt on the employer side is the isolation more or less experienced by their employees. In this context, one can wonder about solutions to combine remote working and management with brio. Here is a selection of 9 recommendations for managers wishing to improve their managerial methods. 

Telecommuting and management: 9 recommendations to apply tomorrow morning!

Saving transport time, reducing stress and absenteeism, increasing productivity... Whether we like it or not, teleworking is an advantageous and secure solution. And since the return to the office is not for tomorrow, you might as well familiarize yourself with remote management today. Here are 9 recommendations for managers and leaders:

1. Design new ways to assess, train, and interact with your employees

Management and telecommuting can be a perfect match, provided you communicate your expectations and objectives well in advance. The more teleworking becomes more democratic, the more traditional office hours are gradually being forgotten. Early risers tend to get everything done before noon, while night owls excel after dark. But what matters is that the deadlines are clarified from the outset.

In the same perspective, find out about the typical schedules of your employees so that you can contact them as soon as necessary. And just like before, keep your employees informed of successes or changes in company policy. Thus, employees will feel that they are still part of the same hard core!

2. Encourage social interactions 

In a world where not many people come to the office regularly, it is essential to maintain social ties. It is the role of the manager to promote group activities in order to maintain a sense of normalcy of togetherness.

Just because employees aren't in the same physical location doesn't mean they can't interact. To encourage social interaction, create a feed informal conversation on Slack and be the first to use it. This will motivate your teams to do the same. You can also download many Slack apps allowing you for example to:

• Have a cybercafé with people in your box for 30 minutes;
• Respond to satisfaction surveys;
• Play virtual ping-pong with your teams (in the form of questions and answers);
• Get crisp info about cats;
• Do general knowledge quizzes to elect the big head of the month.

Finally, organize a team building activity once a week/month!

3. Demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness

The work flexibility, this is the sinews of war in 2021. Despite your plans, things may not go as planned. Don't be closed to strategy adjustments or last-minute changes! Fact, a good manager must make himself available to combine telecommuting and management brilliantly.

Your employees need to know that your virtual door is always open. Feel free to add a little note to this effect in your email signature. Finally, try somehow to respond quickly to requests from your employees. From a distance, they need to know you're there to handle emergencies even more. 

4. Become the spiritual guide of its collaborators

In order to allow your employees to work in the best conditions remotely, they must know what to expect. That's why you have to tell them what can and can't be done. The best way to become the spiritual guide of your collaborators is towrite down in black and white the practices of your company in telecommuting. 

This exercise is great for group cohesion and the productivity. This will help you think about what you find acceptable or not. For instance : 

• Do not send an email after 7 p.m. French time to colleagues;
• Start your emails with a polite formula; 
• Try to respond to his teammates as quickly as possible...

5. Ensure that the work environment of each employee allows him to be at 110% of his abilities

Optimizing the working environment of its remote employees is a real challenge in 2021. Make sure your teams have high-performance tools (computer, printer, telephone). Also, be sure that each person can communicate with their colleagues. For this, various communication (Slack), project management (Asana) and document sharing (Google Docs) platforms exist. 

Finally, ask your employees if their work furniture is satisfactory. Otherwise, change to comfortable and ergonomic office furniture ! In doing so, you will preserve the physical and mental health of your employees. 

6. Stake all your chips on communication

It is essential that managers communicate with their employees remotely. Without this, business leaders would not be able to know the progress of projects, the challenges encountered, the future objectives of each sector of activity... 

Also consider which communication tool best suits your company culture:

• E-mails ;
• Instant messages;
• Phone calls…

Then, strike the right balance between mass PMs and emails and radio silence. The frequency of communication between a manager and his employees is a matter to be taken seriously. This factor will weigh heavily in the balance when your employees give their opinion on your way of managing remotely!

7. Don't turn a deaf ear 

To combine telework and management, a manager must know how to listen carefully to his employees, partners and customers. Do not hesitate to make sure that your employees are satisfied with their workload. 

In telework, there are no visible warning signs as before in the office. Hard hard therefore to know when an employee is overwhelmed or when he is bored. 

Use anonymous surveys! In this way, you will be able to do a weekly overview and collect the impressions and needs of your employees. Once again on Slack, applications allow you to anonymously collect feedback from your teams. Thus, you will be able to know how their week went and what they think of their n+1 or management in general. Finally, remember that if you request feedback from our employees, you have to act accordingly. Take corrective action quickly to ensure the happiness of your employees working from home!

8. Avoid micro-management to combine teleworking and management brilliantly

You did not look behind the ears of your collaborators when they were still in the office? So don't do it remotely either! Prioritize regular 1-to-1 over micro management. These weekly or monthly interviews will allow you to ensure the satisfaction and well-being of your talents. It is at this precise moment that you can give them advice and make adjustments if necessary. 

Remote micro-management will be very harmful to your image as an employer. Your employees will no longer trust you and your constant interventions will not help them focus. So put your obsessive and methodical side aside. 

9. Celebrate the successes of its employees, even the most insignificant

To manage a team remotely, you have to take every possible opportunity to congratulate them. Use various emojis to express your joy, add a recommendation to your employees on LinkedIn, send them gifts... All means are good to celebrate the successes of its employees. 

And now it's your turn to combine telecommuting and management!

It's normal that your management techniques are not quite in place yet. The generalization of telework is still recent. But beware, in a few months, you will have no more excuses!

And since you have read this article: you are on the right track... Going forward, consider listening to your employees, communicating, embracing necessary changes, and praising good deeds. There, you can say that you know how to combine telework and management brilliantly. 

Want to start with recommendation #5? Discover the Slean ergonomic desks, chairs and accessories to equip your employees as they should!