Managing a Virtual Workforce

By Adecco

RECRUITMENT • 21 June 2016

Employees are demanding flexible work options, including the option to work from home. How prepared is your organisation to meet these demands?

“If I can’t see them, I can’t manage them.” How many times have you heard that? Perhaps you’ve said it yourself – and of course, old habits are hard to break. Yet there’s no denying the current focus on teleworking is not going away. In fact, by 2020, it’s estimated at least 12% of Australian employees will have a formal telework arrangement.

Before managers start wringing their hands about lost productivity, however, there is encouraging news. A recent study on teleworkers, jointly undertaken by the University of Melbourne’s Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society and AUT University’s NZ Work Research Institute, contradicts the concerns of some Australian employers regarding the issue.

Those who work both from home and the office are 12% more productive than those who do not telework, according to the survey.

The Trans-Tasman study found that not only were these workers – whose practice has been dubbed ‘hybrid teleworking’ – more productive, they are also more satisfied with their job, implying that allowing a degree of teleworking could be the key to increasing employee retention.

It’s not just theoretical studies either. Employers are starting to report the benefits of offering teleworking. For example, employees at Cisco who are allowed to work from outside of the office are 18% more likely to be high performers.

The Trans-Tasman study concludes that the key enablers of successful telework are trust, good management and the right technology support – allowing hybrid teleworking can be a smart move for employers, if preparation and maintenance are undertaken correctly.

Indeed, none of this would be possible without technology. Collaborative and easy to use tools include Yammer and Google hangouts, both of which can increase frequency and quality of virtual communication. In sales and/or service environments technology can measure key inputs and outputs alongside effectiveness of such activities. The information provides leaders with relevant information to make decisions on high value activities.

In study after study, one other element is critical if teleworking is to succeed: trust. As a business leader you need to check your own unconscious biases regarding people and trust. For example, do you automatically give trust or is trust built over time? In this virtual working world, leaders need to start with trust and then monitor it to ensure it is being upheld.

Here are some further tips for leaders in this work-from-home era:

Be disciplined in having a weekly meeting with your team member. Discuss day-to-day work as well as general issues and opportunities
Ensure you meet once a week, once a fortnight, or once a month. Ensure these meetings are impactful, engaging and interactive, and maximise what limited time you have together. It is important to still maintain a degree of human-to-human contact, and also to put your team back in touch with each other and make them understand they are part of something much bigger.
Call or check-in with workers randomly. They may be out of sight but don’t let them feel out of mind. Look to build a transparent and open virtual team culture where picking up the phone or jumping on Skype is preferred to email communication.
Always agree deadlines and check-ins on all work. Always check for understanding and buy-in during the briefing process.
Maintain a more formal performance review/conversation where you discuss career and development aspirations. Be prepared to quickly make the hard calls if someone is not meeting outcomes and upholding their side of the bargain. This model should be communicated as an opportunity and a privilege, not a right.

Remember: A virtual environment requires a stronger focus on quality of output within agreed time frames. It’s critical to recognise and reward workers who can be trusted to take direction, can use their own initiative and can produce quality work on time.