Keeping tabs on them all – Managing a remote team

Mel tried hard to manage her team of 15. She was up against it though as 9 of them worked in different offices across the building, with 3 more working at other sites across town. In fact, only 3 of her crew actually worked in the same office as her.

Unsurprisingly, getting everyone together was really hard work and so Mel invariably found herself dashing from one site to another, trying to please everyone. Over time, the team appeared to grow more and more distant and Mel became less productive herself as a result. In a wave of sheer panic, Mel had even thought about tagging them all but had decided this idea was a little extreme, even for her. She was well aware however that she needed to do something to take back control of her team but couldn’t figure out what to do for the best.

The PU View

Management can be a tough gig when everyone is sat together, but it can be even tougher when your team is out of sight. If we were to meet Mel we would offer her a few tips. Here’s a selection:

• Establish clear & robust communication routines & processes – stick to them.
• Get the team together physically whenever possible, even if it’s only once every month.
• Stick to your pre-arranged 1:1 meetings, telephone chats and any other scheduled communication so that standards remain important etc.
• Make sure you communicate equally with all team members.
• Put the onus on your team to proactively communicate with each other. It’s not solely down to you.
• Use technology. Skype, Zoom and conference calls are a great way to keep in touch
• Make sure that everyone is clear on individual goals, actions etc and ensure that progress is shared on a regular basis, so that everyone can see who’s doing what at any given time.
• Trust them! Don’t be paranoid. Just because they aren’t answering the phone doesn’t mean they are taking a long lunch in the pub!

We’re sure, over time Mel would eventually take back control and start to change the culture of her team from that of a team of remote individuals who didn’t really support each other, to a more inclusive, happy and proactive team that just happened to not physically see each other every day.

Book Recommendation 

We don’t have one single recommendation so we’ve provided a link to a page that provides you with a whole list of books around managing virtual and remote teams