Managing Your Work-at-Home Team

It's been almost one year of the Pandemic Workplace. For those lucky enough to keep their jobs and transition to working at home there are plenty of memes out there to indicate that managers and bosses need to figure out how to manage their remote teams better.

The "air quotes" are a good indication that your team is convinced you don't think they are doing much work at all.

As we round the corner of pandemic chaos and begin to plan for a day sometime soon when everyone can get back into the office, let's take a look at what you should be doing to keep your team happy and productive before they head back into the office with resignation letters.

Here are six tips that one year of pandemic remote work has taught us about Managing Your Team Better:

#1 Embrace A "Remote" Understanding

First, by now, everyone should know that not everyone who is working at home has a nice quiet office to curl up into. Most likely your team is operating out of their bedroom because it is the only quiet place to actually get their work done. It may be almost one year, but it is still your job to understand and be mindful of how everyone on your team is managing this pandemic workspace at home. Instead of making them fear for moments when the kids come in asking for a snack, encourage your team to take breaks for their mental productivity--even if that break is to switch a load of laundry, or get dinner started early, or check the mailbox, or any number of other things we do at home--and that you are most likely doing at home too. Most remote workers still fear their family members coming into view on a Zoom meeting.

The second thing about your "remote" understanding is remembering that being at home, with all its advantages, is still quite uncomfortable to most people. Add in the whole ongoing and escalating pandemic crisis and you have a workforce that is even more stressed out than before. All the lost moments that once motivated your team are a distant memory to them. Cafeteria chit chat, Monday morning catch-ups, birthday cake in the conference room...remember those moments? They actually built morale and created a more productive workplace. Well, Zoom isn't cutting it anymore for team bonding.

• Remind your team from time to time that you know how it feels to be isolated from their coworkers. Make finding new ways to do activities together, a priority. Send your team coloring books and colored pens, and once a week have everyone color for 10 minutes together on Zoom. The uncomfortableness might just be the out-of-box activity your team needs after one year of being alone.
• Without places to interact there is no laughter, no jokes, no bonding, and no opportunity to blow off the necessary frustrations to get back to being productive. Get creative and allow your team time to work together on projects that normally, at work, they would do solo, but at home, would be nice to share with one other person's collaborative energy.
• The hardest part for most employees working at home is the trust issue--you cannot treat your team the same way you did in a face-to-face office situation. Don't turn your lack of control into fear. The number one complaint of most remote workers during COVID is the micro-managing boss!

#2 Sharing Company Values

Remember the company mission statement painted on the wall behind the receptionist's desk? Yeah, your team can't see that working from home. Maybe it is time to bring into the remote workplace activities related to the company mission and values.

When you do not have the physical bonding of being on a team, you will have to figure out ways to get the remote team focused on the values that the company they love working for is all about. And that may mean letting your team decide how that looks. The easiest way is to open your meetings with a review of the company’s values & priorities. And ask people if they feel their work is living the values printed in the brochure! Even surveys weekly can open your eyes.

#3 Communicate Clearly

Because of the physical distance of the team, communication becomes the number one issue for employee dissatisfaction. Trust in the physical office is very different from the one in a remote workplace. If you are a bit of a control freak, then almost one year of remote working has probably already turned you into a monster when it comes to valuing your team's work.

ASK THEM. It isn't rocket science to ask the members of your team if you are communicating clearly. The problem is that telling the truth isn't of value when your job is on the line. So figure out your strategy for how you will direct your team remotely from this point forward. Send an email and ask them to confirm receipt of it, and let them tell you how they successfully completed the work. You do not have to spend your day following up over and over with everyone if you give them a process of communication.

#4 Build Relationships

Sometimes it is best to for you to have the most inflexible schedule so that your team knows when and how to reach you. And don't be fearful of the silence. Have check-ins weekly with the whole team, and then with individual members. You do your work and let them do theirs the rest of the time.

The best way to build and strengthen remote working relationships is for everyone to know their roles and responsibilities and then to give them the time and space to do them. That includes you!

It is very easy to forget about all the things your team really does on a day-to-day basis when working from home. Ask them to write out all that they do and don't waste their time getting involved in the decisions that they would normally make while in the office. In other words, just because your bosses don't trust you, doesn't mean that you cannot let your team do the same incredible job while at home with your full trust and support.

#5 Focus on Outcomes NOT Activity.

It is important to set boundaries while your team is working at home. Give and encourage them to take lunch breaks. They are literally sleeping at the office right now and they need offline time. THEY NEED BREAKS and you cannot be sure that they are taking them. Instead of thinking that they are slacking off at home, embrace and acknowledge what the research is telling us: working at home has no boundaries and your employees are working more than an eight-hour day. Give them permission to take a break.

#6 Mentor Don't Manage

There is a saying in the Navy Seal program: "Calm is contagious." If you are stressing out and constantly asking for reports, delegating roles, sending reminders, and basically panicking--so will your team.

Remember how it felt to go and lock yourself in your corner office and instruct everyone to leave you alone so you could get some work done? That is what your team wants right now. Trust them to do the job, their job. Give them permission to take breaks and ask them how they want to communicate to you that they have done their job.

In other words, if you go about doing your job they will do theirs. And give everyone permission to screw up once or twice, just like you do. This is a stressful time that most likely will continue for the next several months in some form or another. And just because no one has quit or jumped ship right now doesn't mean you are not going to have a mutiny once everyone is called back to the office. In fact, from the number of memes and chatroom complaints about bosses and working at home--I am pretty sure that many companies will be losing some of their best people as soon as they can return to the office. Start valuing your team right now by mentoring them back instead of managing (or rather micro-managing) them out of the door as soon as things return to normal.

Many companies will have the ability to keep some of their employees at home once the pandemic crisis is under control so this is the perfect time to start to strengthen your working relationships and prepare to head back into the office with a positive, productive team, rather than one filled with resentment.

And share your experiences and comments. I have been working at home for over 15 years and even I feel stressed out--mostly because my significant other is sharing the same space. We all need to step back and appreciate our work and contributions. We need to take breaks and appreciate how far we have come. So chill out if you are the boss and get back to leading your team, not micro managing them.

#workathome #remoteworking