Quickly disappearing are the days in companies where all employees are based in one office. Remote and virtual workforces are growing with the need to improve speed to service, lower travel cost, and improved customer service. Research has suggested that now approximately 75% of US companies have employees that work virtual or remote. This can prove to be a new challenge for the HR role in administering to this dispersed group of employees. There are many technology tools now available to help in the HR function with remote workforces.
Document Management and Workflow systems
There are many document management systems that can make storing, finding, accessing and securing documents better than ever. With the amount of documents produced in corporations, it can be a productivity drain to find and utilize needed info. Document Management systems use a concept called metadata that tags documents with properties for easy organization and retrieval. These systems also allow for more granular security, providing better privacy for HR employee files.
Workflow automation tools are also increasingly popular to help companies streamline processes through technology. Systems can take an employee through the on-boarding process from job application submittal to training and review, or other processes such as expenses, vacation requests or 360 reviews.
One technology tool that incorporates both document management and workflow options is SharePoint. This tool can provide document management benefits such as auto versioning, searching, and metadata views and organization. It can automate processes such as document approval, or alert users of changes to calendars, employee document folders or company announcements. It also has tools that can allow you to convert your employee handbook into an electronic wiki, or provide employees with online tools to access benefit vendors or forms.
Communicating with Remote Workforces through Webinars
There are now many different webinar services to choose from that allow you to communicate with a remote workforce to give presentations, have visual meetings, and share computer applications. Some of the most popular services are: Citrix Go to Webinar, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Live Meeting, WebEx, and even the local Denver based company: Ready Talk. The best system for you depends on your needs. They all offer a different array of features including: Ability to view participants with web cams, surveys & polling, remote desktop take over, either uploading PPT presentations to the web service or displaying them on the fly, downloadable files, multiple meeting rooms, etc.
E-learning Tools
There are many technology tools that can help you create e-learning or blended learning scenarios to help with the onboarding and training of remote workforces. Often the amount of features available in the different tools is synonymous with the needed learning curve of the product. Some tools allow for easy conversion of PowerPoint presentations into videos, such as Lectora’s Snap or Adobe Presenter. Others allow you to capture animation on your computer as you click through items, and allow for narration, branching logic and other more advanced development features. Some products along these lines are: Adobe Captivate, TechSmith’s Camtasia, or Articulate. The more advanced products require some programming skills but will allow you to build interactive elements and custom animation using programs such as Adobe Flash.
All of these different technologies can help the HR function in working with a remote workforce. Finding the right product for your company depends on the specific features you need. However, just understanding some of the options out there, and how they can benefit the HR function, will provide the first steps toward finding the right tools.
Jenny Douras © All rights reserved
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, August 22, 2011
Micro-Managing your Remote Team – how to avoid this common pitfall
One of the biggest fears when managing a team of remote employees is that they won’t be working and getting the job done when you can’t see them. How do you know that they are spending their time wisely and doing things the correct way? Unfortunately, this fear can lead to micro-managing of employees, which can lead to the direct results you are trying to avoid.
When employees feel they are micro-managed, they feel overly controlled and become demotivated. This leads to a team that will not think outside of the box, or push themselves harder than they have to. They assume “why bother” - since everything is so tightly defined for them – there is little room for creativity and they will need to ask you for approval during each step, since they are not confident in proceeding without explicit direction.
So how can you ensure that you have a motivated and productive team that is getting the job done correctly, without micro-managing them? The key is in giving them the responsibility to manage themselves and providing the vision and guidance when needed, rather than explicit instructions that are task focused.
Think of your team’s goals as a bowling alley. You want to clearly outline what the goal is - knock down all 10 pins in 2 or less shots, by rolling the ball. And you also want to define the boundaries for them to work within - like setting up the bumper guards in the lane. However, after that, you want to leave it to them to decide how to get the ball down the lane to accomplish the goal. Do they roll it fast or slow, do they use curve balls or straight shots, do they bank it off of the bumper guards several times – these decisions should be left in their hands.
By allowing your team to make all of these other decisions, they will learn what parameters they need to work within, and their goals to focus on. In turn, they will be able to make their own decisions within these limits and will only need to seek your advice when they have something that is outside of these parameters. This ensures that your team will not be paralyzed without your every authorization or decree, and will be motivated to seek new creative ways to enhance the team’s success.
The last step is to have them hold themselves accountable to their goals and have them report their success, or lack of, to you each week. By clearly setting goals and providing a weekly status report to you, they will hold themselves accountable for their goal attainment. No one wants to come to their manager and tell them they did a bad job. Everyone wants to be able to take pride in their achievements. By having them keep their goal attainment status on the top of every weekly conversation with you, they will be self-motivated to reach those goals.
Jenny Douras © All rights reserved
When employees feel they are micro-managed, they feel overly controlled and become demotivated. This leads to a team that will not think outside of the box, or push themselves harder than they have to. They assume “why bother” - since everything is so tightly defined for them – there is little room for creativity and they will need to ask you for approval during each step, since they are not confident in proceeding without explicit direction.
So how can you ensure that you have a motivated and productive team that is getting the job done correctly, without micro-managing them? The key is in giving them the responsibility to manage themselves and providing the vision and guidance when needed, rather than explicit instructions that are task focused.
Think of your team’s goals as a bowling alley. You want to clearly outline what the goal is - knock down all 10 pins in 2 or less shots, by rolling the ball. And you also want to define the boundaries for them to work within - like setting up the bumper guards in the lane. However, after that, you want to leave it to them to decide how to get the ball down the lane to accomplish the goal. Do they roll it fast or slow, do they use curve balls or straight shots, do they bank it off of the bumper guards several times – these decisions should be left in their hands.
By allowing your team to make all of these other decisions, they will learn what parameters they need to work within, and their goals to focus on. In turn, they will be able to make their own decisions within these limits and will only need to seek your advice when they have something that is outside of these parameters. This ensures that your team will not be paralyzed without your every authorization or decree, and will be motivated to seek new creative ways to enhance the team’s success.
The last step is to have them hold themselves accountable to their goals and have them report their success, or lack of, to you each week. By clearly setting goals and providing a weekly status report to you, they will hold themselves accountable for their goal attainment. No one wants to come to their manager and tell them they did a bad job. Everyone wants to be able to take pride in their achievements. By having them keep their goal attainment status on the top of every weekly conversation with you, they will be self-motivated to reach those goals.
Jenny Douras © All rights reserved
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Remote Manager MD
When managing a team of remote employees, how do you know if you have a healthy team? When you don’t see your team all of the time, it can be tough to discover team issues. However, there are many symptoms that can indicate signs of trouble. If identified early enough, and corrected with the right management prescription, you can heal a team’s problem areas. Below are some key symptoms and their corresponding remedies.
• The team doesn’t work together – In general does the team not collaborate or reach out to each other for idea sharing? Is it a team of independent mavericks working like independent entities? If so, this could be a clear sign that they don’t feel like they are a cohesive unit. They may not rely on other team members because they don’t recognize the value in them, or they are not aware of what they can offer them.
Managers can correct this type of team ailment, by building a team culture and finding ways for team to work together. This will need to be continuously reinforced when opportunities arise:
1. Create a sense of “team” by finding opportunities to get them to feel like they belong to a team and generating team “spirit.” Create a team identity with a team logo, mission statement or motto. Reinforce it by getting your team personal items that contain this logo or motto such as shirts, hats or coffee mugs. Have the team participate as a group to come up with this motto.
2. Find opportunities to celebrate with the team. Highlight successes on calls (both individual and group). Share funny stories about times together.
3. Find opportunities for team members to work on projects together. Pair up people who wouldn’t normal work together or who haven’t formed a visible bond. If there are no current projects to pair them up on, have them come up with some best practices for a team issue, and share them with the team at the next call or meeting.
• The “It’s not my job” syndrome – Do members of the team avoid helping others or avoid taking on extra tasks for the good of the team? Are they never willing to go above and beyond when a project needs it? Are they “to busy?” This could be an indicator that employees don’t feel supported, or don’t feel that there is any benefit for doing something outside of their job. This can happen when major change happens in a company, if that change isn’t handled via good change management steps. It can also happen if employees are over taxed or there are no clear job goals. This symptom will also appear if there is a fear of job loss due to recent large company layoffs, or the threat of layoffs.
The best strategies for these issues involves priority and goal setting with employee involvement in setting their own goals, change management to prepare for upcoming company shifts, reinforcing and rewarding desired behaviors.
1. Employees who are always handed their goals and priorities, will not feel ownership in them and can become demotivated. Many managers find that if they ask their employees what goals they want to obtain (rather than dictating them), employees will stretch and accomplish farther than the manager would have set. The most effective goal setting happens when priority and goal meetings are a continuous process between a manager and employee. Ideally set quarterly goals with weekly check in conversations. This helps employees stay focused on what is important to the team and company, and not lose sight by focusing on what they misperceive as important. Goal setting also helps employees see the future (with them in it) if there are recent company layoffs.
2. When companies are preparing for large changes, such as a new software implementation or processes, the best way to ensure employee buy in is to get them involved at the beginning, before the change happens. Get their opinions and feedback. Establish a change leader in each department to be involved in the initial pilot or development. They will help carry a positive message back to their teams and help squash negative grumblings.
3. Are employees rewarded for going the extra mile? This doesn’t mean a monetary incentive, rather do they get positive accolades? Is there a perceived benefit if they go the extra mile: they get to see their ideas implemented, they are included in team decisions more often, they can become a product expert, etc. . . If there is no perceived benefit, they will stop stretching. Find way to reinforce the positive results of putting in the extra distance.
• Employees don’t take initiative – If your employees don’t think out of the box or take initiative and need approval/affirmation for every little thing, it could be a good indicator that they are micro-managed. When employees are not self-motivated, or seem to need a lot of hand holding, it means that they haven’t been trained, or encouraged, to make decisions or take initiatives without getting prior approval from their manager. If they are always told what to do, they won’t do anything unless you tell them.
To stop the micro-management, find opportunities for employees to manage themselves. Set parameters for them to work within, then let them make their own decisions within them. Put systems in place for them to hold themselves accountable and encourage them to take initiatives.
1. Set up the parameters for employees to work within, and define the end goal, but then let them make their own decisions within those parameters in reaching that goal. Like putting up bumper guards at a bowling alley, the guards are the rules they need to play within, and the goal is to hit down all 10 pins. However, how many times they bounce off the guards, how fast the ball goes, if there is a curve or spin on it, etc., are all up to the employee.
2. Find ways for employees to hold themselves accountable. If as a manager, you have to constantly ask employees if they have completed their tasks or met their goals, you will be wasting too much of your time that could be focused on more important strategic or macro view items. Also, employees will resent you if you have to do this. Instead, have employees track their own progress. Work with them to set goals, and have them report weekly on how they are accomplishing those goals. No one wants to come to their manager and tell them they did a bad job. This self-accountability will free you up as a manager, and self-motivate your employees to reach goals.
3. Encourage self-decision making through including them in team decisions and asking them their opinions. By soliciting employee feedback and involving them in decisions, you will be teaching them the skills they need to take initiative.
• Employees don’t apply or implement team policies or ideas – Do your employees implement team or company ideas or changes once they are informed of them? Or do they seem to go into one ear and out the other? They may be interpreting the message differently or may not know how to put it into practice.
To ensure that new ideas or policies actually get implemented, find ways to repeat and reinforce the message not only verbally, but within practice. If ideas are just mentioned once and then you move on to the next, your employees will do the same. It takes at least 12 times to make something a habit, so if you don’t get your employees to act on the idea at least 12 times, it will disappear.
1. Are messages being clearly and consistently conveyed by all of management? You want to make sure that the entire management team is on board and finding opportunities to repeat the message and its importance. Repetition of the message by different persons, will also help bring clarity to employees of what the exact message is.
2. Are messages and decisions being reinforced with actions? You can’t tell a team something once and forget about it. You need to make sure that examples of the message are identified and incorporated in everyday practice. Conduct action learning to practice the new idea. Engage employees by bringing it up in conversations with them and ask how they have implemented it.
Jenny Douras © All rights reserved
• The team doesn’t work together – In general does the team not collaborate or reach out to each other for idea sharing? Is it a team of independent mavericks working like independent entities? If so, this could be a clear sign that they don’t feel like they are a cohesive unit. They may not rely on other team members because they don’t recognize the value in them, or they are not aware of what they can offer them.
Managers can correct this type of team ailment, by building a team culture and finding ways for team to work together. This will need to be continuously reinforced when opportunities arise:
1. Create a sense of “team” by finding opportunities to get them to feel like they belong to a team and generating team “spirit.” Create a team identity with a team logo, mission statement or motto. Reinforce it by getting your team personal items that contain this logo or motto such as shirts, hats or coffee mugs. Have the team participate as a group to come up with this motto.
2. Find opportunities to celebrate with the team. Highlight successes on calls (both individual and group). Share funny stories about times together.
3. Find opportunities for team members to work on projects together. Pair up people who wouldn’t normal work together or who haven’t formed a visible bond. If there are no current projects to pair them up on, have them come up with some best practices for a team issue, and share them with the team at the next call or meeting.
• The “It’s not my job” syndrome – Do members of the team avoid helping others or avoid taking on extra tasks for the good of the team? Are they never willing to go above and beyond when a project needs it? Are they “to busy?” This could be an indicator that employees don’t feel supported, or don’t feel that there is any benefit for doing something outside of their job. This can happen when major change happens in a company, if that change isn’t handled via good change management steps. It can also happen if employees are over taxed or there are no clear job goals. This symptom will also appear if there is a fear of job loss due to recent large company layoffs, or the threat of layoffs.
The best strategies for these issues involves priority and goal setting with employee involvement in setting their own goals, change management to prepare for upcoming company shifts, reinforcing and rewarding desired behaviors.
1. Employees who are always handed their goals and priorities, will not feel ownership in them and can become demotivated. Many managers find that if they ask their employees what goals they want to obtain (rather than dictating them), employees will stretch and accomplish farther than the manager would have set. The most effective goal setting happens when priority and goal meetings are a continuous process between a manager and employee. Ideally set quarterly goals with weekly check in conversations. This helps employees stay focused on what is important to the team and company, and not lose sight by focusing on what they misperceive as important. Goal setting also helps employees see the future (with them in it) if there are recent company layoffs.
2. When companies are preparing for large changes, such as a new software implementation or processes, the best way to ensure employee buy in is to get them involved at the beginning, before the change happens. Get their opinions and feedback. Establish a change leader in each department to be involved in the initial pilot or development. They will help carry a positive message back to their teams and help squash negative grumblings.
3. Are employees rewarded for going the extra mile? This doesn’t mean a monetary incentive, rather do they get positive accolades? Is there a perceived benefit if they go the extra mile: they get to see their ideas implemented, they are included in team decisions more often, they can become a product expert, etc. . . If there is no perceived benefit, they will stop stretching. Find way to reinforce the positive results of putting in the extra distance.
• Employees don’t take initiative – If your employees don’t think out of the box or take initiative and need approval/affirmation for every little thing, it could be a good indicator that they are micro-managed. When employees are not self-motivated, or seem to need a lot of hand holding, it means that they haven’t been trained, or encouraged, to make decisions or take initiatives without getting prior approval from their manager. If they are always told what to do, they won’t do anything unless you tell them.
To stop the micro-management, find opportunities for employees to manage themselves. Set parameters for them to work within, then let them make their own decisions within them. Put systems in place for them to hold themselves accountable and encourage them to take initiatives.
1. Set up the parameters for employees to work within, and define the end goal, but then let them make their own decisions within those parameters in reaching that goal. Like putting up bumper guards at a bowling alley, the guards are the rules they need to play within, and the goal is to hit down all 10 pins. However, how many times they bounce off the guards, how fast the ball goes, if there is a curve or spin on it, etc., are all up to the employee.
2. Find ways for employees to hold themselves accountable. If as a manager, you have to constantly ask employees if they have completed their tasks or met their goals, you will be wasting too much of your time that could be focused on more important strategic or macro view items. Also, employees will resent you if you have to do this. Instead, have employees track their own progress. Work with them to set goals, and have them report weekly on how they are accomplishing those goals. No one wants to come to their manager and tell them they did a bad job. This self-accountability will free you up as a manager, and self-motivate your employees to reach goals.
3. Encourage self-decision making through including them in team decisions and asking them their opinions. By soliciting employee feedback and involving them in decisions, you will be teaching them the skills they need to take initiative.
• Employees don’t apply or implement team policies or ideas – Do your employees implement team or company ideas or changes once they are informed of them? Or do they seem to go into one ear and out the other? They may be interpreting the message differently or may not know how to put it into practice.
To ensure that new ideas or policies actually get implemented, find ways to repeat and reinforce the message not only verbally, but within practice. If ideas are just mentioned once and then you move on to the next, your employees will do the same. It takes at least 12 times to make something a habit, so if you don’t get your employees to act on the idea at least 12 times, it will disappear.
1. Are messages being clearly and consistently conveyed by all of management? You want to make sure that the entire management team is on board and finding opportunities to repeat the message and its importance. Repetition of the message by different persons, will also help bring clarity to employees of what the exact message is.
2. Are messages and decisions being reinforced with actions? You can’t tell a team something once and forget about it. You need to make sure that examples of the message are identified and incorporated in everyday practice. Conduct action learning to practice the new idea. Engage employees by bringing it up in conversations with them and ask how they have implemented it.
Jenny Douras © All rights reserved
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