tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87401834663052376442024-03-13T15:22:34.598-06:00Remote Employee ManagementRemote Employee Management skills are essential to thriving in today's ever more vitual work environment, but the old methods simply don't work. This blog is dedicated to helping the managers of satellite employees to build successful teams and careers.Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-25159533859605082642013-12-05T15:04:00.001-07:002013-12-05T15:04:14.855-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">See our new blog at <a href="http://www.remoteemployeemanagement.com/">remoteemployeemanagement.com/</a>.</span>Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-18349298570388744172013-03-04T11:10:00.004-07:002013-03-04T11:10:55.802-07:00Effective Management, Not Telecommuting Bans, Make Employees More ProductiveCompany-wide cohesion is not created with a forced work environment, but rather with good management. In today’s global workforce, the majority of US companies now have some portion of their workforce that works remotely from their main office. Companies now need to do more with less, and having employees based near clients cuts down travel costs and provides quicker service. As well, employees have been proven to be more productive when they can work from a home office, cutting down on commute time and disruptions. This has created a shift in the old assumptions, that all work must be completed in the same office location. <br />
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However, some have a hard time releasing those assumptions, limiting their corporation’s ability to stay competitive. It’s like the refusal to use an automobile, at the turn of the century, because of a belief that a horse drawn carriage was more effective. Yes, a horse drawn carriage has some charm to it, and was effective for a long time, but eventually they were run over by the automobile, and they are no longer a competitive transportation method. <br />
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Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer, announced this week, plans to change the previous telecommuting policies, and ordered all employees to begin working out of one of the company offices. Reasons cited have been to increase communication and collaboration. Other comments noted that their telecommuters were “slacking off like crazy.” (The Week 2/25/13 http://theweek.com/article/index/240566/yahoos-telecommuting-ban-does-working-from-home-make-you-less-productive )<br />
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You can’t care for an automobile the same way you do for a horse team, and the same is true with a telecommuting team. For a remote workforce model to work, it has to be managed correctly. If it is not, it can impact communication and collaboration, as well as encourage non-focused employees. But if it is managed correctly, you will have a much more effective and competitive business model.<br />
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There are 7 strategies to successfully managing remote/teleworking teams, that differs from regular employee management.<br />
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1. <strong>Increased Communication</strong> – Communication with teleworking employees must be increased. The perception, as expressed by Yahoo, is that you will communicate less with virtual working employees – which will cause the decrease in collaboration and idea sharing that they experienced. Managers need to make a conscious effort to communicate more with teleworking employees, as well as facilitate increased communication between team members, to foster the same level of idea sharing and collaboration. Communication should never be delayed because you can’t walk down the hall to chat with someone. Pick up the phone, send an email or use IM to foster that same chat. It does take some initial assistance to get employees into this routine, but once that is created, it will happen naturally. <br />
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2. <strong>Create a Team Community</strong> – Managers need to make a more concerted effort to create a team community when their teams work remotely. They need to find opportunities for team members to work together, celebrate together, and spend time talking about non-work related things. This helps them get to know each other as individuals, so they can work more effectively together, and feel like a part of an important group. <br />
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3. <strong>Manage to Goals and</strong> <strong>Outcomes, Not Tasks</strong> – Give employees the responsibility to manage themselves by providing the vision and guidance when needed, rather than explicit instructions that are task focused. Think of a 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. <br />
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4. <strong>Enable Team Micro-Monitoring for Accountability</strong> – 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. Unfortunately, this fear can lead to micro-managing of employees, which can lead to the direct results you are trying to avoid. Instead of micro-managing employees, have them micro-monitor themselves. 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. Having them keep and report their weekly goal attainment status, keeps them self-motivated to reach those goals. <br />
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5. <strong>Ongoing Socratic Coaching</strong> – Teleworking employees need to learn how to make the correct decisions in the absence of their manager. The best way to prepare them for this is through Socratic coaching. This coaching method is designed to coach through self-discovery, by asking the employee open ended questions, to teach a thinking process that enables them to make better decisions in future. <br />
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6. <strong>Motivate Rather than Move Employees</strong> – What many call motivation is often really movement. It is the carrot and stick approach. If an employee does something, they receive a reward, or if they don’t, it’s a punishment. This method must be continuously re-charged, which can quickly fail when employees are not always in the same office. Instead, it’s important to motivate remote working employees by developing their pride and self-esteem in what they do. This is self-charged and will deliver longer lasting motivation. Develop employees pride through giving them giving them ownership in their job through decision making and idea sharing. Also find ways to give them appraisal and a sense of accomplishment.<br />
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7. <strong>Create Trust</strong> – Trust is critical for teleworking employees to work well as a team and as individuals. Without daily face-to-face contact, trust is more vulnerable to break-down. It takes forever to build trust, but can be destroyed in a minute. Remote employees in particular need to know that their manager respects and trusts them to carry out every day work functions, with little or no supervision. They also need to trust that their team members are there to help them when needed and have their and the team’s best interests at heart. Trust needs to be created through extending trust to employees, creating non-work related relationship building, communication, holding people accountable, and consistency in actions and expectations.<br />
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If managers are trained to manage along the 7 strategies, a telecommuting program can increase a company’s competitive advantage. They can hire and retain better candidates. They can reduce office costs, increase productivity, and have much more motivated employees. A remote workforce model will only breakdown if it is not managed correctly. Don’t get left behind in the race, with the horse and buggy, when today’s companies are testing out the fast new sports cars.<br />
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<em>Jenny Douras © All rights reserved 3/4/13</em><br />
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Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-75791829902126001662012-12-04T15:47:00.000-07:002012-12-04T15:48:18.916-07:00The ROI of an Off-Site Employee Structure - Arguments for the ChangeWhen considering a change to an off-site vs. on site employee structure, how do you know if it is right for the company? Or how to you make the argument to executive management that it will be. Some of the argument involves a shift in how we define work. Also to consider, is how it can benefit the overall quality of service and costs to the organization. Following are some new ways to define “work” as well as arguments for the change. <br />
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First, companies that are not used to an off-site or virtual employee structure, may need to consider a through process change, in how they view and define work. In the book “Managing the Mobile Workforce”, by David Clemons and Michale Kroth, they discuss some of the old assumptions and new ways to look at how we define work. Some of those old assumptions are included on the left in the below diagram, with a new perspective on the right:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CfFXZtSfow8/UL5w3a6GwDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/1C8bnUdOBG0/s1600/assumptions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" nea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CfFXZtSfow8/UL5w3a6GwDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/1C8bnUdOBG0/s320/assumptions.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you challenge these old assumptions, and are able to view them differently, you will find that many work roles could be moved to an off-site/teleworker structure. <br />
We also should consider the benefits of going to a remote worker format when deciding if it is right for the company. Companies with a virtual (off-site) workforce realize a decrease in many costs such as office space, healthcare, travel, and employee retention. Also, employees are happier with an improved work life balance, and are more motivated and productive. It can also improve customer relationships by allowing employees to be closer to client locations, and can help with internal change management such as a change in company office location or work environment, since it will not impact remote employees as much.<br />
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The federal government has implemented an aggressive Teleworker plan over the past few years. They submit an annual report that you can find on telework.gov, which includes measured results. Some of the benefits they highlighted in their 2012 report include: <br />
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• 70% of managers and 80% of employees found that their productivity increased <br />
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• They saved over 2 million dollars in electricity costs <br />
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• They decreased their resignation rate by over 6%<br />
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Unless an employee has a position that requires physical location work, such as construction, or hospital patient care, etc., it is hard to not make the argument for a remote workforce structure. It allows companies to stay competitive, reduce costs, and hire and retain top talent. <br />
<br />Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-47037057306783228482012-05-22T14:54:00.002-06:002012-05-22T14:54:37.210-06:00Managing Performance - Keeping a Remote Team on the Right TrackHow do you keep a remote team on the right track and in-line with the company and team needs? How do you ensure they understand how to perform and know how they are performing? <br />
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You can keep your team focused toward reaching the same goals and achieving them, by following a 5 tiered hierarchal structure that moves from vision setting to performance ranking. <br />
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1. <strong>Vision</strong> – Would you rather be inspired to reach toward a clear purpose, or would you rather have someone pushing you from behind telling you to move faster and work harder? Your vision is that bright purpose that you want to be the inspiration for your employees to strive toward. You might use your company vision as a catalyst for your own team, but rather than trying to make it a fancy marketing type statement, just make it a sentence or two on what you are really trying to accomplish as a team. <br />
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When asked, most employees could not recite their company’s vision or mission statement. Most companies spend countless dollars and hours coming up with a company vision or mission statement, but do a poor job ensuring that it is a driving force in the company or that the employees even know it. Once you create your team vision it needs to be reinforced whenever possible. Emphasize it in conversations and meetings with employees, to ensure they know the team’s purpose and the meaning is not lost.<br />
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2. <strong>Expectations</strong> – The second step is to let your employees know how they can help reach that vision. A vision can be esoteric and it is easy for employees to self-interpret how to reach it. If you tell your team to “think strategically,” that can mean very different things to different people. Expectations are the ways your team can reach that vision such as: “identify company competitive advantages and create plans to market them.” Make sure you clearly define what the team is expected to do to reach that vision.<br />
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3. <strong>Goal Setting</strong> – Once expectations are set, create specific goals for each employee that can be tracked on a weekly basis, that helps reach these expectations. If the expectation is to “increase company sales,” how does that breakdown for the employee? Do they need to make X number of sales calls a week? Do they need to find a new way to position a product each week? These goals should be SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, timeframe) that they report their progress toward, each week to you. Numeric goals such as sales KPIs are always easy to set, but setting goals for more intangibles such as “strategic thinking” or “team player,” can be tougher. To do this, think about what the behavior of a strategic thinker or team player would look like, and find a way to set goals around this. If a team player is someone who helps others on the team, then set a goal for you employee to list 2 things each week that they helped teammates on. This will get them in the pattern of this behavior. <br />
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4. <strong>Performance Reviews</strong> – almost all managers dread performance reviews. That’s because they are done incorrectly. The best performance reviews are: 1) done quarterly, 2) initiated by the employee, 3) don’t include numeric rating systems, 4) are really a goal setting conversation between the manager and employee. Too often performance reviews are an annual event where the manager tries to think up clever phrases to support the number they gave the employee under each category: communication, motivation, etc. . . Instead have the employee list what they would like to focus on and accomplish over the next 90 days, as well as a review of how they did with their past quarter goals. Then discuss these with the employee giving them feedback and guidance in the discussion. By making these a working planning session, you will get better content and a more collaborative relationship, and the employee will have a much stronger understanding of where they should be going, and how they are doing. No one has ever gotten a good understanding of how they could “communicate better” (or how they were successfully communicating) because they got a “3” on a review.<br />
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5. <strong>Performance Grid Plotting</strong> – So if we don’t rate employees with a numeric system on their reviews, how do we understand how they rate in the overall scheme of the company? The most accurate way to understand how employees are doing as part of the whole, is to plot them on a grid (that measures both performance and potential), on where you think they would fall. From top performance/potential, to lowest. Then get together with other managers (ideally 1-2 times per year), and discuss why you would rate each person as such. This gets all managers on the same page as to what they think constitutes a top player vs a bottom achiever, and often times, managers may shift where they think their employees fall, during these meetings. This rating grid should never be shown to employees. Instead it is a management tool to help each manager know where they need to focus, with each of their employees. <br />
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Using this progressive tiered plan will keep the messaging and goals clear, as well has ensure a consistent way to track and measure performance. <br />
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Jenny Douras © All rights reserved<br />
<br />Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-21478179779350677562012-01-26T15:01:00.002-07:002012-01-26T15:04:25.832-07:00Technology Tools for HR and the Remote WorkforceQuickly 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.<br /><br /><strong>Document Management and Workflow systems</strong><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><strong>Communicating with Remote Workforces through Webinars</strong><br />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.<br /><br /><strong>E-learning Tools<br /></strong>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-76403045761810301022011-08-22T13:32:00.001-06:002011-09-24T11:18:55.024-06:00Micro-Managing your Remote Team – how to avoid this common pitfallOne 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-45710131640705306382011-07-19T16:01:00.003-06:002011-09-24T11:18:45.048-06:00Remote Manager MDWhen 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.<br /><br />• <strong>The team doesn’t work together</strong> – 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.<br /><br />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:<br /><br />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.<br />2. Find opportunities to celebrate with the team. Highlight successes on calls (both individual and group). Share funny stories about times together.<br />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.<br /><br />• <strong>The “It’s not my job” syndrome</strong> – 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br /><br />• <strong>Employees don’t take initiative</strong> – 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br /><br />• <strong>Employees don’t apply or implement team policies or ideas</strong> – 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />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.<br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-54636791438130892832011-04-04T15:18:00.010-06:002011-09-24T11:18:35.401-06:00How managers can get up close and personal with remote employeesUltimately, remote workforce managers cannot demand respect and trust from remote employees; it must be earned. By showing them that you trust and respect them, through your communication practices, you will generate the same in return, along with strengthening their dedication and motivation. There are seven key communication techniques to help generate this respect and trust, and motivation.<br /><br /><strong>Keep all promises and respond to employees in a timely manner</strong> - Don’t make a promise to an employee that you can’t keep, even if it is a small item. If you say you will get them something by Tuesday, then do so. If you email an employee with a request for response, give them a timeframe and be prepared to respond appropriately. Employees will mirror your behavior in the pattern you set.<br /><br /><strong>Set consistent communication schedules with employees</strong> - Schedule weekly meetings or one-on-one phone calls with employees. Setting consistent schedules helps establish a routine, letting them know when to contact you to discuss needed items. This also helps ensure they feel connected to you and the team and keeps them on track with overall team goals. Remote employees can easily lose sight of company goals by focusing on what they think is important. Having a weekly reinforcement with their manager keeps them from veering off track.<br /><br /><strong>Stick to employee appointments </strong>– Don’t change your scheduled employee calls and meetings unless it’s an emergency. Frequent rescheduling will send a message to employees that the meetings are not very important, which will encourage them to find excuses to reschedule. Let them know you respect their time and their contributions to the team, by keeping your scheduled appointments.<br /><br /><strong>Provide details and reasons “why” for any requests</strong> – Be clear and complete. For example, when you schedule a call with employees, tell them the reason. Otherwise, they well might conjure a worst-case scenario that doesn’t exist.<br /><br /><strong>Ask rather than tell</strong> – Asking your employees to do something, rather than telling them, builds buy-in and accountability. Individuals are more motivated to accomplish tasks they have been asked to do rather than been told to do.<br /><br /><strong>Write positive emails</strong> – Emails always come across 10 times more negative than intended. To avoid this, try to be overly positive when you write them. Use exclamation points, use “hi” or “good morning,” say “thanks!,” use humor or positive feedback. Make it a pleasure to do business with you. You want your employees to look forward to your emails rather than dread them. Consider re-reading sensitive emails or have someone else give you their perspective before sending.<br /><br /><strong>Ask them for their advice, opinion, and feedback</strong> –Show that you value and acknowledge remote employees. Enlist their feedback. In return, they will be more receptive to listening to yours when you give it. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. For information about remote manager training, visit our website: <a href="http://www.mcstech.net/professional-development/management/managing-remote-employees.cfm">managing a remote workforce. </a><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-32456583340919024942011-03-18T14:19:00.003-06:002011-09-24T11:18:12.678-06:00Remote workforces require caring, communication, constant vigilanceRemote workforce success depends on the ability of managers to get and stay tuned in to their employees. Managers need to aim for a sweet spot between micro-management and lack of supervision.<br /><br />In most situations, employees want direction and an opportunity to be part of a team—as long as they don’t wind up feeling smothered. Even seemingly self-reliant types want some level of interaction. And, everyone deserves consistency—so once a course is charted, it requires reliable follow-through.<br /><br />As individual styles and needs vary greatly, the wise remote manager will discuss issues and attempt to get buy-in and consensus wherever possible—before implementing processes or procedures. Feeling included almost universally leads to better performance and less need for the manager to look constantly over his or her shoulder to make sure employees are doing their jobs.<br /><br />This process also will give the manager additional tips about individual idiosyncrasies of those being supervised, enabling meaningful “customization” in how each employee is treated.<br /><br />From the beginning, there must be trust and respect between the manager and remote workforce. Without daily face-to-face contact, there is more vulnerability to remote team breakdowns. Field employees in particular need to know that their manager respects and trusts them to carry out everyday work functions, often with minimal supervision. This is also the catalyst to keep them motivated when management isn’t on-site.<br /><br />How can management build a relationship of trust and respect with remote employees to ensure that they are self-motivated and driven toward achieving goals, with a high level of integrity?<br /><br />Creating an environment of accountability and motivation for a remote team first and foremost requires communication excellence, both in substance and style—as this sets the tone for team interaction with each other and management.<br /><br />Substance of communications must be clear, complete and unambiguous--much like a sports team requires players to be on the same page of the gameplan. This is even more critical as remote employees typically have less day-to-day access with a manager to ask questions or clarify issues.<br /><br />Communication style is equally important. Condescending or dictatorial tones can destroy even the best message. Being confident and welcoming at the same time can be a powerful one-two punch to develop and maintain positive relationships with a remote workforce.<br />For information about remote manager training, visit our website: <a href="http://www.mcstech.net/professional-development/management/managing-remote-employees.cfm">managing a remote workforce</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Next: Seven key remote manager communication techniques to generate trust and respect. </strong><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-80706355808030217412010-03-04T13:43:00.005-07:002011-09-24T11:18:02.001-06:00Motivate Remote Employees by Making Work More Like PlayWhen you are managing a team of remote employees, it can be more challenging to keep them motivated, engaged and focused. You need to know they are self-driven to do their best, even when you can’t be there to see them. It’s a known fact that, employees who like their job and enjoy going to work, are more dedicated and self motivated. One way you can ensure that your employees enjoy their job is to make their work more like play. That doesn’t mean you should send your employees off to go ski the slopes or play a softball game, instead of working for the day. But there are some key concepts we can apply, from how we play, that can make work more enjoyable for our employees.<br /><br />What is it that makes work just that - other than the obvious - that we get paid to do it? If you play the guitar for fun, what makes that different from a professional guitar player in a band? If you like to play tennis with friends, would you feel the same way about it if you had to do it every day for a living? These key differences are things we can look to integrate into the work lives of our employees, to create enjoyment and self-motivation in their job.<br /><br />• <strong>When you play, you have choices on when, where and who to play with.</strong> We get to make the choices on how long we want to play, who we are going to play with and the location we want to play at. Give your employees the ability to make these choices themselves. Allow them to pick teammates to work on a project with. Let them select locations and times for meetings or projects when possible. Give them the flexibility to plan their day, week and priorities in what they want to accomplish and when.<br />• <strong>Playing is relaxing. It allows you to unwind, there is no pressure from others, and you can be yourself.</strong> Be careful not to micro-manage your employees. If you suffocate them, they will never take it upon themselves to work without your supervision. If you ever have employees say “I didn’t do xyz because you didn’t tell me to do it,” that’s a good indicator that your employees are over supervised. If you over supervise them, they will only do things when you specifically tell them to do it and how since this is the pattern that has been set for them. They will not take any initiative outside of what you tell them. Avoiding a micro-managing style entails managing to the goal rather than the task. Do you really care if your employee starts at 8AM each day, if they reach the highest numbers in the team? By allowing them the freedom to make decisions and tasks within pre-set goals you have given them, you allow them to be themselves and work in a way where they can produce the best results. Give them the bumper guards you want them to use to stay within the bowling lane, and the vision of the 12 pins, but let them decide if they are going to use the curve shot or fast ball to knock down all the pins.<br />• <strong>Play involves social interaction with peers.</strong> We like to play with friends because we get to spend social time with them, share experiences, and create new ones. This is an especially important concept with remote employees since they can often feel isolated. Find opportunities for them to work together, collaborate, and generate ideas. Set aside time during group interactions to allow for “virtual water cooler chat” where employees can share information that may not be work related. You can help this along by using icebreakers or other team building “fun” activities to kick off meetings or phone calls. Encouraging your employees to find things in common, and reasons to bond. It will make them a stronger team and their work more enjoyable. Research has found that if an employee has a good friend at work, it greatly decreases their likely hood of leaving the company, and increases their motivation.<br />• <strong>Playing allows you to be creative.</strong> Many types of play allow you to be creative such as drawing or trying a new golf swing. You can provide your employees with creative opportunities by allowing them to come up with creative solutions to issues as a group or individual. Elect a committee of employees to find new ways to tackle competitors for the group. Have a team come up with a new process. Allowing them to stretch their minds will keep them driven and engaged.<br />• <strong>No one is telling you what to do when you are playing.</strong> When you are playing, no one tells you what to do – and if they did, you could decide not to play. Ask your employees to do things rather than tell them. You will get the same response, but the fact that you asked them shows a form of respect, and in turn, they will be more receptive to doing it.<br />• <strong>You have the ability to use your talents when you play.</strong> We play at things that we think we have some skill and talent in. It’s one of the reasons we enjoy it. Find opportunities to utilize your employees’ talents and recognize them. Have them create best practices to share with the team in areas where they excel. Nominate employees to be Subject Matter Experts on various topics. Give them opportunities to attend and participate in seminars and trainings where they can grow their talents.<br />• <strong>Playing gives us the thrill of winning and accomplishment.</strong> We play because we like to win and feel a sense of accomplishment. Whether it’s winning a game or accomplishing a puzzle, these make us feel good. Find every opportunity to celebrate with your employees. Highlight successes during any group meeting or call. Give them positive feedback whenever you see them succeed.<br /><br />By incorporating these aspects of play into your employees work environment, you can make their work more fun, keep them self-directed and create a strong, positive team of remote employees.<br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-108573874262435482009-09-04T13:28:00.003-06:002011-09-24T11:17:51.415-06:00Creating Accountability with a Distributed Workforce<p>When the term Micro-Manager is mentioned, it incites painful ideas of a manager that is smothering, controlling and demotivating. But the conundrum for most managers of field teams or distributed workforces is how to ensure that the job is getting done without over managing. Because a team of employees, spread across multiple locations, is not as easy to monitor with drop-in daily observations, like a centrally located team, many managers can overcompensate by trying to over control those things that they cannot see. Manager’s want their teams to reach all set goals, but without smothering them. <br />The key to ensuring management’s happiness with a team’s performance levels as well as the team’s happiness with their ability to spread their wings, is a combination of clearly outlining goals, creating responsibility, and generating individual accountability.<br /><br /><strong>Setting the vision & creating expectations<br /></strong> A good vision creates inspiration and motivation for a team which creates the catalyst to drive a team’s performance. When setting a vision, keep it at top level goals, not the specific tasks it takes to reach them (this is covered next). Because a remote team is more at risk for feeling disconnected from the company , they can tend to focus more time and energy on things that they perceive to be important but that might not really be of the most importance to the team or company. So setting a vision, and keeping a remote team focused on it, is critical to the team and company’s success. <br /><br />Once the vision is set and communicated, expectations need to be created to define how the remote team will reach that vision. <strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Every employee wants to do a good job, but they need to know what that looks like to obtain it.</span></strong> Creating the expectations, lets each employee know what they need to do to be successful, and what the end picture will look like.<br /><br /><strong>Creating Responsibility<br /></strong>If you give someone the responsibility, they will more likely than not live up to it. However, if you don’t trust them with the responsibility, then they will never have a chance to reach it. Take a simple scenario observed at a corporate meeting where all sales people across the country met semi-annually to discuss the new product line and strategy. At this meeting, for the first 2 days, after every 10 minute break, the regional managers would go out to find their employees and alert them that the break was over and they needed to get back into the meeting room. As a result, over 75% of the sales reps never returned on time to the meeting and waited for their manager to alert them to return. They were conditioned that the manager would let them know, so they didn’t need to take the responsibility to look at their watches to see when 10 minutes was up. This approach removed the responsibility from the sales reps and placed it on the regional managers. <br /><br />On the 3rd and 4th days, the regional managers took a different approach; they didn’t alert anyone when breaks were over and just started the meeting on time – even if everyone was not in the room. Those that arrived late (after the allotted 10 minutes for the break) had to disrupt the meeting to get to their seat. Those that arrived late more than once over the 2 days, were pulled aside on the next break for a discussion with the manager on the importance of being on time. By the end of the 4th day and the last (5th day) of the meeting, not one employee returned late to the meeting after break times. With the regional managers shifting the responsibility to the sales reps, it freed up their (the managers) time and made the sales reps responsible for their own actions. The key to this was setting the expectation and holding them accountable if they didn’t reach it. <br /><br />This is a good example of a micro vs non-micro management approach. Releasing yourself from these micro management tasks frees up your time to focus on more important things. Increasing team member responsibility creates less management needs. <br /><br /><strong>Accountability – Micro-monitoring vs micro-managing</strong><br />Setting clear goals is like a virtual manager that keeps everyone focused without having to constantly look over their shoulder. However if you set these goals but don’t implement some sort of accountability and tracking system, YOU will ultimately have to be that system. This means a very time consuming, management intensive process of nagging employees, to inquire on how they are doing toward their goals, and micro-managing to ensure goals are met. The more you can empower your employees to track their own progress (with a simple delivery method to you), the better results you will get:<br />They will manage themselves<br />They will be more self motivated to reach their goals<br />You will empower them to be responsible for themselves which will demonstrate your respect and trust for them<br />You can free up your time to work with them on more productive items such as their talent development<br /><br />Shared accountability creates a feeling of partnership with each team member. It also enables people to learn from both their successes and mistakes. So rather than micro-managing a team, a manager can enable them to micro-monitor their own individual performance.<br /><br />To do this successfully, managers need to implement a tool that helps employees track their own progress. This tool should also be something that they can deliver to you with minimal effort. It should not be too time consuming and should be easy to decipher for both you and your employee. An Excel spreadsheet or Word table are good vehicles, or possibly an automated intranet system if that is available to the company. These should be completed and submitted weekly and monthly to keep everyone on track. Here are some things to consider when deciding what goals you would like them to track:</p><ol><li><br /><strong>Specific</strong> – Clearly outline the details of each goal so they know what to strive for.</li><li><strong>Measurable</strong> – they must be measurable. What will the successful completion of the goal look like? If it is subjective “Need to get better client service ratings”, there is room for argument on if they have succeeded on the goal. Is a .01% better rating successful? It could be argued that it is a better rating than 0. Instead set a metric such as “Need to have at least 85% excellent client ratings.</li><li><strong>Attainable</strong> – on the flip side, if goals are too hard, where more than likely most people won’t reach them, then people won’t feel motivated to reach them. Ie. “Increase your business by 100% this year.”</li><li><strong>Results Oriented</strong> - if a goal is something that everyone does anyway “put details of each transaction in the system every day”, then it isn’t very motivating and becomes more of a busy work task in tracking it. These are processes in how things should be done in the business, but not a performance goal. These types of things should just be noted in an overall team process handbook, or in training. Make sure goals are geared to motivate people to stretch. </li><li><strong>Time Based</strong> – This can be another subjective area. It need to be clear and concise on when each metric should be obtained. “You need to have at least 85% excellent client ratings by the last day of the month.” Everyone is better motivated when they can keep a deadline date or timeframe in sight.<br /><br />Once the goals are set, and a self-monitoring matrix system is put in place to track goals, set time frames on when each employee should deliver their tracked goals to you electronically. Then spend a portion of your regular communication with them reviewing the overview of the goals. Don’t fall into the trap of going through each individual item with them. Look at the matrix obtainments from a balcony view, to discuss trends or patterns with them. This will allow you to look at how their performance is doing overall, and coach them on their overall progress. <br /><br /><strong>What can be monitored – how can we monitor it?<br />What must be managed – how can we manage it?</strong><br />It is important as a manager to identify what can be monitored by the individual team members, and then create a tracking matrix that they use to deliver their progress. This will set their responsibility and create the accountability system. Start by identifying tasks and goals that they can track themselves, to enable them to micro-monitor themselves and free you up from micro-management. Secondly, it is important to identify what items must be managed because they cannot be self-monitored by an employee performance tracking system. Because enabling micro-monitoring through your employees will free up your management time, use it to focus on more of the talents that are critical to the team, but harder to track quantitatively. Look for qualitative things that are important to the business, to focus your management and coaching efforts with each employee on, such as: team work, creative ideas and innovations, strategic thinking, positive attitude, etc. . . .</li></ol><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-52608082807668435312009-08-13T16:43:00.002-06:002011-09-24T11:17:39.192-06:00Telecommuting Policy for Remote Employees<p>Empowering employees to excel is the key to successful Telecommuting Policy. Conversely, being over-controlling will yield under-performance and resentment. Remote managers are not supervisors – you can’t watch over someone you can’t see. You can’t know that everyone arrived by 8, or is sitting at their desk, by walking down the hall to check on them.</p><br /><p>The key to managing remote employees is to be a leader, coach and motivator for your team, which requires generating a high level of respect and trust with them. To ensure developing successful telecommuting policy, provide:</p><br /><ul><br /><li>Clear visions and measurable expectations.</li><br /><li>Team micro-monitoring – an accountability tracking system so that employees can work with minimal supervision.</li><br /><li>A higher level of communication than with a single location team.</li><br /><li>A team community – encourage the team to work together – and lean on each other – which will help in times of crisis or difficult periods.</li><br /><li>Tools to expedite team member competence.</li><br /><li>Proactive rather than reactive coaching.</li><br /></ul><br /></p><br /><p>Stay on track in managing remote employees by consistently reviewing the following checklist of what employees want from a distance manager:<br /><ul><br /><li>Coordination rather than control.</li><br /><li>People won’t take responsibility when there is too much control.</li><br /><li>Accessibility. – Carry a cell, return calls ASAP, reply to emails within 24 hours, and let employees know when to expect responses.</li><br /><li>Information without overload. - Communicate completely without “over-meeting.”.</li><br /><li>Feedback instead of advice.</li><br /><li>Fairness over favoritism – don’t play favorites.</li><br /><li>Decisiveness but not intrusive supervision.</li><br /><li>Honesty – encourage trust and build an environment of openness which will drive better results from your employees.</li><br /><li>Concern for development – People want to know that their manager genuinely cares about their development and success.</li><br /><li>Community building – Spend time to create a community among team members so they get to know each other and are part of more than just the current task.</li><br /><li>Respect – respect can be demonstrated by soliciting ideas from your team, entrusting them with the responsibilities to do their jobs correctly and not belittling them. </li><br /></ul></p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-24902303659434116722009-08-13T16:36:00.001-06:002011-09-24T11:17:27.418-06:00Remote Employee Management: Unique Challenges<p>The further apart we get geographically, the closer we need to be in terms of communication and collaboration. But, these two critical conduits to successful management of remote employees will not magically appear. There are specific skills and protocols that need to be learned—because there are challenges and logistics inherent in the remote workplace model that don’t exist in the traditional centralized workplace. </p><br /><p>There’s also a strong mindset, being fueled in large part by the exponential growth of online social networking, for groups of people to communicate regularly and collaborate naturally. Among other pursuits, this is showing up in training environments—where socially networked groups are learning together and sharing experiences. In essence, they’re creating self-directed training environments. </p><br /><p>So, what are some of the ways remote environments differ from centralized workplaces?<br /><ol><br /><li>Promoting a vision. It’s hard enough for leaders to promote their corporate vision when you have everyone in one place. Multiply the difficulty by a factor of two, three or more when you have remote worker teams. An article in the December issue of Training & Development Magazine (T+D) quotes Diane Valenti, president of Applied Performance Solutions. She points out, “It is already difficult for new leaders to drive their vision down the organization and when people are out in virtual teams, I think it is going to be even more imperative that communication happens so that everybody is working toward the same vision. I think it is going to be a lot harder to tie all of the pieces together.” <br /><br />Remote employee management excellence won’t happen in a vacuum. Training remote employees and managers to get on the same page, vision-wise, will require consistent dedication and diligence.</li><br /><li>Tying together different age groups. When a 50-year-old and 25-year-old sit in the same room, you have a controlled environment in which to establish communication. When those two people are separated by miles, it is more challenging to find common links and bonds that can help the communication process. <br /><br />Notes Bonnie Hagemann, CEO of Executive Development Associates, in the T+D article, “The younger generation is really good at relating to their generation, but they may not be as good relating to other generations. What are they going to do when they have to relate across generations? That is the piece we are really going to have to teach them—the art of communication.” Once again, that won’t occur in a vacuum. Remote employee training can provide a path to bridge these natural gaps. </li><br /><li>Finding a common language, literally. Hagemann points out, “There will be a greater focus on learning and development. Learning professionals are going to be so important to the future of the workplace. Executives are going to come to us and say, ‘We have a workforce spread across five countries and in three different languages, can you figure out how to teach this person [to] lead that global workforce?’” <br /></ol><br /><p>Valenti adds, “The workforce is going to be much more global. I worked on a project earlier this year and on my team we had a Russian, an Italian, and a Greek. There were no individuals who were born in the U.S.—all immigrants. This is the future. We are going to be reaching out into the world for talent—especially if the economy tanks. We are going to be looking for business opportunities in other parts of the world. We are going to be working with a much more diverse workforce. Trainers are going to need to be much more aware of cultural norms in other countries. We can’t assume that everybody does business the way we do business.” </p><br /><p>Remote employee management training teaches workforces how to be up close and personal—no matter where they’re located.</p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-90993365296768730602009-08-13T16:34:00.001-06:002011-09-24T11:17:16.092-06:00When Managing Remote Employees - Use Discretion<p>Managers with remote workforces often puzzle over how to best manage this largely unseen group of employees. There’s the centralized “spider” approach, wherein a manager attempts to keep rigid, strict control over employee activity. Of course, we all know what happens when a spider’s head is removed from its body. </p><br /><p>Then, there’s the decentralized “starfish” style, where managers relinquish all centralized control and trust that their people will do their jobs diligently. While a starfish can survive loss of a limb, it makes it decidedly less efficient in performing its daily routine. </p><br /><p>Clearly, the “sweet spot” of managing employees remotely is to strike a balance between attempted authoritarian control and a total hands-off policy.</p><br /><p>On the microsoft.com/smallbusiness website, author Joanna Krotz details some salient ways to manage without micro-managing, support without smothering remote workforces. Among her suggestions are:<br /><ol><br /><li>Get everyone reading off the same script. Without guidance, employees will set their own priorities. It’s important that everyone work off the corporate “business goals” page together. So, make sure remote workers know what’s expected of them, when and why. This can be made easier by using technology tools that enable easy sharing and collaboration online.</li><br /><li>Look for accomplishments, not activity. If a remote worker needs to complete a defined set of tasks within a certain timeframe, and fulfilling them doesn’t require keeping a regular workday schedule, the manager shouldn’t worry about how they get there. Some people might want to work the graveyard shift to do their jobs. And, if they can accomplish their objectives in less than the “typical timeframe,” so what? Look for satisfactory performance, not punching of a clock. It is critical in a remote environment, however, to be very clear about what’s expected, and when, and what they need to do to achieve performance benchmarks—in turn leading to advancement.</li><br /><li>Work on communication skills that can replace consistent face-to-face contact. When on-site, employees can get a state-of-the-company snapshot by looking at a supervisor’s face. For remote workers, email and texting alone won’t do it. Institute a system that includes real-time phone conversations, and bring in remote workers for periodic updates and to maintain personal contact with other staff members. This can help defuse problems stemming from feeling isolated—such as remote employees getting involved in counterproductive side activities and losing focus on their primary job. Monitor corporate networks and remote workstations for signs of unauthorized activity, and establish regular checkpoints that help prevent employees from veering off course.</li><br /><li>Make sure all the “wandering devices” and technology are kept up-to-date, and are appropriately integrated with one another. Finding ways to integrate personal mobile technology, such as cellphones and home WLANs, with company firewalls is essential to ensuring secure and reliable communication. Just as employees need regular and productive contact, so do tech tools that facilitate meeting of responsibilities. </li><br /></ol><br /><p>Managing remote workforces is a whole new animal. While spiders and starfish are intriguing creatures, neither is an appropriate model for how best to manage off-site employees.</p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-34410335691801696572009-08-13T16:32:00.002-06:002011-09-24T11:17:05.131-06:00How to Retain Remote Employees<p>Some remote workers consider their position a perk in and of itself. For example, not having to drive to the office on a stormy day can be a big plus. For many in the mobile workforce, though, a more independent work environment can feel like punishment—a disconnection from social interaction and work-related collaboration. </p><br /><p>Given this dichotomy, it’s critical that managers of remote workforces learn to identify the differences and deal with them before the employee begins searching for a career elsewhere.</p><br /><p>Yes, even in this problematic economy, retaining talent is a critical challenge. While some will be more grateful just to have a job than they would be in a booming economy, others will work that much harder to find something rewarding elsewhere—and they may try to search while on your clock.</p><br /><p>While the landscape may have changed, the basics of retaining top talent remain the same—speak to each individual’s needs as much as possible. Following are some tips for optimizing one-on-one interaction with a remote workforce:<br /><ol><br /><li>Encourage (and enforce) an open door communication policy—both when the employee assumes remote worker status and at regular intervals following. Find out upfront the worker’s concerns about the mobile workforce environment, and develop mutually agreeable ways to address them. Then, make sure the manager and employee conduct regular—at least quarterly—check-in sessions to update and address new or changing factors.</li><br /><li>Offer as many mobile workforce communication and collaboration tools as possible—phone, videoconferencing, online collaboration centers, instant messaging, et al. Some people do best with email and other online tools; others crave voice and/or visual contact. While it’s important to offer a variety of choices, this doesn’t necessarily require a weighty budget. It’s now possible, for instance, to purchase a basic webcam for $35 or less, then subscribe free of charge to Skype or another Internet-enabled video service. For a small investment, a manager can turn phone conferencing into videoconferencing.</li><br /><li>Be responsive, using individual preferred forms of communication wherever possible. Some employees will opt for email communication; others desire a phone call. Obviously, special circumstances and constraints may affect how you respond—but be sure to get back to an employee as quickly as possible. Perceived lack of responsiveness is a chief cause of employee dissatisfaction and reduced productivity.</li><br /></ol><br /><p>By being flexible with how you interact with your mobile workforce, you will likely find that they are more flexible to meeting the needs of the organization.</p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-21573441579818304532009-08-13T16:25:00.001-06:002011-09-24T11:16:53.104-06:00Remote Employee Management - Fundamentals<p>Increasing competition, globalization, mergers and acquisitions and other kinds of pressures are rapidly changing the corporate environment. The result is a more distributed workforce, where employees work from home, on-site or report to managers in different states or even across the world.</p><br /><p>Though a manager can no longer simply walk down the hall to talk to team members, the employee’s need for management is no less real. In fact, good management is even more important in remote environments than in traditional cubicles, conference rooms, and break rooms.</p><br /><p>This creates new management challenges for those who lead remote teams. A distributed workforce requires different management techniques and skills to keep motivated, productive, on track, and trained.</p><br /><p>Although many management techniques and skills parallel those used in managing a centrally based workforce, there are 6 key additional techniques a manager needs to be successful in the remote environment.<br /><ol><br /><li>Better communication with Remote Employees - Often managers assume that they will have less communication with their employees when they are remote, but in fact, the reverse is true. Managers of a distributed workforce need more communication with their employees located off site.<br /><br />Employees who work off-site can feel isolated, and they can have trouble adopting company standards and procedures. They can have higher turn-over, and even develop into loan wolfs that are unwilling to work in teams.<br /><br />Increased communication counteracts this tendency, and helps each employee cohere with the rest of the company. Whether it comes by e-mail, text message, phone, fax, or a tin can and string, communication is essential. Remote managers need to make sure they are accessible to their employees by multiple avenues.</li><br /><li>Establishing respect with Remote Employees<br /><br />Many remote managers make the mistake of trying to establish their credibility through demands and force— a type of “because I said so” approach. The managers fear their employees aren’t on the job, and this translates into overbearing micromanaging.<br /><br />But when a manager has the employees’ respect and respects his/her employees in return, everyone benefits and the forcefulness of tone can be lessened.<br /><br />Respect is created when managers give reasons and explanations for their actions, and the perspectives of the employees are valued. This doesn’t mean a manager needs to evoke consensus, but working to make sure everyone is on board or understands the reasoning behind a change will save time in the long run.</li><br /><li>Building a team culture in a virtual office - Employees in a distributed workforce might not even have a desk in the main office, so it is no surprise that they may have trouble feeling like a part of a company or a team. Ironically, this feeling of inclusion is highly important to the success of company initiatives and overall motivation and morale.<br /><br />Remote managers need to focus consciously on building a team community and culture for their employees. Managers can do this by fostering intra-team communication, creating partnerships amongst remote employees for projects, and by forming virtual water coolers and opportunities for small talk, re-living past successes, humor and experiences.</li><br /><li>Creating accountability through self-monitoring - The hardest conundrum for most remote managers is how to ensure that the job is getting done without micro-managing. Many managers can overcompensate for the inherent disconnect of the remote environment by trying to control every aspect of their employee’s day.<br /><br />This is, of course, counterproductive because it trains employees to be dependent on ever present management, when a remote employee actually needs the exact opposite skill. Remote employees need to be able to work independently, and managers need to train them along this end.<br /><br />The key to growing an employee to work effectively in a remote environment is to help them be self motivated by providing clearly outlined goals, making them responsible for results, and generating individual accountability plans with a self-monitoring system.</li><br /><li>Training Remote Employees - The speed at which a remote employee develops is more important than the speed of a traditional employee because cost of development is so much higher. Underperforming employees and miss hires can slip under the radar much more easily, and this can be very expensive.<br /><br />On-boarding needs to be thorough and tuned to the employee’s position. Initial training should be conducted with face-to-face mentoring either by the manager or team peers to ensure the employee can work independently as soon as possible.<br /><br />For all remote employees, on-going mentoring and training is critical to keep them connected to the company, goals and team. It also creates an opportunity to identify performance issues before they have escalated too far. Managers of field teams should think of each employee’s development as a continuous process, and use training as an opportunity for building relationships and evaluating performance.</li><br /><li>Disciplining and conflicts - Resolving conflict between remote team members can be more difficult and take longer because there is less opportunity to build relationships and find common ground. The avoidance of good, productive conflict is also very tempting for remote teams who don’t have to interact daily.<br /><br />Managers need to address conflicts as soon as possible, so the problems cannot grow and cause dissention among the team. It is important to address performance issues with individual employees as soon as possible.<br /><br />Some remote managers try to ignore these issues until a more convenient time (out of sight, out of mind), but this can be devastating to a team’s morale.<br /><br />Either someone is doing the extra work, or no one is doing it. Both possibilities are unacceptable.</li><br /></ol><br /><p>The remote employee management environment doesn’t need to spell painful transitions for employees and corporations. By appreciating the difference in managing remote employees and implementing these unique skills, companies can be successful despite the challenges.</p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-61126150481991328972009-08-13T16:21:00.002-06:002011-09-24T11:16:42.023-06:00Building a Team of Remote EmployeesBuilding a Team of Virtual Employees<br /><p>Distributed workforce employees often struggle to feel included in the company and team. Many remote employees feel left out when they hear of their office or others having such company events as: ditch days, breakfast or lunch brought in, costume contests, birthday celebrations, happy hours, or bring your pet or child to work day. </p><br /><p>These social engagements help build community within an office, but there are steps a remote manager can, and must—take to build that culture and community for their team, as well. </p><br /><p>Some managers create virtual water coolers to help the team cohere. All that time-consuming small talk that happens at the “water cooler” in office environments has an important purpose that is missed in distributed teams: It builds team camaraderie and culture. A remote manager can find ways to create virtual environment to foster this “small talk.”</p><br /><p>Plan a small amount of “open time” at the beginning or end of team conference calls for small talk. Use ice breakers, openers, and getting-to-know-you exercises and games during team gatherings, calls, interactions, et al. This also can include a virtual bulletin board to post “getting to know you” related info about team members. One company sent Starbucks gift cards for their next team call so everyone could have “breakfast together” on the call.</p><br /><p>These are some other ideas for bringing your team together.</p><br /><ol><br /><li>Create and encourage inter-team communication – Communication among a distributed employee base helps build camaraderie. This strengthens the team by fostering an environment of reliance on each other for help, support and ideas. This helps build trust within the team and promotes internal team partnerships to make it stronger and more productive. <br /><li>Partner remote employees for projects – Find reasons to partner team employees on projects, especially those that do not always work together. This can include mentoring, developing best practices, or preparing topics to present to the rest of the team on a conference call. <br /><li>Re-live the past – Find opportunities to re-live shining moments from the team’s past. This brings back positive memories of the group and will help to renew and reinforce that feeling. This can be highlighting team-wide or single-employee accomplishments or experiences—even funny things that happened when they were last together.<br /></ol><br /><p>A common team-building mistake made by new managers is to pit the team against another in comments and remarks, such as “our team is better than theirs,” or “this is the best team in the company.” This alienates other co-workers and the company. Although competition can be a strong motivator, this approach within the company can have potential future negative effects. What if a member of another team now becomes a member of yours, or vice versa? It will be that much harder to assimilate. Managers should compliment their team without denigrating anyone else.</p><br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-52180456699676733972009-07-13T14:36:00.001-06:002012-05-22T14:57:05.517-06:00Establising Trust & RespectMany remote managers make the mistake of trying to establish their credibility through demands and force. Have you ever had a manager tell you a new policy or procedure is being implemented with the reason of “because that’s the way it is” or “that’s what I decided” or “it is what it is.” How did this make you feel? Did it bring back bad flashbacks of your parents telling you when you were a kid “because I said so?” People need reasons and explanations behind actions; this conveys that you respect their thoughts and feelings enough to include them in the rational. It doesn’t mean you need to evoke their consensus, but it will display your respect for them, which directly builds it in return. One manager told their employee they were making their decision because their “ego just couldn’t currently let them accept the other person’s idea.” As irrational a reason as this was, the fact that it was obviously truthful and that they were willing to share this reason behind their decision with the employee, earned their respect for the decision. <br />
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<strong>Respect is earned, not demanded. </strong>Those that demand respect actually destroy it. Have you ever known a manager that others display respect to when they interact with them, but immediately behind their back do the opposite? They complain about the manager’s decisions, delivery, goals, etc. . . This leads to a team that does not embrace the manager’s and company’s goals and initiatives. A successful team is one that is motivated by their manager and is behind their decisions (of their own free will – not by being forced). This allows a company to make quick changes, capture and develop innovative ideas, and stay competitive. Granted, not every employee will like every idea that their manager communicates, but if they genuinely respect their manager, they are more likely to support those decisions in conversation with others, rather than spread dissent. Because remote employees can more easily feel separated from the company, inter-team communication can spread like a brush fire and generate emotions not conducive to the team’s success.<br />
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<strong>Own your decisions.</strong><br />
Another common error made of managers is to do the opposite, when conveying a decision, by shirking ownership of it. Some managers convey reasons for directives to their employees as: “executive management made the rule” or “it’s a new company policy,” while at the same time communicating that they as a manager don’t necessarily agree but their “hands are tied.” This type of communication is generally motivated by a need to be liked by their employees. Even though managers should strive to earn the respect of their employees, it does not mean they necessarily need to be liked. The goal is not to be their friend, but to be their manager. <br />
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When a manger uses this type of communication they discredit themselves by not owning their decisions. Employees will read this as a sign of weakness. The result can be employees going above or outside of their management structure to get answers, approval, assistance, etc. . . or to question their manager’s decisions. Rather than saying “I personally wouldn’t mind if you took the day off, but I don’t think if would look good to executive management”, be the authority yourself. You are the face of the company for your employees. You do want to give them the “reasons why” behind the decision, when at all possible, but don’t defer to another power. Instead try something like,” We have a critical project right now and I need you to be here today to make sure we meet the deadlines.” <br />
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<strong>Credibility through commitments.</strong><br />
Another way to create respect and establish credibility is through commitments. This is especially critical in distributed workforce teams. A common compliant among these types of teams is that their manager does not get back to them when they try to contact them. Absent managers leave employees feeling isolated and will generate either unwanted maverick behavior (employees feeling that they can do whatever they want without following protocol), or employees that don’t reach set goals, based on excuses of “but you didn’t tell me to”, or “I didn’t know.” To keep employees motivated and feeling like they are part of the company and team, a manager needs to keep promises and commitments. Even if it is a small promise; if you say you will get them something by Tuesday, then do so. Set consistent schedules with employees and don’t change them unless there is an emergency. If you have a time scheduled to talk with a remote employee each week, don’t reschedule it. Otherwise this will send the message that you don’t think they are a high priority. This sends the message that it is OK for them to reschedule or find excuses not to attend meetings and calls as well. <br />
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Keep in mind that your communication style sets the tone for how you want your team to communicate with you, the client and each other. They will follow what you lead as far as your style. If you take the ego out of your communication style and respect them, it will encourage them to do the same.<br />
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Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-34922854926368685292009-07-01T14:30:00.003-06:002011-09-24T11:16:16.760-06:00Building a Team Culture with Remote EmployeesBecause employees of a distributed workforce are in different locations, it is tougher for them to feel a part of the company and team, which is critical to their overall motivation and drive behind company initiatives. That is why it takes a concentrated effort by remote managers to build a team community and culture for their employees. Many remote employees feel left out when they hear of their office or others that have company events such as: ditch days, breakfast or lunch brought in, costume contests, in office birthday celebrations, happy hours, bring your pet or child to work day, etc. . . These social engagements help to build that community in an office, but there are things that a remote manager can do to build that culture and community, for their team, as well.<br /><br />1. <strong>Create and encourage inter-team communication </strong>– Communication amongst a distributed employee base helps to build camaraderie. This strengthens the team by fostering an environment where the team members rely on each other for help, support and ideas. This helps build trust within the team and fosters internal team partnerships to make it stronger and more productive.<br />2. <strong>Partner remote employees for projects </strong>– Find reasons to partner employees on the team, especially those that do not always work together, for projects. This can include mentoring, developing best practices, or preparing topics to present to the rest of the team on a conference call.<br />3. <strong>Create virtual water coolers </strong>– All of that time-consuming small talk that happens at the “water cooler” in office environments has an important purpose that is missed in distributed teams – it builds the team camaraderie and culture. A remote manager can find ways to create virtual environment to foster this “small talk.”<br />a. Plan a small amount of “open time” at the beginning or end of team conference calls for small talk.<br />b. User ice breakers, openers, and getting to know you exercises and games during team gatherings, calls, interactions, etc. . . This can also include a virtual bulletin board to post “getting to know you” related info about team members.<br />c. Find opportunities to celebrate together virtually by sending out team congratulatory emails, or on conference calls. One company sent out Starbucks gift cards for their next team call so everyone could have “breakfast together” on the call.<br />4. <strong>Re-live the past </strong>– Find opportunities to re-live shining moments from the team’s past. This brings back positive memories of the group and will help to renew that feeling again. This can be highlighting accomplishments made by the entire team, or even one employee. Even funny things that happened to team members when they were last together. Think of the memories that strengthen the bond with your group of personal friends. Talking about these always bring back those happy feelings of belonging to something good.<br /><br />One item to avoid that can be a common pitfall of new managers in building a team: avoid pitting the team against another in comments and remarks, such as “our team is better than theirs,” or “this is the best team in the company.” This alienates other co-workers and the company. Although competitiveness can be a strong motivator, competitiveness such as this within the company can have potential negative effects in the future. What if a member of one of those other teams now becomes a member of yours, or vice versa? It will make it that much harder to assimilate them into the new team that they are an “outsider” of. Managers should tell a team how fantastic they are, but not at the demise or lacking of another.<br /><br />Jenny Douras © All rights reservedJenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740183466305237644.post-47922086814675192222009-04-28T13:53:00.004-06:002011-09-24T11:15:11.944-06:00Key Techniques for Successful Remote Management<span style="font-size:85%;">The corporate environment is rapidly changing in today’s marketplace. There is increasing completion, globalization, mergers and acquisitions. The result is a more distributed workforce than ever, where employees are dispersed across multiple locations, or work in a virtual office, spending a majority of their time traveling to multiple destinations. This creates a new realm of challenges in managing this type of workforce. There are different team dynamics, with a distributed workforce, that require different management techniques and skills to keep them motivated, productive, on track, and trained.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Managing a remote or mobile workforce is very different from managing a team based in one central location. The days of walking down the hall to review and monitor employees is becoming less of a reality in today’s companies. True, many management techniques and skills parallel those used in managing a central based workforce, however, there are 6 key additional techniques needed, that a manager of remote employees would be remiss to ignore.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">1. <strong>Increased communication</strong> – Often managers assume that they will have less communication with their employees when they are remote – because they cannot easily walk down the hall to talk with them. However, the reverse of this is true; managers of a distributed workforce need to work harder to have more communication than those whose employees are located in one office. Because of the distance, a remote manager needs to ensure that their employees do not feel isolated. The increased communication helps to make employees feel more connected with their team and company. As such, remote managers need to make sure they have multiple avenues to be accessible to their employees. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">2. <strong>Establishing respect</strong> – Many remote managers make the mistake of trying to establish their credibility through demands and force; a type of “because I said so” approach. People need reasons and explanations behind actions; this conveys respect for their thoughts and feelings; enough to include them in the rational. It doesn’t mean a manager needs to evoke consensus, but it will display respect toward their team which directly builds it in return. Respect is earned, not demanded. Those that demand respect actually destroy it. A manager’s communication style sets the tone for how the team will communicate with them, the client and each other. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">3. <strong>Building a team culture</strong> – Because employees of a distributed workforce are in different locations, it is tougher for them to feel a part of the company and team, which is critical to their overall motivation and drive behind company initiatives. That is why it takes a concentrated effort by remote managers to build a team community and culture for their employees. Managers can do this by fostering inter-team communication, creating partnerships amongst remote employees for projects, and by forming virtual water coolers and opportunities for small talk, re-living past successes, humor and experiences. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">4. <strong>Creating accountability through self-monitoring</strong> – The conundrum for most managers of field teams or distributed workforces is how to ensure that the job is getting done without micro-managing. Because a team of employees spread across multiple locations is not as easy to monitor with drop-in daily observations, like a centrally located team, many managers can overcompensate by trying to over control those things that they cannot see. Manager’s want their team to reach all set goals, but without smothering them. The key to ensuring happiness with a team’s performance levels and their happiness with their ability to spread their wings, is a combination of clearly outlining goals, creating responsibility, and generating individual accountability with a self-monitoring system. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">5. <strong>Training</strong> – In field teams, the speed at which you build competency with new employees is more important due to costs and less visual daily interaction. Therefore it is important to have any initial training be conducted with face-to-face mentoring either by the manager or team piers to ensure the employee can work independently as soon as possible. For all remote employees, on-going mentoring and training is critical to keep them connected to the company, goals and team ,as well as allowing a manager to more quickly identify performance issues before they have escalated too far. Managers of field teams should think of each employee’s development as a continuous process. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">6. <strong>Disciplining and conflicts</strong> –Conflict between remote team members can create more issues than if they were in one location, because there is limited communication, making resolutions more difficult. Also, it is easier to avoid the necessary confrontation to work toward a solution when they don’t see each other daily. Because of this, manager’s need to address confrontation as soon as possible so that it doesn’t escalate or cause dissention among the team. As well, when there are performance issues with an individual employee, it is important to address it as soon as possible. There can be a tendency with remote managers to ignore employee performance issues until a more convenient time (out of sight, out of mind). However, often there is no one that can pick up the slack of a remote employee – if they are the only one in their location, they are the only one available to do the needed job there. So it is important to address and correct any performance issues, sooner rather than later, so a critical gap does not develop.<br /><br />The changing business environment and ensuing structure does not need to spell painful transitions for employees and corporations. By understanding the needs and techniques, for managing this new business format of distributed and mobile workforces, companies can capitalize on success by implementing these new management techniques. As many companies struggle, to figure out the new workforce, those that have streamlined it, will excel in the marketplace, and with their clients. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Jenny Douras © All rights reserved</span>Jenny Dourashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12998494064815870221noreply@blogger.com