Allowing staff to work remotely is often a great step for a small business, but don't go into it unprepared
It's early days in terms of flexible working. Here are some of the most frequent mistakes employers make while managing staff they can't see.
Negativity
Amanda Brown, head of content for audio app company Audioboo, appreciates people don't always perform as you'd hoped when away from the office. However, simply drawing attention to shortcomings isn't the answer, she says. "Constant complaining and moaning about what hasn't been done doesn't motivate people to either take further calls or perform better at their job," she comments. "The biggest mistake I have made managing people remotely is not making communication open enough. There needs to be plenty of two-way talking via email and phone to ensure things are being done the right way and the person you are managing feels like part of the team."
Failing to communicate generally
Peter Burgess, managing director of recruitment company Retail Human Resources, uses a lot of remote workers and finds measuring results easy – either you have enough candidates and they've been placed or you haven't. However, even remote workers have to know each other a bit, he says. "The trick for management is to be alive to this and make sure the remote workers are talking both socially as well as about work with their colleagues. A phone call when a good deal comes in goes a long way. A supporting phone call when a deal falls through goes even further."
Excluding people from non-work events
Kate Russell, head of Russell HR Consulting, echoes this and adds that people need to feel included for less formal elements of a job. "People are herd animals," she says. "Belonging and being part of a group is essential and even though workers are remote, you should make sure they're included in team events and team-based out-of-work activities."
Allow work to take over
John Spencer, UK CEO of Regus, says it's a mistake for employers to assume employees all want to work from their living space. "Most people don't want work to encroach on their home lives and are simply more productive in a professional environment, closer to home. This explains why we are seeing rising demand for shared or part-time workspace across our network of business centres," he says.
Be picky about details
"The remote working arena is not one to micromanage – so there needs to be responsibility on both sides and standards and actions must be obvious and adhered to from either side," says business coach Sarupa Shah. "It's an efficient way of working but its success relies on such administrative ground rules. It is a shift from micro management to macro management and leadership that makes remote working arrangements a success for all concerned."
Provide inadequate technology
Okay, Bring Your Own Device or BYOD is very popular at the moment – but some employees still need to be provided with technology. Patrick Nash is CEO at Connect Assist, a specialist call centre for the charity sector.
"We've employed young mothers to handle the midday peak of calls, while enabling other staff to co-ordinate shift work with their partners at home," he says. "To achieve this, we provide each of our staff members with laptops and mobile phones that are securely connected to our network, so that their system at home is exactly the same as their workstation on site.
"The cost of doing so is minimal and we use it when circumstances – for example weather, injury or disability – prevent a team member from directly attending the workplace. It has increased the quality of the services we deliver, and the health and wellbeing of our team."
Overcomplicate the technology
Obviously your company must remain secure and if people are working away that is a consideration. However, Florian Malecki, EMEA product & solution marketing director at Dell Software, says businesses are building in extra complexity as a worker wants or needs to log on to a company's system. Ensuring you have a strategy that allows you some sort of control is essential; make it too difficult and people will resist it.
Manage by exception
Great though it is that Connect Assist has new mothers extending their working time and everyone combating weather, there's a powerful argument that says real flexible working happens best when everyone can do it – so it's in the DNA of an organisation rather than "there just in case". Otherwise you can end up with resentments in the office as one person gets a flexible contract and another doesn't.
Send only the best to work from home
In the same vein, don't just use home working as a reward for the best. "In effect this can be a double hit as you are losing a good employee from the office and setting up someone who is not ideally suited to work from home so they struggle to perform to the same levels," says Kelly Bains, MD of home worker agency Sensée. "The best remote workers are those recruited with that in mind and often have very sound reasons for working remotely that suit their lifestyle."
Once the right ethic and practices are established, the benefits can be considerable. Dr Karl Blanks is co-founder of Conversion Rate Experts, a consultancy that measures the profitability of blue-chip companies and which uses remote working extensively. He has found himself able to recruit people without geographical difficulties – the clients are primarily in the US and a couple of his support staff are in Vienna. It's not about saving money on travel, though: "In just one week, a member of our team had 39 online meetings with people in 11 countries," says Blanks. "He can not only talk to clients at the touch of a button but also share his screen and give them high-quality visual presentations. For us, remote working is not about saving money, it's about helping us work as productively as possible."
Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.
Read more here >> The Guardian | Quail eggs
