Tips for Successful Remote Management

With such an increase in technology and the advancement of telecommunications, it is becoming more prevalent for businesses to maintain multiple locations and to have management staff in a central locale with teams elsewhere. Though this system can be very helpful for many businesses, it does bring along with it some obvious problems. Many managers will say that managing a team from a remote location can be more challenging than any other situation. Since the manager is not physically on-site, situations where employees take advantage of the system can happen easily. Also, the manager loses valuable face to face time that often brings a team together as a stronger work force. There are great hurdles to managing a team remotely, but with a few specific steps, the system can be a great success.

 

     The most important step is to hire the right people. If a manager chooses carefully who to put in their team, they will have a better chance of building a strong working group. It a good idea to hire employees who have a proven track record with the ability to self-manage. Employees who are dependable and trustworthy will work much better in a remote management situation. So, if the manager starts off with a great team, the whole situation will go more smoothly and with less stress.

 

     Another good idea is to invest in tools to make remote management much easier. This would include equipment for video conferencing, instant messaging programs, webcams, and other bits of technology that will help immensely. By having such tools, a manager still has the ability to obtain face time with their employees. It always is a good idea to have time when the employees actually see their manager and vice-versa. And, implementing a system where employees can have one on one private conversation with their manager can prove invaluable. There are times when an employee, for one reason or another needs to speak with their manager alone and they need to be able to have access to equipment to do so.

 

     Since the manager cannot be on location with their employees, they should take more time considering the work their employees do as opposed to how the employee actually does the work. Output is far more important anyway, and a manager who is not physically on-site can only judge their employees work by the work that they produce

Why Should You Choose Telephone Time Cards For Remote Employees?

If you manage a firm that hires off-site employees, you’ve probably spent some time wondering what you can do to make sure they maintain an adequate level of productivity and success, and that their work ethics don’t falter. As an offsite employee manager, you must communicate clearly what expectations you require of your remote workers, not only with this include key milestones, but deadlines and time management as well. 

One of the best ways to ensure that your offsite employees maintain a certain level of professionalism is to require them to keep track of the time they spend on the job. Unfortunately, this process can be a bit of pain for off-site managers. A company called Chronotek has developed a great phone-in time management program. 

With the use of a telephone time clock you will find that keeping track of your employees' actual working time a breeze. It is a simple process that takes the stress of time worked and attendance tracking to a whole new level where you can throw away the old-fashioned way and keep track of your employees via phone time clock.

As we’ve mentioned before, leading professionals in the area of remote employment agree that certain standards and milestones should be observed in remote employees, stating, “the milestones should be firm and short term to ensure that work is acceptable, timely and coordinated with on-site employees. Feedback on progress should be specific, measurable, timely and action-oriented. Above all, your remote workers should feel that they can easily seek out a supervisor for advice, counsel and input.” 

Being an off-site manager means being tough, goal driven, but also fair and organized. To ensure accountability, managers must make sure that goals are clearly stated and put into writing. This will guarantee agreement among all people involved.  One well known statement comes to mind: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.”

Consider phone in time cards in order to improve accountability and organization in your off site and remote employees. We can guarantee that you’ll be impressed by the ease of use and the accountability provided by the process. With the telephone time system, employers have instant access to time sheets, making addressing all employee issues quick and efficient while ensuring employment accountability and improving employee performance and output – what manager could ask for more?