There are a lot of challenges of managing remote workers.
One is you never really know what they’re doing.
Two is you have team members who are working in the office who are looking at the remote workers and thinking they’re getting away with something. The remote workers are feeling guilty that they are always looking at them that way. And so they get resentful of the people who are working in the office, because they’re assuming that people are thinking that they’re not doing the job.
Three is the issue of connectivity. How do you have crucial conversations with people that are so much easier to have face-to-face when you can connect eye-to-eye? And yet those conversations need to happen. But somehow over the video connection, it’s just not the same.
Also, how do you make sure that all of your managers know what the proper technologies are to use to stay connected?
How are you going to make sure that they feel a part of the team?
How do they understand what to do in a daily huddle? What the responsibilities and how they’re moving ahead?
How are they getting together in their groups to move things ahead?
What kind of project management are you using? And how do people see their next role when the baton is passed?
These are the kinds of things that break down in an office, but they can really break down outside of an office because people can’t overhear the conversation.
There are lots of obstacles to having remote workers. It doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.
It just means it opens up a universe for additional team members from anywhere worldwide, which is lovely. To think you can bring in different ideas from different people, have those connections, and have the very best people from a much larger geographical area.
This is a good thing, as long as you mitigate the accompanying risks.
Regardless of where we’re working, we’re getting the job done, and everybody can see we’re getting the job done, and everyone sees their part and is pulling the team ahead.