Saturday, September 29, 2007

How to manage employees in remote locations

An interesting piece on the issues to be considered when managing remote teams. I believe the seemingly least significant aspects have the greatest impact on the performance of remote teams. I know a coouple of my customers who will find this inspiring.


clipped from www.bnet.com

Things you will need:



  • Travel budget: Plan to see employees at
    least a few times a year. Technology budget: Don’t fall for every
    fad, but plan to add new tools as they gain traction.


  • Set aside time for regular travel, update calls, and to be
    available for people in different time zones. 


  •  
    Technology: Research the technologies that best connect
    people for the types of work they do. See Ten Tools for Remote Teams for ideas.


  •  
    Routine: Consistency in your work process
    — quarterly gatherings, weekly phone meetings — provides structure
    and prevents gaps in communication.


  •  
    Drive: Members of dispersed
    teams need to work well on their own. Their managers
    need to sustain the group’s energy, be available at odd hours, travel
    a lot, and initiate communication.


  •  
    Chatter: It gets a bad rap, but chit-chat builds a team. Let remote employees
    in on tidbits like promotions, births and weddings, and inside jokes.






 blog it


2 comments:

  1. The "Ten Tools for Remote Teams" link is broken.
    Anyway, I will soon be in the position of having to deal with (very) remote people :-) and will keep you posted on that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Philippe!
    Thanks for the mention of the broken link. It's actually a link to tools thata doesn't work and I left a comment on the site that published the article, a full version of which can be found at: http://www.bnet.com/2403-13059_23-165147.html?promo=713&tag=nl.e713
    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete