Managing at Arm’s Length

It’s harder to manage staff across a distance – whether it’s remote teams or remote working individuals.

But enabling your team to cross geographies means you can grow capacity by acquisition and recruit from a much larger talent pool – making it a skill worth learning.

Local Leader

Remote teams need a local leader.

Look for someone who already has the respect of the team, and who acts and thinks as you do – so that they are your willing proxy.

Keep close to them – communicate every day – so that:

• they know what you’re thinking and why,
• you know what’s happening day-to-day on the ground.

Even with a great local leader in place, plan to visit the team regularly – at least every couple of months. When you visit, make yourself very visible and make a point of speaking with everyone in the team.

Mixing It Up

Whether it’s remote teams or remote working individuals, look out for opportunities to mix people from different locations.

• Cross site projects / teams / discussions.
• Sending staff from different sites to the same conference or for the same training.
• Exchange visits – just to get to know each other and work together for a while.

Bring remote working individuals into the main team regularly – at least every couple of months.

One Team

Treat everyone like they are one team – and they will tend to behave that way.

Apply the same rules and processes across all of your teams and individuals:

• Treat people in the same way – as far as each geographies HR law will allow.
• Apply the same processes – if they’re good for one location then why not all?
• Use the same tools – so that you all speak the same language.
• Share information – so that everyone’s included and nobody feels they’re missing something.

Make communications really easy:

• Provide all of the various technology options – voice, video, messaging, screen sharing, conferencing.
• Provide space for people to communicate in private and facilities for people to communicate as a group.

Use the technology to bring together the whole team – just as you would the local team, and just as often.

Bigger Picture

Whenever you meet with remote teams – and with remote working individuals – always explain the bigger picture so that when you’re not around they can work out the right things to do for themselves.

Points to take away …

• Make sure remote teams have a local leader who acts as your willing proxy.
• Always look out for opportunities to mix up people from different locations.
• Treat the team as one, with the same rules, processes, tools and shared information.
• Explain the bigger picture so that people can work out the detail for themselves.