在過(guò)去的一個(gè)月中,,中國(guó)人民的生活和經(jīng)濟(jì)都承受著新冠肺炎疫情帶來(lái)的巨大考驗(yàn):加長(zhǎng)版的春節(jié)假期、居家隔離,、延遲復(fù)工接踵而至,。作為一個(gè)瑞典人,我的朋友圈里有至少半數(shù)以上的企業(yè)都在采取居家模式開(kāi)展業(yè)務(wù),。
挑戰(zhàn)隨之而來(lái)
居家辦公,、遠(yuǎn)程工作對(duì)大部分中國(guó)員工而言還是一個(gè)新鮮事物,對(duì)企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)又何嘗不是,?用在辦公室里的那一套來(lái)管理團(tuán)隊(duì),,肯定難以奏效。無(wú)法共處一室,、面對(duì)面溝通,,團(tuán)隊(duì)一時(shí)之間難以適應(yīng),合作也會(huì)變得更復(fù)雜和艱難生澀,。
在我過(guò)去15年的職業(yè)生涯中,,在遠(yuǎn)程辦公上遇到過(guò)的坎也不少。在瑞典的文化里,,我們通常不會(huì)直接告訴別人解決方案,,而是大家通過(guò)討論達(dá)成一致,,共同找到答案。因此,,當(dāng)遇到問(wèn)題時(shí),,我的第一反應(yīng)就是——引導(dǎo)!指引團(tuán)隊(duì)尋找最佳的決策,。
但當(dāng)我和團(tuán)隊(duì)分隔兩地時(shí),,尤其是當(dāng)項(xiàng)目中充滿(mǎn)不確定性時(shí),這一招通常會(huì)失效,。當(dāng)你想著授權(quán)團(tuán)隊(duì)成員自己尋找方向時(shí),,你的團(tuán)隊(duì)可能正渴望你可以給出明確的建議和行動(dòng)步驟。這只會(huì)帶來(lái)兩個(gè)結(jié)果:作為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的我會(huì)因?yàn)轫?xiàng)目毫無(wú)進(jìn)展而惱火不已,,團(tuán)隊(duì)里的成員也因?yàn)槊坏筋^腦而沮喪無(wú)助,。
還有一個(gè)大“坑”就是溝通效率問(wèn)題。即使在面對(duì)面的情況下溝通都有可能出岔子,,更何況在遠(yuǎn)程工作時(shí),,少了肢體語(yǔ)言和眼神交流,我們幾乎失去了所有判斷信息傳達(dá)和接收的信號(hào)燈,。
我跟團(tuán)隊(duì)中層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)們共同商討的決策,,是否能被準(zhǔn)確無(wú)誤地傳達(dá)到公司的每個(gè)角落,并被精準(zhǔn)地執(zhí)行,?結(jié)果有可能事與愿違,。
低效溝通里面有很多可能的原因,溝通不充分,、理解錯(cuò)誤,、缺乏認(rèn)同、當(dāng)事人并沒(méi)有仔細(xì)聽(tīng)或正忙著別的要?jiǎng)?wù)都有可會(huì)影響最終的達(dá)成,。這跟我們小時(shí)候玩的“拷貝不走樣”簡(jiǎn)直是一模一樣,。(是的,瑞典人小時(shí)候也玩這個(gè)游戲,,至少在兒時(shí)的溝通小游戲上,,中瑞兩國(guó)如出一轍。)
還記得我初來(lái)中國(guó)時(shí),,團(tuán)隊(duì)里有成員總是將我的“指導(dǎo)意見(jiàn)”當(dāng)成是金科玉律步步謹(jǐn)遵,,也有成員會(huì)把我的“指令”當(dāng)作是“建議”處理,導(dǎo)致我常常懷疑團(tuán)隊(duì)的執(zhí)行能力,。不得不承認(rèn),,我個(gè)人依然在摸索更好的溝通方式以及更有效果的遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作模式。這是一個(gè)持續(xù)改進(jìn)的過(guò)程,也不會(huì)有終點(diǎn),。
信任是關(guān)鍵
近來(lái)與許多企業(yè)的高層管理人員聊天時(shí)都會(huì)談及員工居家辦公的效率問(wèn)題,。我的朋友們都或多或少有這樣那樣的擔(dān)憂(yōu),他們擔(dān)心員工在絲毫沒(méi)有監(jiān)管壓力的環(huán)境中可能會(huì)偷懶或者效率低下,。我的第一反應(yīng)是:如果你不信任自己招聘來(lái)的人,,那你當(dāng)初為什么要把人家招來(lái)?
作為一名職業(yè)經(jīng)理人,,我對(duì)自己的要求就是,,最大程度地信任我的團(tuán)隊(duì),除非他們用自己的行動(dòng)向我證明他們不值得信任,。我的管理哲學(xué)是:我扮演導(dǎo)師的角色,,幫助團(tuán)隊(duì)明確目標(biāo)和方向,下放權(quán)力,,讓團(tuán)隊(duì)自己找到正確的方法來(lái)達(dá)成目標(biāo)。
當(dāng)然了,,團(tuán)隊(duì)的表現(xiàn)也時(shí)不時(shí)會(huì)給我一些驚喜或者是驚嚇,。有的成員會(huì)非常欣喜于這種自由度和信任度,因此表現(xiàn)出色,,甚至超過(guò)預(yù)期,。也有人會(huì)因?yàn)檫^(guò)于自由而不知所措。作為導(dǎo)師,,我的工作就是仔細(xì)觀察并盡可能早地進(jìn)行干預(yù),、給予具體的幫助。只有這樣,,團(tuán)隊(duì)才能按照我預(yù)想的軌道和進(jìn)度運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn),。
在遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作中,這種提早干預(yù)措施比想象中更難,。在面對(duì)面的會(huì)議中,,你的團(tuán)隊(duì)可能都不敢或不愿開(kāi)口求救,更何況是在遠(yuǎn)程的會(huì)議中,?更糟糕的是,,連對(duì)方是否在全神貫注地參與會(huì)議我都無(wú)法判斷。在會(huì)議中走神兒簡(jiǎn)直太稀松平常了,,一條短信就能讓我們分神,。大概沒(méi)有人會(huì)否認(rèn),電話(huà)會(huì)議一旦超過(guò)30分鐘,,大家開(kāi)小差的幾率就開(kāi)始急速上升,。
從另外一個(gè)角度而言,家庭環(huán)境里辦公雖然存在一些干擾因素(尤其是當(dāng)孩子們也在家學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)?。?,但同樣的,,員工們不需要在路上花兩個(gè)小時(shí)通勤,也不會(huì)有別的同事每隔5分鐘就來(lái)打斷他們的思路,。
遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作的時(shí)代已經(jīng)來(lái)了
在過(guò)去的十年間,,世界上有許多國(guó)家和企業(yè)都早就開(kāi)始落實(shí)遠(yuǎn)程辦公了。在美國(guó),,居家辦公是非常平常的事,,在歐洲也越來(lái)越普遍。步入職場(chǎng)的年輕人們都生于網(wǎng)絡(luò)時(shí)代,,對(duì)他們而言,,在線(xiàn)上溝通簡(jiǎn)直就和吃飯一樣簡(jiǎn)單。遠(yuǎn)程辦公,,絕對(duì)不會(huì)是在疫情中曇花一現(xiàn)的防疫手段,,而是不可回避的未來(lái)辦公趨勢(shì)。
新一代的員工,,也不再只是為了錢(qián)而工作,,尊重與關(guān)愛(ài)的文化、工作與生活的平衡,、自由選擇辦公地點(diǎn)等,,成了他們擇業(yè)的重要考慮因素。作為企業(yè),,如果想要持續(xù)吸引人才,、以正確的姿勢(shì)激勵(lì)員工,可能要從不抗拒遠(yuǎn)程辦公開(kāi)始,。
幾個(gè)建議
說(shuō)起來(lái)容易,,做起來(lái)可能還真是不簡(jiǎn)單。我個(gè)人也有一些小建議,,可以與大家分享,。
為團(tuán)隊(duì)建立清晰的目標(biāo)。
確保每個(gè)人都有完全且正確的理解這個(gè)目標(biāo),,以及他們每個(gè)人在這個(gè)目標(biāo)的達(dá)成中應(yīng)該扮演什么樣的角色——不要只依賴(lài)口頭溝通,,書(shū)面溝通更能確保信息溝通的準(zhǔn)確性。
給予團(tuán)隊(duì)充分的信任,,在發(fā)現(xiàn)“迷路的小羊”時(shí)要提供及時(shí)的引導(dǎo),,助其歸位。
避免頻繁跟進(jìn),,這通常會(huì)招致反效果,。在定期的項(xiàng)目追蹤會(huì)議中與團(tuán)隊(duì)更新進(jìn)度會(huì)更有效。不過(guò)要注意控制會(huì)議的時(shí)長(zhǎng)!
不同的工作地點(diǎn)會(huì)給團(tuán)隊(duì)帶來(lái)全新的靈感和解決方案,,請(qǐng)注意把握,!
寫(xiě)在最后
我和我的團(tuán)隊(duì)遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作已經(jīng)持續(xù)了一個(gè)月,我們的工作并沒(méi)有因?yàn)檫@次疫情而終止,,相反我看到了整個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)蓬勃的創(chuàng)造力和執(zhí)行力,,大家的堅(jiān)守崗位和聰明才智讓我欽佩。
這使我更加有理由相信,,如果我們給予團(tuán)隊(duì)足夠的信任去迎接挑戰(zhàn),,他們絕對(duì)有可能戰(zhàn)勝。遠(yuǎn)程辦公也許不是所有問(wèn)題的答案,,但是如果你在今天擁抱這個(gè)改變,,那么沒(méi)準(zhǔn)會(huì)讓你的企業(yè)解鎖新技能。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者Jesper Knutell是英孚企業(yè)解決方案中國(guó)執(zhí)行副總裁兼總經(jīng)理,、跨文化溝通專(zhuān)家,,擁有20多年全球15個(gè)國(guó)家的堅(jiān)實(shí)管理經(jīng)驗(yàn),曾經(jīng)幫助多家《財(cái)富》世界500強(qiáng)企業(yè)打造國(guó)際化人才戰(zhàn)略,。
在過(guò)去的一個(gè)月中,,中國(guó)人民的生活和經(jīng)濟(jì)都承受著新冠肺炎疫情帶來(lái)的巨大考驗(yàn):加長(zhǎng)版的春節(jié)假期、居家隔離,、延遲復(fù)工接踵而至。作為一個(gè)瑞典人,,我的朋友圈里有至少半數(shù)以上的企業(yè)都在采取居家模式開(kāi)展業(yè)務(wù),。
挑戰(zhàn)隨之而來(lái)
居家辦公、遠(yuǎn)程工作對(duì)大部分中國(guó)員工而言還是一個(gè)新鮮事物,,對(duì)企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)又何嘗不是,?用在辦公室里的那一套來(lái)管理團(tuán)隊(duì),肯定難以奏效,。無(wú)法共處一室,、面對(duì)面溝通,團(tuán)隊(duì)一時(shí)之間難以適應(yīng),,合作也會(huì)變得更復(fù)雜和艱難生澀,。
在我過(guò)去15年的職業(yè)生涯中,在遠(yuǎn)程辦公上遇到過(guò)的坎也不少,。在瑞典的文化里,,我們通常不會(huì)直接告訴別人解決方案,而是大家通過(guò)討論達(dá)成一致,,共同找到答案,。因此,當(dāng)遇到問(wèn)題時(shí),我的第一反應(yīng)就是——引導(dǎo),!指引團(tuán)隊(duì)尋找最佳的決策,。
但當(dāng)我和團(tuán)隊(duì)分隔兩地時(shí),尤其是當(dāng)項(xiàng)目中充滿(mǎn)不確定性時(shí),,這一招通常會(huì)失效,。當(dāng)你想著授權(quán)團(tuán)隊(duì)成員自己尋找方向時(shí),你的團(tuán)隊(duì)可能正渴望你可以給出明確的建議和行動(dòng)步驟,。這只會(huì)帶來(lái)兩個(gè)結(jié)果:作為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的我會(huì)因?yàn)轫?xiàng)目毫無(wú)進(jìn)展而惱火不已,,團(tuán)隊(duì)里的成員也因?yàn)槊坏筋^腦而沮喪無(wú)助。
還有一個(gè)大“坑”就是溝通效率問(wèn)題,。即使在面對(duì)面的情況下溝通都有可能出岔子,,更何況在遠(yuǎn)程工作時(shí),少了肢體語(yǔ)言和眼神交流,,我們幾乎失去了所有判斷信息傳達(dá)和接收的信號(hào)燈,。
我跟團(tuán)隊(duì)中層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)們共同商討的決策,是否能被準(zhǔn)確無(wú)誤地傳達(dá)到公司的每個(gè)角落,,并被精準(zhǔn)地執(zhí)行,?結(jié)果有可能事與愿違。
低效溝通里面有很多可能的原因,,溝通不充分,、理解錯(cuò)誤、缺乏認(rèn)同,、當(dāng)事人并沒(méi)有仔細(xì)聽(tīng)或正忙著別的要?jiǎng)?wù)都有可會(huì)影響最終的達(dá)成,。這跟我們小時(shí)候玩的“拷貝不走樣”簡(jiǎn)直是一模一樣。(是的,,瑞典人小時(shí)候也玩這個(gè)游戲,,至少在兒時(shí)的溝通小游戲上,中瑞兩國(guó)如出一轍,。)
還記得我初來(lái)中國(guó)時(shí),,團(tuán)隊(duì)里有成員總是將我的“指導(dǎo)意見(jiàn)”當(dāng)成是金科玉律步步謹(jǐn)遵,也有成員會(huì)把我的“指令”當(dāng)作是“建議”處理,,導(dǎo)致我常常懷疑團(tuán)隊(duì)的執(zhí)行能力,。不得不承認(rèn),我個(gè)人依然在摸索更好的溝通方式以及更有效果的遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作模式,。這是一個(gè)持續(xù)改進(jìn)的過(guò)程,,也不會(huì)有終點(diǎn)。
信任是關(guān)鍵
近來(lái)與許多企業(yè)的高層管理人員聊天時(shí)都會(huì)談及員工居家辦公的效率問(wèn)題,。我的朋友們都或多或少有這樣那樣的擔(dān)憂(yōu),,他們擔(dān)心員工在絲毫沒(méi)有監(jiān)管壓力的環(huán)境中可能會(huì)偷懶或者效率低下,。我的第一反應(yīng)是:如果你不信任自己招聘來(lái)的人,那你當(dāng)初為什么要把人家招來(lái),?
作為一名職業(yè)經(jīng)理人,,我對(duì)自己的要求就是,最大程度地信任我的團(tuán)隊(duì),,除非他們用自己的行動(dòng)向我證明他們不值得信任,。我的管理哲學(xué)是:我扮演導(dǎo)師的角色,幫助團(tuán)隊(duì)明確目標(biāo)和方向,,下放權(quán)力,,讓團(tuán)隊(duì)自己找到正確的方法來(lái)達(dá)成目標(biāo)。
當(dāng)然了,,團(tuán)隊(duì)的表現(xiàn)也時(shí)不時(shí)會(huì)給我一些驚喜或者是驚嚇,。有的成員會(huì)非常欣喜于這種自由度和信任度,因此表現(xiàn)出色,,甚至超過(guò)預(yù)期,。也有人會(huì)因?yàn)檫^(guò)于自由而不知所措。作為導(dǎo)師,,我的工作就是仔細(xì)觀察并盡可能早地進(jìn)行干預(yù),、給予具體的幫助。只有這樣,,團(tuán)隊(duì)才能按照我預(yù)想的軌道和進(jìn)度運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn),。
在遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作中,這種提早干預(yù)措施比想象中更難,。在面對(duì)面的會(huì)議中,,你的團(tuán)隊(duì)可能都不敢或不愿開(kāi)口求救,更何況是在遠(yuǎn)程的會(huì)議中,?更糟糕的是,,連對(duì)方是否在全神貫注地參與會(huì)議我都無(wú)法判斷,。在會(huì)議中走神兒簡(jiǎn)直太稀松平常了,,一條短信就能讓我們分神。大概沒(méi)有人會(huì)否認(rèn),,電話(huà)會(huì)議一旦超過(guò)30分鐘,,大家開(kāi)小差的幾率就開(kāi)始急速上升。
從另外一個(gè)角度而言,,家庭環(huán)境里辦公雖然存在一些干擾因素(尤其是當(dāng)孩子們也在家學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)?。瑯拥?,員工們不需要在路上花兩個(gè)小時(shí)通勤,,也不會(huì)有別的同事每隔5分鐘就來(lái)打斷他們的思路,。
遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作的時(shí)代已經(jīng)來(lái)了
在過(guò)去的十年間,世界上有許多國(guó)家和企業(yè)都早就開(kāi)始落實(shí)遠(yuǎn)程辦公了,。在美國(guó),,居家辦公是非常平常的事,在歐洲也越來(lái)越普遍,。步入職場(chǎng)的年輕人們都生于網(wǎng)絡(luò)時(shí)代,,對(duì)他們而言,在線(xiàn)上溝通簡(jiǎn)直就和吃飯一樣簡(jiǎn)單,。遠(yuǎn)程辦公,,絕對(duì)不會(huì)是在疫情中曇花一現(xiàn)的防疫手段,而是不可回避的未來(lái)辦公趨勢(shì),。
新一代的員工,,也不再只是為了錢(qián)而工作,尊重與關(guān)愛(ài)的文化,、工作與生活的平衡,、自由選擇辦公地點(diǎn)等,成了他們擇業(yè)的重要考慮因素,。作為企業(yè),,如果想要持續(xù)吸引人才、以正確的姿勢(shì)激勵(lì)員工,,可能要從不抗拒遠(yuǎn)程辦公開(kāi)始,。
幾個(gè)建議
說(shuō)起來(lái)容易,做起來(lái)可能還真是不簡(jiǎn)單,。我個(gè)人也有一些小建議,,可以與大家分享。
為團(tuán)隊(duì)建立清晰的目標(biāo),。
確保每個(gè)人都有完全且正確的理解這個(gè)目標(biāo),,以及他們每個(gè)人在這個(gè)目標(biāo)的達(dá)成中應(yīng)該扮演什么樣的角色——不要只依賴(lài)口頭溝通,書(shū)面溝通更能確保信息溝通的準(zhǔn)確性,。
給予團(tuán)隊(duì)充分的信任,,在發(fā)現(xiàn)“迷路的小羊”時(shí)要提供及時(shí)的引導(dǎo),助其歸位,。
避免頻繁跟進(jìn),,這通常會(huì)招致反效果。在定期的項(xiàng)目追蹤會(huì)議中與團(tuán)隊(duì)更新進(jìn)度會(huì)更有效,。不過(guò)要注意控制會(huì)議的時(shí)長(zhǎng),!
不同的工作地點(diǎn)會(huì)給團(tuán)隊(duì)帶來(lái)全新的靈感和解決方案,請(qǐng)注意把握,!
寫(xiě)在最后
我和我的團(tuán)隊(duì)遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作已經(jīng)持續(xù)了一個(gè)月,,我們的工作并沒(méi)有因?yàn)檫@次疫情而終止,,相反我看到了整個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)蓬勃的創(chuàng)造力和執(zhí)行力,大家的堅(jiān)守崗位和聰明才智讓我欽佩,。
這使我更加有理由相信,,如果我們給予團(tuán)隊(duì)足夠的信任去迎接挑戰(zhàn),他們絕對(duì)有可能戰(zhàn)勝,。遠(yuǎn)程辦公也許不是所有問(wèn)題的答案,,但是如果你在今天擁抱這個(gè)改變,那么沒(méi)準(zhǔn)會(huì)讓你的企業(yè)解鎖新技能,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者Jesper Knutell是英孚企業(yè)解決方案中國(guó)執(zhí)行副總裁兼總經(jīng)理,、跨文化溝通專(zhuān)家,擁有20多年全球15個(gè)國(guó)家的堅(jiān)實(shí)管理經(jīng)驗(yàn),,曾經(jīng)幫助多家《財(cái)富》世界500強(qiáng)企業(yè)打造國(guó)際化人才戰(zhàn)略,。
The last 4 weeks, China has faced an unprecedented test of its economy’s resilience. Speaking to colleagues and friends, it’s clear that the whole country is eager to get back to work, but we’ve all been facing barriers such as extended Spring Festival, office closures and quarantines. All necessary actions to combat the NCV, but still frustrating for everyone involved. My very rough estimate is that half of China has been working from home these last weeks.
Challenges of virtual working
A challenge companies in China are facing now is that virtual or remote working is not part of the culture and many leaders are uncertain as to how to act in these situations. And it is true, you can’t lead in the same way virtually as you can when you are physically present. Team collaboration becomes more complicated and communication becomes less fluent when you can’t see each other.
Having managed teams virtually all over the world for the last 15 years I think I’ve made every mistake there is to make. As a Swede, I find it difficult sometimes to tell people what to do; you want to lead by consensus and making decisions together, and I’m always trying to coach the team towards the right decision—rather than dictate.
However, this is often not an effective strategy when working remotely and especially not when there is a lot of uncertainty. In these situations, people look for clear instructions and advice, and my approach has often resulted in me being frustrated with the lack of action taken and the teams being frustrated with the lack of direction.
I’ve also often underestimated the communication flow in the organization. When you discuss things with the management team, you hope that they will be able to pass on the right information to the team members. However, the reality is that there is a big black box between you and the team members. You hope that they have received the right communication via their leaders, but more often than not, I have seen that this is not the case. Often this happens because their leaders a) didn’t understand fully the message, b) didn’t agree with the message), c) interpreted the message differently than you intended, d) had different priorities at that moment, e) just didn’t listen, f) you were not clear enough, … and the list of reasons goes on and on.
When we were kids we used to play a game called Chinese Whispers. It’s a children’s game that starts off with player 1 whispering a message in the ear of player 2, who continues to whisper it to player 3, and it goes on until the last player who will announce the message they’ve heard to the entire group. It doesn’t require a lot of players for the message to completely change meaning.
In a similar way, this happens a lot in remote working. Without body language and eye contact, it’s difficult to assess whether or not a message has been correctly received. It’s difficult enough in person, but without meeting physically, even harder. In addition, to drive change, you need to repeat the same message over and over, but that could just make it worse if the original message wasn’t understood correctly.
In China over the last 1.5 years, I have encountered that some leaders follow a message word for word, when I intended it only as a guideline. I’ve also seen the opposite; some interpret is a very loose guideline when it is a hard rule or policy. While this has varied from office to office, it has left me bewildered as to whether something has been well implemented or not. And as you can see, I’m still on a journey to figure out what approach works best and how to best communicate with teams virtually. It’s a lifelong learning journey.
Trust is key
Many business leaders I’ve been speaking to lately have brought up that they worry about the productivity of their team members when they work from home. They don’t trust that their team members will do the right thing if no one is monitoring them. This reminds of a quote I read somewhere: If you don’t trust your people to work from home, why did you hire them in the first place?
As a manager, I’ve always trusted my team members from the first day we start working together until they prove me otherwise. This has had both positive and negative results on my teams’ performances. The way I like to manage is that I provide a vision and direction, and I trust my team to figure out the right actions to help us achieve this vision. I see myself as a guide and mentor and my experience is that many enjoy this freedom and perform better when given this trust.
However, many people also become paralyzed with indecisiveness when given this freedom, and as a leader you need to identify this early and help them, often by providing step by step instructions. Until you do, they will not perform at the level you expect.
Working virtually, this is even more difficult to do. How do you identify who needs more support? It’s difficult to get people to speak up in normal meetings. In virtual meetings it is the same, but with the additional challenge that you can’t even see if people are paying attention or even listening. I think we have all been part of virtual meetings when our minds have started drifting, or we’ve received a message on our phone and we’ve diverted our attention to responding to that message, and stopped listening. Let’s be honest, very few virtual meetings over 30 minutes are effective.
And I think we have to be realistic. Yes, when people work at home, they will have distractions (especially now when everyone’s kids are home from school), but in comparison they also don’t have to commute 2 hours per day, and they don’t have colleagues that interrupt them every 5 minutes and other office distractions.
The world is changing
There are many countries and companies around the world that have embraced virtual working over the last decade. In the US, it’s common that staff are home based, and it’s becoming more and more common in Europe as well. The new generation that is joining the workforce are digital natives. For them, communicating virtually is all they’ve ever known. So virtual working is not a temporary thing we’ve just been faced with due to the Corona virus, it’s the inevitable future.
As employers and leaders, we are facing an employee situation where freedom to choose where and when you work are important choices when choosing employers. Many employees are looking for work life balance, respect, a caring culture, not just money. As companies, we need to allow for a certain degree of this if we want to keep attracting talent and keeping them motivated.
A few suggestions
Personally, I think it comes down to a few simple principles when managing virtually.
Have a clear vision where you want to go.
Make sure everyone understands their role in this vision – use written communication to follow up on verbal communication.
Trust people to complete the objectives you set but ensure you help people that are ‘lost’ and explain clearly what needs to be done.
Don’t check in on people too often, it’s the one thing that kills motivation, I’ve found, but set regular virtual meetings to share updates. Make sure to keep them short.
Embrace new ideas; different working situation brings out different solutions.
Embrace the inevitable
Over the last four weeks working remotely with my team, I have seen people’s creativity blossom. Many of the initiatives that we have launched in the last weeks are down to individual team members’ ingenuity and drive. It never ceases to amaze me how a challenge often brings out the best in people, and if we trust our teams to overcome the challenge, the chances are that they will.
So, while working virtually is not the answer to everything, if you embrace it when you are faced with it and lead with trust, you might unlock new skills to help take your business to new levels. I’m sure we have.