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With Remote Work, Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

Forbes Human Resources Council

Director of HR at NCH, developing high-performing people, teams and organizations. Founder of LB Talent Solutions.

Sometimes, the little things make the biggest difference — and sometimes, they just don't matter at all. When it comes to your employees, stop sweating the small stuff. If you focus on what's important, they will too.

Especially as organizations transition to more remote work options, it is important to not inadvertently disengage your teams and make them think you no longer trust them simply because they are not in the office every day anymore.

What exactly is the small stuff? To name a few:

• Watching the clock to keep track of when employees log on and off.

• Requiring employees to turn on some kind of status notification when working from home so you can feel 100% sure they are sitting at their computers all day long.

• Requiring them to join video calls for meetings you would normally do phone calls for.

• Emailing employees unnecessarily often or about unnecessary things to confirm that they are checking their emails regularly.

So what are the important things leaders should focus on? Again, to name a few:

• The results that employees produce, rather than the time they spend producing them.

• Your reasonable expectations of employees, rather than what time of day they are working to meet your expectations.

• Coaching employees, rather than simply telling them what they have done wrong without any guidance.

• Effective ways to engage your remote teams, rather than constantly finding ways to still look over their shoulders remotely.

A number of organizations, including Twitter and Square, have announced permanent remote work options for employees. It should come as no surprise that we may continue seeing more organizations do this, so it is critical that there are strategies in place to engage, reward and support your remote workforce.

It also means that you need to think differently about the way you work and how you allow others to work. Working a 9-to-5 schedule may no longer be the norm, and quite frankly, it may not be the schedule that gets you the most productivity out of your teams. For many employees, flexibility could actually make them more productive.

Trust and autonomy can go a long way in keeping the loyalty of remote employees. That is much more important than making them feel like they are being micromanaged or even spied on. Just like it would be difficult to work successfully with a person physically looking over your shoulder, it would feel the same if someone was constantly bugging you to see if you were actually working when you were remote.

But leaders must also remember that not everyone will thrive right away in a remote work environment. It is just as important to recognize the differences represented on your team. For your team members who struggle with remote work, be sure to provide them with support and resources as well.

As everyone navigates the new waters of remote work, it is so critical to remember to continue engaging your teams and trusting them to do their work. This should not change how you coach employees, set expectations or hold people accountable. If anything, this new way of work should allow increased flexibility and productivity if done right. So, really, don't sweat the small stuff when it comes to remote work.


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