FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT IRSC
TCBusiness.com 31
may result in costly mistakes and low morale
that could impact engagement, performance
and ultimately the bottom line.
Remote workers benefit from having
technology, such as video conferencing,
that gives participants many of the
visual cues that they would have if they
were face-to-face. When a Zoom call isn’t
needed, or if time is of the essence, mobile
workflow technology like Slack, Microsoft
Teams or some type of instant messaging
service is important to have. There are
often less expensive options for this type
of software available for small businesses.
TIP: Ensure there is an appropriate
level of data security before using any
of these tools.
PROVIDE SOCIAL INTERACTION
Find ways to allow time for those water
cooler conversations, particularly so for
workers who have been abruptly transitioned
out of the office.
“Fight the isolation of working from
home and use interfaces like Zoom to
bridge the gap of not seeing each other,”
Izquierdo added.
And this goes beyond meetings: A
virtual coffee break, virtual lunch or happy
hour allows teams who have worked
together to continue their comradery
despite the lack of physical proximity.
REVISIT EXPECTATIONS
Now what if your remote employee is
underperforming? How can you help them
improve their game? Harvard Business
Review recently offered some solid advice
on this.
Take the opportunity to reconsider
what you want most from the employee,
and why you feel you’re not getting it,
the authors wrote. If the problem is you
are expecting your employee to work the
way you do, let go of those expectations.
Dispassionately assess the individual’s real
strengths and capacities for contributing
to the team’s work. Is more training
needed? Try to get them the training or
the guidance of a more experienced colleague.
They may be missing the opportunities
to pop into the office of a more
experienced employee to ask for advice.
It’s important to get to know them and
continue to ask about their goals and what
they care about, especially as circumstances
change.
LEVEL WITH YOUR EMPLOYEE
This advice doesn’t change in the
remote world. Many people who aren’t
doing well have a vague feeling that
something is wrong, but don’t understand
which of their behaviors isn’t working, the
article said. As much as possible, use questions
to encourage your underperformers
to self-diagnose the situation. This will
help you avoid micromanaging, which is a
significant temptation when you’re trying
to be extremely clear about expectations.
Be sure to keep your remote underperformer
in the loop. If you’ve asked underperforming
employees to keep you up to
date on their progress, make clear how
you want them to do that.
Epsky states that effective work starts at
the top. He coaches his business clients to
correct nonremote friendly behavior and
put inclusive practices in place to create
what he calls a “downstream successful
experience” for everyone. v
This article is provided by the FBDC at IRSC,
the Small Business Development Center within
Indian River State College’s School of Business.
The center’s team of business experts works
one-on-one with hundreds of entrepreneurs
and business owners each year by providing
confidential, no-cost consulting. The center’s
mission is to help Treasure Coast businesses
grow and succeed.
3D PRINTING
/rapidps.com
/TCBusiness.com