Growth & Jobs | Focus on productivity when managing a team remotely

While the Government has encouraged companies and organisations that are not essential services to have their employees work remotely from home, if possible, many entities are concerned about productivity.

However, women’s leadership expert, author, and executive coach Janice Sutherland has advised team leads not to put their focus on input, but rather, on productivity as it relates to employees working remotely.

“Most of the time, we focus on the input,” she said. “We are, basically, uncomfortable to have our team working from home because, how can we say that they are working when they are at home? How do I know that they are actually doing the job that I’m paying them to do?” she questioned.

“How do I trust them to deliver? And that is really the crux of the matter. It is all about trusting in leading your team remotely. If you focus on managing inputs, you end up being a micro manager, therefore, you really lose focus about the real objective and the bigger picture as well as risk becoming the obstacle,” she warned.

Sutherland made the suggestion while addressing a webinar on the topic, ‘The People Factor’, recently. The webinar was organised by MC Systems in collaboration with the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

She also noted that team leads need to change their mindset when leading a team remotely. This, she said, means that success or productivity should not be measured by ‘presenteeism’, but rather by ‘productivity and output.’

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The executive coach recommended that there should be effective communication channels with the remote team, clarity, in terms of what is expected of the team; building team camaraderie; maintaining productivity; accountability; and evaluating performances.

Addressing communication, Sutherland said that a check-in routine with the team should be established. She explained that this could be a morning meeting or a debriefing at the end of the day to know what has been done and what needs to be addressed the following day.

“Set clear expectations. This is about clarity and what is expected of them and their targets. Ensure that there is precision and everyone knows what needs to be done. Secondly, establish a vibrant chain of command and confirm that team members know who they need to speak with if they have a problem,” she advised.

The executive coach also said that there should be opportunities for remote social interaction and emotional support, considering that the current environment is unusual.

In terms of management tasks, she advised that task-management tools should be used to keep track of work being accomplished, which also encourages a culture of check-in.

Sutherland said that a crucial aspect of remote working was providing feedback to the team. Hence, there should be regular feedback, encouragement of self-reflection before a review, and that, employees should not be blindsided with negative feedback. The third part of the webinar will continue on Wednesday with the topic ‘Business Intelligence – What Your Data Can Tell You’. Speakers will be Larren Peart, chief executive officer of Bluedot Insights; Larry Watson, immediate past president, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and general manager of International Biscuits, a member company of Seprod; and Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, director, Mona GeoInformatics Institute, University of the West Indies and an Eisenhower Fellow.