How to Lead in the Virtual Office
With the increase of technology and sophisticated work tools, more and more
employees are working from coffee shops, couches and the virtual office. In
fact, 52 percent of employees surveyed by Workfront in July, expect the majority of employees will work remotely in the next few years.
While remote work is great for employees as it improves flexibility and saves
them the stress of a commute, it presents new challenges from a leadership
perspective. In a study published in the October 2016 issue of The Leadership Quarterly ,
researchers from Brigham Young University found that employees tend to favor
leaders they see face-to-face. The researchers found that people are biased
toward and feel closer with managers who are physically near them.
That means remote employees are less likely to view their managers as leaders,
which can lead to power struggles, communication issues and confusion. But
remote working isn’t going anywhere and it’s up to leaders to step up and take
charge of the virtual office. Here’s how:
Focus on Communication
While many people assume there’s less communication in a virtual office than a
traditional one, the opposite should actually be true. Constant communication
is critical to success. Unfortunately, many remote teams don’t feel connected
to leadership.
Among virtual employees surveyed by Interact in
October 2014, 69 percent said the kind of communication that could keep them
engaged in their work is lacking. What’s more, 55 percent said their boss
communicated almost exclusively by email.
Leaders should communicate often with remote employees to build relationships
and make up for the lack of face time. Although email is the most used form of
virtual communication, it won’t cut it with remote teams. Use a variety of
methods so messages are seen quickly and aren’t misinterpreted. Use chat apps
and tools, phone calls and even video calls to keep the team connected and on
the right track.
Resolve Power Struggles
When some employees work remotely and others work in an office together,
they’re more likely to see the people they work with as a leader, the research
from Brigham Young University found. So if a leader and the team are divided
between a virtual office and a traditional office, leaders may have a power
struggle on their hands. Employees who work together in the office may be more
inclined to listen to each other, rather than remote leadership.
If these conflicts arise, address them immediately — ignoring them will only
make the problem worse. Talk it out with employees. Explain the reasoning
behind disagreements and ask team members to discuss why they think
differently.
Take their input seriously and involve team members in the process of
resolving the issue. After all, research conducted by our company, Skyline Group International, Inc., found that employees think exploring, talking and integrating to find solutions are the most
effective approaches to conflict resolution.
In general, stay open and transparent with remote teams. That way, employees
feel they can trust leadership and express any problems or concerns, instead
of trying to resolve issues amongst themselves.
Start With Details
When employees are spread out, things can get easily confused. Without the
convenience of adjacent cubicles, information like who’s doing what, the
status of projects and more is lost or isn’t shared with the whole team.
In a survey of 1,400 office workers published by Wrike in October 2015, respondents rated
a lack of clear responsibilities among the top workplace stressors. This problem only gets more complicated when remote work is added to the equation.
It’s up to leadership to sort out any confusion and keep the team on the same
page. Start by giving employees clear and detailed instructions — more
detailed than instructions that would be given in person. Prompt the team to
ask questions before getting started on tasks. Leaders should follow-up with
phone calls or a preferred method of communication to double-check that
everyone understands the plan.
Then, make sure tools, resources and any other files the team needs are easy
to access and find. Be available to answer questions and let the team know the
best way to reach leadership if they need a quick response.