Managing Remote Workers

Gallup Management Journal has a great article by Jennifer Robison on managing workers who are at remote locations. An excerpt:

It seems logical to assume that remote workers might be less engaged than in-house staff. Actually, remote workers are more likely to be engaged than those around the office. Twenty-eight percent of people who work from home, 35% of "road warriors" (people whose jobs require constant travel), and 39% of salesmen are engaged, according to a Gallup study. Only 25% of people who work primarily in an office setting are engaged. Furthermore, 58% of remote workers who are extremely satisfied with their manager are engaged, vs. 6% who are ambivalent or dissatisfied with their manger. So, for a variety of reasons, remote workers are as or more likely to get and stay engaged in their work.

But keeping them that way takes some finesse. Managers must be accessible, and they need to build strong relationships with their remote workers according to their individual preferences. Mass e-mails, PR department brochures, and teleconferences may be standard office fare, but they don't necessarily engage telecommuters. These methods also edge uncomfortably close to "managing by paperwork" -- piling up so many forms, handbooks, and policies that remote workers feel inundated, managers feel they have little else to add, and both groups are kept at an artificial and unnecessary distance from each other and from the top brass. Real management requires one-on-one contact, and engagement depends on real relationships.