Hello, bartb-ga!
I have had a difficult time finding written material that actually
addresses your specific question. However, I have found a seminar,
advertised by Padgett-Thomson, that is an exact match to your specific
problem.
The Seminar is titled:
“Supervising Off-Site Employees Who Are Out-Of-Sight … But Not
Out-Of-Mind.”
“For managers who want to improve communication with and increase
the performance of employees they don't see day-to-day. It takes
special skills to manage employees you have little or no contact with.
No matter how much you put into it, it's a difficult process to really
understand what's happening at a location miles and miles away.”
“Attend this intensive one-day seminar to learn how to get more from
off-site employees than you ever thought possible. You'll find out how
to get out-of-sight employees to follow your instructions to the
letter, get staff to pull together and work as a team and keep the
lines of communication flowing smoothly.”
Learn motivation techniques that work from a distance
Recognize problems before they get out of hand
Gaining acceptance and respect from staff members you don't see very
often
At home? On the road? Satellite office? How to sidestep the top 3
demotivators for employees working in these situations
How to hire and develop employees who don't need a boss looking over
their shoulders
Assessing employees' needs when you don't see them day-to-day
Mistakes many far-off managers make that can instantly destroy trust
and undermine authority
Technology tools you can use to make sure you have effective 2-way
communication
Proven-effective ways to quickly build rapport with employees you
don't see
How to develop a long-distance communication network to make sure
vital information doesn't
slip through the cracks
How to get critical information from off-site personnel --concisely
and regularly
Help your employees take charge of their jobs, so you don't have to
constantly keep tabs on them
What to do when satellite employees get headed in the wrong direction
… how to get them back
on track quickly
Do you know when you're not hearing the whole story? Discover what's
really going on
FINALLY! Expert insight into how announced --and surprise --visits
affect employee performance
How to battle the traditional long-distance challenge of high turnover
UPDATE: Safely navigate the sticky legal issues involved with
disciplining and firing off-site employees
How to prevent any hard feelings when you have to announce --or
enforce -- unpopular decisions
You can call Padgett Toll Free at: 1-800-258-7246 to find out the
nearest seminar, or you can arrange a seminar to come to your
particular company. You might even try to get several area companies
to go in together to lessen the cost.
You may also click on your particular state at
http://www.pttrain.com/ptSeminars.cfm to see what seminars are coming
to your state or one nearby.
Some bits of advice I have found, that primarily apply to
“flex-workers” but can also apply to you, are as follows:
Evaluate employees by time-based achievment for particular jobs
****************************************************
Flexible, or off-site employees “present a variety of leadership and
management concerns. "It's hard to exert leadership remotely." "It's
a different matter managing someone you don't see
all the time," Rose adds. Solutions may include adjusting everyone's
schedule to create overlapping periods when supervisors and employees
will be at work together.
“Policies must address manager concerns about supervising remote
employees, and managers must learn new supervisory and assessment
skills. For instance, they may have to learn to evaluate employees by
achieved objectives rather than whether they appear busy. And
employees may
need training to develop better time-management skills and
self-motivation.”
From “The Virtual Workplace: Making Flexibility Work for You,” by
Mark Henricks. The Manager’s Letter at
http://www.olsten.com/staffing/links/ml_feb99.pdf
Suggestion for supervisors of off-site employees
******************************************
“It can be difficult for a traditional manager to supervise an
off-site team. It's critical to maintain good communication so nothing
slips through the cracks.”
"The best manager for a virtual team is one who not only can delegate
and follow up, but also can step back and allow the employee to get
the job done. He must trust the employee to complete the task, keeping
his manager in the loop through the process.”
“Managers in this situation sometimes take on even more
accountability to their bosses, especially if the manager is the only
one present in the office to whom the boss can turn for an update.”
“Today's technology makes managing a virtual team easier. Voice mail,
e-mail and computer networks allow for seamless sharing of
information. However, one-to-one communication should not be lost in
the process. Managers should "meet" with employees at least once a
week, either in person or on the phone, to share information and keep
abreast on specific projects.
“It may be necessary to provide more explicit instructions up front
to outline goals and deadlines for a specific project.”
“When an employee is off site, you don't want him to proceed with a
project, only to find out a week later that he misunderstood the
assignment and the project is now behind schedule.”
“Again, good communication is the key. Managers should be just as
accessible to off-site employees to answer questions and provide
guidance, and employees should know to consult their manager if they
hit a roadblock.”
Read “Managing a Workforce That’s Never in the Office,” by Emory
Mulling. Atlanta Business Chronicle. (1/6/1998) at
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1998/02/09/smallb8.html
The following was taken from the article, “Telecommuting Requires
Top-Notch Performance Management.” Workforce Performance. (Winter
2001) at http://www.opm.gov/perform/articles/2001/win01-1.htm
(If you can substitute the word “telecommute” to off-site field
inspectors”, you will have some valuable suggestions!)
Plan the Work
*************
“In any work situation, planning work is the first step to managing
performance. Supervisors and employees should clearly define what the
employee is to accomplish. Of course, employee assignments should
align with and support organizational goals. Planning for successful
results requires supervisors and employees to first determine work
unit goals and objectives, and then determine employee accomplishments
that support those goals. Supervisors and employees can use employee
performance plans as the tools to establish required accomplishments.”
Set Expectations
***************
“Not only do employees need to know what they are supposed to do,
they need to know how well they are supposed to do it. Supervisors
should clearly communicate performance standards. Supervisors can use
the standards written in employee performance plans to communicate
expectations, but they also should communicate verbally, and often. If
employees know what they are supposed to do, and how well they are
supposed to do it, the supervisor has set the stage for successful
performance-whether the employee works inside or outside the office.”
Monitor Performance
*******************
“Monitoring performance includes measuring performance and providing
feedback. In a telecommuting situation (as in any work situation),
measuring the results of employee efforts rather than their activities
is more efficient and effective. Quantity, quality, timeliness, and
cost-effectiveness are four general measures that supervisors should
review. Once supervisors and employees establish performance measures,
communicating performance on those measures should be frequent.
Employees need feedback on their performance in order to maintain good
performance and to improve overall. In addition, employees need to
keep supervisors informed about work progress. Good communications
between supervisors and employees is essential for successfully
completing work and is especially necessary in a telecommuting
environment.”
Recognize Performance
**********************
“Particularly in situations where telecommuting employees work
off-site most of the time, supervisors need to take care that these
employees still feel they are part of the office. Maintaining good
communications is one important way to do this. Another way is to
ensure that supervisors recognize the good performance of these
telecommuters. Supervisors should not let telecommuters feel as if
their performance doesn't matter or that no one ever notices their
achievements. All employees want to feel that their work is
appreciated. Recognition should always be part of the supervisor's
performance management tool bag.”
“Clearly, telecommuting puts the spotlight on a supervisor's
performance management skills. Poor performance management can lead to
poor work results in any setting, but especially in a telecommuting
environment.”
A short checklist for some qualities and circumstances to consider
when contracting off-site employees that may be useful to you is
available in the article:
“Is Virtual Employment Right For My Business?” at
http://www.aedess.com/Ebustoolkit/employers/isvirutal_right.html
There are many training seminars for supervisors that you can find
online, just by typing in “effective supervisors.” However, they are
generally not what you are looking for.
My husband is a general contractor with the same concerns that you
have when he is trying to evaluate the efficiency of his crew. His
main communication is by cell phone, which rings constantly. He tries
to keep communication strong, and has one or two employees who are the
most responsible employees on the job sites. They usually are the main
communicators and are responsible for keeping the other employees in
line. However, the main problem comes in when they need my husband’s
on-site, expertise. Then he has to run up to the job site……sometimes,
several times a day.
I saw a very interesting show on television a short time ago, that
involved a supervisor who monitored his employees work progress and
responded to their problems by receiving digital photos via his laptop
computer. If the employees ran into a particular problem, he could see
the actual picture as opposed to trying to decipher their
descriptions. I am not exactly sure how it all worked, but it might be
a technology worth looking into.
I hope these suggestions have been of some help. Supervision of
off-site employees generally revolves around the same problems,
regardless of the type of business. Efficiency, quality workmanship
and trust in your employees are the key issues. At the same time, it
is a two-way street. They must respect you enough to work hard whether
you are on the site with them or not.
Take care!
umiat-ga
Google Search Strategy
+supervising off-site workers
+Monitoring +work +off-site +employees
+Monitoring +off-site +employee +progress |
