Remote Manager? 3 Things You Shouldn’t Do, and Some Better Ideas

Like we’ll always think of babies born during lockdown as “Covid Kids”, I’m something of a “Covid Manager”, having started an entry-level job in 2019 and experiencing the transformation of becoming a manager in the crucible of the pandemic. As I was spreading my wings, I saw and tried many things that did not always translate well into our new reality. During this time, I was lucky enough to work for some managers that were willing to try new things and adjust how they approached management, but I learned just as much from the managers that weren’t prepared to evolve. 

Don’t: Rely on Employee Monitoring Software

Admittedly, this is a pet peeve of mine and has earned a place of honor atop the list of “Don’ts”. Employee monitoring software promises to capture and report every click and keystroke on your employees’ computers, regardless of location. With names like “Staffcop” and “Controlio”, it’s no wonder employees might be insulted by these software, if they’re even aware that they’re being monitored by them. 

As quickly as these software appear and get patched, Reddit and other sites are filled with threads about how to trick them, so the most dedicated slackers will always fly under the radar. Beyond the practicalities of shelling out ~$100+ per license of a software that might get circumvented, keystrokes and clicks and time spent on “distracting activities” gives you very little information about an employee’s holistic productivity. Even in positions where number and frequency of keystrokes are central (think entry-level data entry), productivity should be measured by the desired outcomes of the role. Those outcomes should be clearly defined upon hiring, and updated as necessary.  

Productivity looks different for everyone, but employee monitoring software sets up the same set of incentives for all. The 15 minutes without clicks or keystrokes in the middle of the day is likely not theft of company time so much as someone’s brain unwinding a snag in a coding problem or the wording of a difficult email to a client. If employee monitoring software replaces any part of management, it is the part where you stand behind your employees all day and stare at them while they work, which I would argue is not good management in any scenario. 

Instead: Implement Regular Check Ins

While virtual over-the-shoulder hovering is very much discouraged, the office practice of walking to an employee’s desk and asking, “How’s it going?” is something worth replicating virtually, whether it be over chat or video, with groups or individually on a regular basis. If an employee is missing deadlines, failing to respond to chats/emails, etc. it’s worth investigating not just how they are spending their time, but if they think they are currently spending their time well and still failing to meet outcomes. 

If they are already aware they are not spending their time productively, it may be due to issues in their personal life or a symptom of some other kind of burnout, which employee monitoring software fails to capture. If they aren’t aware, you have the opportunity to find out where the disconnect is happening and correct it. Are they being overloaded with irrelevant work by another manager that misunderstands the employee’s role? Such a situation would make the employee appear productive according to monitoring software, which is why it’s important to evaluate whether your team is meeting their goals and why or why not. You know, management! 

Don’t: Have Meetings for Meetings’ Sake

Employee software is not a substitute for any part of your role as a manager, neither are meetings. There is value in regular face time as a team, but a meeting where everyone glances around the Zoom calm while you say, “Well, does anyone have anything to cover?” Even if someone does have something to cover, they’re unlikely to want to jump in and extend the necessary evil that is a virtual meeting while their coworkers are secretly hoping to get their half hour back. 

Like everything else in your workplace, each meeting should have a specific purpose and intention. That means ending it early if the purpose is accomplished, planning for more time if it’s not, and keeping the discussion to that topic even if it’s tempting to cover something adjacent. 

Starting on time (within reason) is also important--you can almost see people’s sense of purpose draining from their faces as “Let’s give everyone a few minutes to join,” hits the ten minute mark. A good rule of thumb I’ve learned is the 10% rule: you should start a meeting after no more than 10% has passed, and it should also not go over by more than that amount. For example, a 30-minute meeting starting at 11:00AM should be on the road and on topic by 11:03AM, and should be fully wrapped up no later than 11:33AM. This accounts for the difference in pace between a 15-minute standup meeting and an hour-long department cross-training, and gives everyone a consistent expectation to follow. 

Recurring meetings are a common villain of this rule. While a weekly check in with a vendor makes a lot of sense when you’re onboarding them, the truth is that you may not (and hopefully won’t) have issues to discuss with them that often, but when you need to talk to them, you probably really need to talk to them. Luckily, we have the technology to solve (or at least mitigate) this conundrum. 

Instead: Leverage Running Agendas

This is but one possible solution to the slog that recurring meetings can become, but it’s one of my favorites and one that I find is often underutilized. A running agenda can simply be a Google Doc with the date of the next meeting on top and bullet points to cover underneath, with a log of past meetings getting pushed down as more are added. There are any number of features that could be added, like a spot for the person who added the bullet point to include their name. The general idea of a running agenda is that it is shared with everyone attending the meeting, and anyone can add items to cover in the next meeting. 

The advantages of a running agenda are plentiful. It gives everyone a chance to add topics (think issues with a vendor’s product) as they encounter them throughout the week, rather than trying to recall them while everyone is staring at each other on Zoom. It also gives the participants in the meeting time to think about and/or gather information about the items on the agenda before the call, hopefully preventing a string of questions answered simply by, “Let me look into that and get back to you next time.” The log of past bullet points also serves as a short summary for participants who weren’t able to make the meeting. And last, but certainly not least, if the agenda remains empty, it is a clear signal that the meeting can be canceled. 

Don’t: Forgo Fun and Team-building

Of course, I think very few teams intentionally deemphasize team building activities in a virtual or hybrid environment, but I also think many teams fail to make them fun. I’ll be the first to admit that this is profoundly challenging while working remotely, and I myself have hosted some real stinkers in the past. This is made more difficult by the fact that an event that might be a hit with one team would be a disaster with another, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the investment of time, energy, and (yes) probably money. Humans are pack animals, not productivity machines. If you treat people like the latter, don't be surprised when they take their skills elsewhere and you’re stuck shelling out more money to replace them. 

While successful fun looks different in every team, there are a few bad places to start. The combination of mandatory and after hours should be avoided at all costs. If an event must be after hours, make it clear that while everyone is welcome, you understand that people have lives and commitments outside of work, and don’t penalize people (even subconsciously) that aren’t able to attend. By regularly having team-building events outside of regular work hours, you risk placing an unnecessary burden on people who are parents or caretakers, who volunteer in their free time, or who are just plain introverted and need to recharge after work. If you agree that team-building is a vital activity, then it should occur during work hours, when all other vital activities occur. 

Instead: Encourage Casual Conversations

The best way to start finding out what your team might enjoy is also fun in itself--casual, non-work conversations. These happen very naturally in an office, but can be very difficult to have in a remote setting. If your team members seem excited to go off on personal tangents during meetings, that’s probably a good sign that you need to facilitate some time for chit chat. 

As you can imagine, that’s easier said than done--try opening a Zoom call with, “Anyone do anything fun this weekend?” and let me know how it goes. I’m a big fan of “[Department] Office Hours” type calls: people from other teams can join if they have questions, but if they don’t, it’s a good place to let work talk fade into something funny that happened recently. Another favorite of mine is the virtual team lunch: have team members expense their favorite local takeout or delivery and eat together, because food is an easy topic of conversation that everyone has in common (“That looks good, what’s the place called you got it from?”). Regardless of your strategy, you’ll likely have to be the leader in keeping conversation going, but with practice, your employees will be more comfortable speaking up. 

Casual conversation doesn’t just have to happen in meetings either, and benefit from structure. Slack with its dedicated channels is excellent for this--channels about pets, favorite TV shows, or sharing music are a great way for people to learn about the non-work sides of their coworkers. Microsoft Teams and other software that functions differently may present some challenges, but I offer a suggestion that has been implemented in my department since before I started: the Daily Poll Question. Around the same time every day, the person assigned to that day will ask a question meant to get discussion going, with very few other limits. For example, “What’s the first album/CD that you owned?” and “What’s the best sandwich you’ve ever had?” created memorable discussions that lasted for hours, with people throwing in their contributions as their time permitted. A key here is that everyone on the team, from the Director to the entry-level Coordinators get their day to ask a question, which makes everyone more comfortable talking to one another. After all, it’s slightly harder to find someone intimidating when you know exactly how toasty they like their bagel. 

Facilitating conversations like these is a great way to find out what your team members have in common and what they don’t, which is the perfect starting point for creating team building events that are successful and actually fun. 

In The End

There are many ways we can adjust and improve how we approach management, but the common thread is this: everyone you work with is a multifaceted human being and not just a tiny square on Zoom, and that is a wonderful thing worth celebrating and leveraging.