In your pyjamas till lunchtime

What is the response when someone in your organisation says they are “working from home” or becomes a permanent teleworker? Beyond the snipes about being in your pyjamas till lunchtime (just lunchtime!) if you are managing staff who work some or all of the time from their home, you will have an employee involvement issue on your hands. If you are managing by results (what the employee delivers and achieves) you can probably tell how much they are producing, but do you know how involved they are, now that they are isolated from office gossip and from occasionally bumping into you so you can check.

To keep up with your remote-working staff try three things. First arrange for them to spend occasional days in the office, not just coming in for specific meetings. That way you remind them and everyone else they are a key part of the team and not just a resource. Second once a week give them a call and do not ask them to do anything. Just ask how they are, and have a water cooler chat albeit over the phone. Third measure their engagement. If you have a group (even a handful) of remote-working employees it is worth running a remote workers monthly survey to check on engagement trends. More here