Employer whose remote employees are taking advantage of flexibility

When Your Remote Employees Start Taking Advantage of the Flexibility

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Trust is vital to any manager/employee relationship. Without it, time is wasted, morale plummets, deadlines are missed, and both parties suffer.

If an untrustworthy employee is also a remote worker, the pain can be even worse. That’s because virtual team members who aren’t pulling their weight may be able to hide the problem longer than their colleagues sitting in the cubicles next to yours. That means the detrimental effects of their problems could be more severe.

The need for trust in this environment goes both ways. As noted in an article on Workopolis, “Remote work stops working when you can’t trust the person on the other end of the line. If you continually find yourself worrying what someone is doing, then you are spending brain cycles focusing on something other than the product. Trust is key.”

As a manager of remote workers, you walk a fine line in this regard. You don’t want to micromanage them from afar, destroying their trust in you by virtually hovering over their shoulders. At the same time, however, you need to monitor them closely enough to catch potential problems early, before they affect the rest of the team or the company’s bottom line.

That starts with effective communication. Set clear expectations with your remote workers from the start, regarding both general performance and specific tasks. Then check in with them frequently, preferably through video-based one-on-one meetings every other week and daily contact via email, online chat, or instant messaging.

Through this interaction, you will know if your virtual employee is starting to take advantage of the flexibility you’ve provided, whether he is not making himself available at appropriate times, starts missing deadlines without explanation, isn’t completing assigned tasks, or is clearly spending work hours on things other than work.

If you find yourself in that situation, document everything, making specific notes about the problems you see. Then take action.

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First, diagnose the problem.

As soon as red flags appear, contact your remote employee, preferably through a video call—or, if possible, face-to-face. Using your notes, provide specific examples of problems you have noticed. Ask the worker for an explanation. It’s possible that some extenuating family circumstances he didn’t share with you previously have caused him to be temporarily distracted. Or maybe he needs additional training, but was afraid to ask for help.

It’s also possible, however, that he won’t have a good reason for his lack of performance. If you’ve maintained good communication with him, you’ll know if his answers are honest.

Next, calmly confront the situation.

If it becomes clear that your virtual team member simply isn’t engaged, or he’s slacking off, your first instinct may be to react with anger. This is natural, as you’ll feel betrayed by a person in whom you placed your trust. However, you should avoid reacting with rage. Instead, remain calm and rational, focusing on the specifics of the problem and analyzing its root causes.

Then, work together on a proposed solution.

You’ve invested considerable time and effort in recruiting, hiring, and training your remote worker. If it’s possible to fix the problems that have led to this breach of trust, it’s worth the effort to do so. Assuming he is willing to change his ways, work with your employee to develop an improvement plan. Address specific communication issues, training needs, deadlines, productivity benchmarks, and other factors that will be key to his success.

Document all of this, and follow up with an email, so there can be no confusion. Make your human resources department aware of the situation, so they can help you handle everything in accord with company policies.

Follow up and monitor progress.

The plan you set up with your remote employee should include specific targets and due dates. Since you aren’t in the same room with him, make an extra effort to maintain contact during this time. Check in frequently, and ask him if he has any questions. Be especially watchful for any signs that he isn’t taking the situation seriously, or that he’s continuing to show a lack of trustworthiness.

And, as always, document everything. (For this reason, a daily check-in via email could be helpful, as it provides written documentation of his progress, or lack thereof.)

If problems persist, you may need to terminate the worker.

Despite your best efforts, some people aren’t going to turn their performance around. When that happens, you’ll have no choice but to “manage them out” of the company. Again, make sure you keep your human resources department involved in this process. Also remember that terminating a remote worker can be especially time-consuming and challenging, as you must consider how he should return any work-provided equipment, when to eliminate his system access, and similar issues.

Try to stay patient and professional despite such complications.

Make sure your team understands the situation, as appropriate.

Depending on how your wayward remote worker reacts, you could have a whole group of nervous employees on your hands. If he gives the impression that he is being punished simply due to his remote status, it could hamper your efforts to offer flexibility. Since flex work tends to benefit both workers and companies, that isn’t something you can afford. Be as transparent as possible as you work through the process, again seeking guidance from HR on what you can and can’t say. If you do terminate the worker, take extra time to talk to your other remote employees, ensuring them that the company remains committed to flexibility.

No manager enjoys dealing with a situation in which an employee has proven to be untrustworthy or ineffective. However, every supervisor will face such problems eventually. Especially when a member of your virtual team is involved, remember that patience, professionalism, documentation, and communication are your friends. Hopefully, your actions will allow you to rebuild and maintain trust with struggling remote workers, transforming them into happy, engaged, and productive players on your team.

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