By their very nature, flexible employees are typically an independent bunch. As autonomous as they might be, though, your workers still want a leader they can rely on, in both good times and bad.
Hone these five skills in order to be the leader your flexible employees need:
Fire them up!
As an employer, you don’t just want seat warmers or clock watchers. No, you want employees who report for duty each day excited about the tasks ahead of them. A great way to get your employees up and at ‘em is by motivating them to want to do more, both for themselves and for the company. Let your workers know about interesting upcoming events for the company, and mention individual and team success stories to the entire team.
Be consistent.
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Nothing can turn an employee sour faster than an employer who is nice when communicating directly to him, and then badmouths him behind his back. Make sure that the messages you convey, whether it’s a review or even simply disseminating information about the company, is clear and consistent. That will help to instill trust in your workers, which will in turn strengthen you as their leader.
Offer honest feedback.
Feedback can be fun to give—until you have to present some not-too-positive critiques. But the best way to deliver bad news is by being constructive and optimistic. For example, if your worker has started to slack a bit, you can make mention of this during your meeting, but then be sure to include at least one or two positive things that you’ve noticed, too. That way, it’ll take some of the sting out of what you need to be telling your worker, but encourage them to continue working hard, too.
Empower your employees.
People often perform at their peak when they are working for themselves. It’s then that they feel the most excited, interested, and invested in their work performance. So make sure that each of your remote employees feels like they have ownership in your organization. It can be anything from reminding them of what an integral role in the company’s success they play, or encouraging them to voice their ideas—and then implementing them into action.
Make it personal.
Believe it or not, employees want to like (and be liked) by their employer. That’s why you should make the effort to have a connection with your flexible workers that goes beyond the typical 9-to-5. Get to know their family members’ names, the ages of their kids, and what their passions are. If your team is remote, you can always schedule a non-work-related check-in to catch up on how they’re doing and see if they need help in any areas. Taking the effort to understand who they are on a personal level can translate into bigger and better returns for your business.
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