A team composed of workers who do not meet each other in person is logically more likely to experience problematic behaviour. Managing remote employees' problematic behaviour does, however, not require any special treatment, but careful consideration of the situation and a strong communication strategy. Five steps to achieve expected behaviour of your "virtual" employees were summed up on the Talent Management website.
1. Clearly define how you expect your remote employees to behave
Provide rules of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour towards colleagues and customers not only verbally but also in writting and ideally through educational videos as well.
2. Teach how to communicate and understand spoken and written communication
Remote communication, especially written, it is often misunderstood. Therefore, you should provide your remote employees with a training on how to communicate clearly by e-mail and phone. Tell them when most misunderstandings happen and provide continuous feedback.
3. Communicate clearly and directly
If you notice a remote employee's inappropriate behaviour, tell him clearly and directly. Describe how his behavior makes it impossible to fulfill his or others work goals and offer incentives for change. Listen and ask open questions.
4. Teach how to deal with more flexibility
Getting used to a higher degree of flexibility while working remotely is not as simple as it may seem. Offer flexibility, but also a kind of structure. Arrange, in particular, in which time periods the employee must be available based on customers' needs (not the supervisor's).
5. Offer official help and support
Employees working remotely can sometimes require more than just the remote support of supervisors and colleagues. That is why sou should remind them what assistance they can use - for example, assistance programs, wellness programs, virtual and personal meetings with colleagues. Remind them both verbally and in wiring.
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