Managing a remote workforce can be tricky. Although there are tools to make it easier, if they aren’t implemented properly they could hinder more than they help.
To make sure that you don’t end up falling victim of any of the more common pitfalls of managing remote workers, here are a few mistakes you need to avoid:
Intrusively monitoring employees
Employee monitoring is a relatively common way to track the activity of remote workers and manage them more effectively. However if it is too intrusive it can erode the trust of employees and make them feel they’re being spied on.
If you’re using Controlio, you may want to be particularly mindful of using features such as its ability to capture screenshots and screen recordings, log keystrokes, and track personal emails or IM messages.
Insufficient communication
The big downside of remote work is that it makes collaboration and communication more complicated. Many remote workers find themselves communicating with their coworkers less frequently and feeling more isolated.
To fix this, not only should managers check in on employees periodically, but employees should be encouraged to use a group chat to talk and update one another.
Not being transparent
Transparency goes a long way when dealing with remote workers – particularly when employee monitoring is involved. Ideally you should notify employees they’re being monitored and create a policy that explains its scope and reason why it is necessary.
Not ensuring the security of employee data
When monitoring employees you’ll gather a lot of potentially personal data. It is important that you ensure that data is stored safely.
The good news is that Controlio itself has several features that can improve security. It has 2-factor authentication, data encryption, temporary access tokens, brute-force protection, and several other security measures.
Attempting to micromanage employees
If employees feel you’re micromanaging them and constantly watching what they’re doing, it will make them feel you don’t trust them. It can be tempting to constantly use employee monitoring to check up on employees – but you should curb that impulse and instead use it more sparingly.
Sometimes you may not even need to look at Controlio’s data on a regular basis and can instead rely on its monitoring profiles and behavior rules to alert you when anything requires your attention.
Not spotting signs of burnout
Remote workers are particularly prone to burning out due to the fact that they are isolated and may adopt poor working habits. This can be addressed using Controlio to monitor employees who are working long hours and not taking sufficient breaks, or who show a sudden drop in productivity.
Additionally you can setup Controlio to send alerts when employees exhibit abnormal behavior. Or, you could get it to send you weekly reports on all employees that you can review individually.
Work hours that are too flexible or too rigid
A big part of the appeal of remote work is that it can be really flexible so employees can choose the work hours that fit them best. This is certainly true – however being too flexible is not necessarily a good thing and it can make it more difficult to collaborate, schedule meetings, and distribute tasks.
Similarly, excessive rigidity is bad too and forcing remote workers to stick to a 9-to-5 schedule is definitely not very desirable. Ideally you need to find a balance between the two that works for your company.
If you can avoid all of these mistakes, you should be in a relatively good position to manage your remote workforce effectively. Make no mistake, it will still require hard work and planning on your part – but at very least you won’t end up shooting yourself in the foot at the starting line.
