How to Manage

Remote Employees
A LEADERSHIP GUIDE TO SUPPORTING YOUR DISTRIBUTED TEAM

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CHAPTE R ON E

The Working
World Is Going
Increasingly
Remote
The increase in remote work is startling. In 2018,
68% of global, full-time employees reported
working from home at least once per month.
This is up from 43% working from home at least
part of the time in 2016 and 39% in 2012. With
millennials making up the largest percentage of
the workforce, digital natives are propelling the
remote work movement at an exponential rate.

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 Millennials have even come to expect the ability to work from
home – the number one reason millennials left their jobs in
2018 was lack of flexible schedule.

Technology like video conferencing, instant messaging systems

like Slack, and WiFi/personal hotspots have allowed for the rise
in a hybrid workforce — teams where some employees work
from an office and others work remotely. In 2018, 16% of
companies were fully remote or distributed, meaning they don’t
have a headquarters or office. 40% of companies were hybrid,
Remote work research shows benefits for
meaning they offer both in-person and remote options.
both employee and employer, including hiring,
retention, and employee engagement.
Employees who take advantage of telecommuting and remote
work are happier, more productive, and save companies
money, all while contributing to helping the environment.
In fact, employees
What does this mean for managers?
who work remotely at
It means that the workforce is expecting flexibility, and
least once a month are companies who want to stay competitive as employers need to

24% happier than their

adapt. Remote and flexible jobs allow businesses to expand their
talent pool and retain employees at a higher rate. Employees are

desk-bound colleagues. happier and feel an increase in job satisfaction when allowed to
choose when, where, and how they work best.

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 Remote Work Statistics
Remote work provides better opportunities Working remotely doesn’t negatively
for quality employment for 30% of full-time impact employee’s investment in their work.
employees worldwide.
Fully-remote companies take 25% less
In 2018, the number one reason employees time to hire than other companies.
chose to work remotely was productivity
and focus.

Remote work decreases employee turnover.

Companies who support remote work have
25% lower employee turnover than
companies that don’t.

There you have it – the number of people who work remotely is steadily
increasing, remote work is providing better job opportunities around
the world, and supporting remote work benefits both employees and
employers. Let’s dig a little deeper into those benefits.

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CHAPTE R TWO

Why Build
Remote
Teams?
While it’s easy to see why employees would enjoy
or even prefer working remotely, managers need
to be thoughtful about how to move forward.
For example, could allowing remote work put
the organization at risk? Could it decrease team
productivity or disrupt company culture? As a
manager, will I be able to lead effectively with a
team that’s partially on-site and partially remote?
This guide will help you address these concerns
and more. First, let’s explore the organizational
benefits of making a shift to allowing a flexible
work culture.

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Lower stress drives employee happiness.
“The driving force seems to
Less stressed employees equal more productive
employees. For example, an employee who sits be that happier workers use
in traffic for 45 minutes a day, or perhaps is
struggling to balance personal and professional life,
the time they have more
isn’t going to be as happy with their job. If a person effectively, increasing the
isn’t happy with their job, they won’t be able to work
at their full potential.
pace at which they can work
without sacrificing quality.”
Shorter (or nonexistent) commutes and flexible work
hours leads to a decrease in stress, less time wasted,
Dr. Sgroi, Researcher
more productive work hours, and increased happi-
ness among employees. A study by economists at the
University of Warwick found that happy employees
showed a 12% increase in productivity.

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Flexible work arrangements allow for
a better work-life balance and lower
turnover rates.

With the advent of modern technology, the work-

place is no longer confined to an office building.
Employees can use VPN, cloud storage, and speedy
home WiFi to accomplish the same tasks from their
homes, coworking spaces, or on-the-go. Flexible
schedules have created a generation for whom a top
reason to work remotely is to have a better work-
life balance. Working parents are able to save on
childcare, avoid a lengthy commute, and spend more
time with loved ones by altering their schedule from
a traditional 9-to-5.
Turnover is expensive for companies. Losing a mid-level
employee costs an average of $8,000 plus training,
With improved work-life balance, employees are
onboarding, lost engagement/productivity, and more.
happier and staying at companies for longer than
Companies that allow employees to work remotely and
ever. The millennial generation is known for jumping
have a flexible schedule see 25% less turnover than
from job to job, with 21% reporting that they have
companies who don’t. Making the switch to a remote
switched roles in the past year, a rate that’s three
workforce will save your company serious money with
times higher than previous generations.
millennials and other generations alike.

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 The 2 year Stanford telecommuting study also found:
Employees who work remotely
are more productive. Remote employees took shorter
breaks and less sick days
The top reason people chose to work
remotely in 2018 was productivity and Remote employees saved the company
focus. Turns out employees know what $2,000 each on rent
they’re talking about. A two-year
Stanford study showed that Employees reported that it was “less
distracting and easier to focus” at home

“Employees who
telecommuted were
Connect Solutions ran a survey that found that 77% of remote or
flexible workers feel more productive when they work outside of

twice as productive their company’s office. Why not let employees work where they feel
most productive? You, your employee, and your company will all
as those who worked benefit - it’s a win-win-win.

in a traditional
Supporting remote work expands your candidate
office environment.” pool and improves diversity and inclusivity.

Removing geographical limitations instantly expands your hiring

Additionally, the study found that pool. For every great candidate in a manager’s local city, there are
employee attrition decreased by 50% hundreds more around the world that could do the job just as well –
for those who worked remotely. if not better and more efficiently. There are more choices to choose
from, more unique skillsets, and more opportunity for growth.
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Teams that have diversity in
background, location, culture, age, 90% 85%
of the team said that of participants agreed
and other factors are more productive
their family and personal that their stress was
than homogenous teams. life improved reduced

Expand your hiring radius and think creatively

about leveraging the globe as your hiring pool. 80% 93%
If your company offers 24/7 support, you won’t
said that morale and believed that collaboration
need employees to work off-hours or nights if was better than before
engagement improved
you utilize remote employees in other timezones.

Remote work strengthens trust The most unexpected result was that
between manager and employee.
62% of employees reported
How might we be able to correlate remote work
and employee retention? Turns out supporting feeling more trusted and
flexible work can improve trust within the
respected when given the
employee-manager relationship.
option to work remotely.
A study done at MIT created an experiment to
pilot a flexible work program. The goal of the pilot
was to transform remote work from a rare privilege This was attributed to a fundamental change by managers during
for select people to a common opportunity for the pilot in order to effectively support their remote employees,
every employee. specifically in regards to evaluating their employees’ effectiveness.

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For example, a manager could previously monitor Remote work improves company
whether an employee was working effectively using documentation and process-building.
visual cues – is the person at her desk, is she typing
away at her computer, etc. A manager can’t rely on The nature of remote work lends itself to improved communication

these visual cues when she’s not in the office. and record-keeping. When an employee is tuning in to a meeting
from home, meeting agendas and a meeting facilitator are essential

In these situations, what do you do? Managers to making sure everyone is heard. Additionally, post-meeting

should step away from needing this kind of visual conversations can be directed to messaging apps rather than

confirmation and instead – simply trust them. Set in-person conversation. This creates a simple paper trail in addition

clear goals and expectations and trust the person to to meeting notes that can be referenced later if the team forgot who

do the work from wherever he or she is. was assigned to what or when a deliverable would be completed.

Your employees will rise to the occasion. Trust is a Creating an extensive internal website with completed projects,

strong motivator that drives employee engagement resources, and team hierarchy is also beneficial for hybrid teams.

and retention. By creating digital documentation, you’ll save time when onboarding
new employees and save yourself time if employees can peruse an
internal wiki rather than ask you every question they may have.
This promotes autonomy and eliminates different people saying
opposing things if one team uses different guidelines from another.
Centralized documentation will help streamline your business and
improve remote communication.

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CHAPTE R TH R E E

What to Think
About When
Hiring Remote
Employees
Now that you’ve seen the data, hopefully, your initial
concern has dissipated. Now, we can justify remote
and flexible work due to its mutual benefits on the
company and the employee.

Once you’ve made the choice to allow remote work,

the next step is to understand how to support it. So
how do you effectively recruit and lead a distributed
team with on-site, flexible, and potentially full-time
remote employees?

The secret? Your goal as a leader is to ensure there

is absolutely no division between your remote and
in-office teammates. Let’s dive in.

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What to look for when hiring remote
employees vs. co-located employees Traits to look for in remote employees:

Organized and detail-oriented

If you are hiring a team of superstar employees
Results-driven
for a hybrid team, co-located team, or
Self-motivated
fully-remote team, different qualities can help to
Responsive and reliable
balance a group in a way that benefits everyone.
Able to prioritize
When considering what to look for in remote
Problem solver, curious
employees, picture someone who is self-
Reporting-savvy
motivated, organized, responsive, and a problem
Time management skills
solver. For co-located employees, look for those
Transparent
who are team players, creative, adaptable, and
active listeners. Many traits will overlap and
Traits to look for in co-located employees:
transfer to both, particularly if you have a flexible
work environment where employees can choose Team player

their own schedule and location. Above all, Creative, enjoys brainstorming

look for candidates who are transparent. Enjoys a fast-paced environment

Communication is key to setting your new hire Succeeds under pressure

up for success, and it’s essential for both parties Adaptable

to be transparent and honest about their needs. Honest

Excellent communicator
Active listener
Transparent

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Leadership styles affect
remote employee satisfaction.

As more and more managers join the remote

workforce, it’s important to consider how
leadership styles translate when leading a
team and managing employees remotely. For
example, managers and individual contributors
are the most likely to be visual learners.
Consider incorporating video communication
into your team meeting habits. Make sure to
create a plan with your direct reports on
how, how often, and preferred forms of
communication, as well as a plan for progress
check-ins and career growth conversations.
Use asynchronous communication and make
yourself available to your remote employees
for at least some of their working hours.
Finally, leverage personality evaluations to
take a closer look at team dynamics and
how best to pair up managers with new
remote hires.

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Build and extend company culture
outside the walls of your office.

Company culture doesn’t exist within the

walls of your headquarters alone. You may
not even have a headquarters! Culture exists
among the people of your company and
can be cultivated online, in-person, and
anywhere in-between. Remember how we
mentioned documenting everything to
benefit your remote employees? Create a
database of company lore, old photos,
We are in the digital age, aren’t we? Use it! Create Slack channels
and the internal company growth story.
for #GoT (Game of Thrones) fans, dog lovers, parents, and gamers.
Incorporate remote employees via video
By opening up the space for employees to bond and connect, you’ll
conferencing camera during informal
facilitate a better team dynamic and better relationships between the
get-togethers or celebrations. Even better,
members of your team. Set up weekly coffee video dates between
pay for them to fly in for the occasion.
employees using a random name generator, or a pairing tool
Having remote employees involved in as
like Donut. Try these Slack team building ideas for hybrid teams.
much of what goes on as possible will build
camaraderie for your entire team.
Positive work relationships have been proven to lead to less sick
days, better learning and memory retention, better job performance,
and less depression. Foster a positive work environment, and you’ll
see less turnover and more motivated employees.

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Make an effort to host in-office Don’t forget benefits and perks
visits and company retreats. for your remote employees.

If your budget allows, bring remote employees in for in-office If you have a fancy espresso machine, Taco Tuesdays,
events like yearly kickoffs, planning weeks, town halls, or or standing desks for your in-office employees, why
company parties. If you’re not there yet with your budget, shouldn’t your remote folks have the same? Consider
make sure to have live video streaming for important meetings allocating a meal delivery (GrubHub, Postmates, or
and events to allow remote folks to tune in and ask questions. Uber Eats) budget for remote employees to use when
When scheduling major events, don’t forget to consider time the office has meals. The same theory applies for
zones, local holidays, and travel time. If you have an employee paying for remote employees to have a home office
coming from halfway around the world, give them at least a day setup with a standing desk or their desk of choice, as
to settle in and shake off the jet lag. well as a coffee maker. Whatever you spend in perks,
you’ll save in the reduced costs of turnover.
Plan a yearly retreat. A retreat is the perfect opportunity for all
team members to be in the same place at the same time and
finally meet face-to-face. Use the time to review the past year
and strategize about the upcoming year. Make sure to schedule
in group social time — employees will get to know each other
better, which will drive stronger group performance long term.

The takeaway? Include remote teammates in holidays,

celebrations, and kickoff events. Those opportunities for
bonding and team-building are just as important to
productivity as your weekly standups and 1:1s.

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CHAPTE R FOUR

Best Practices for

Leading Successful
Teams
For remote to work well, businesses need to consider
the overarching company culture and organizational
design. Companies that err on the side of being more
transparent, that are deliberate about designing the
organization, and put deliberate effort into including
remote folks are going to see more success in leading
remote teams.

How are you communicating your corporate strategy,

mission, and vision to remote employees? How are
you making sure they’re tapped into your culture?
By thinking through your remote experience before
bringing on remote employees, you increase your
likelihood of running a successful remote team.

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Hire strategically.

Depending on your organization, it may or may You may also consider whether you need a
not make sense to hire remotely. While we’re candidate who has prior remote experience.
advocates for remote work, not every business If you’re just starting to bring on remote
strategy makes sense for remote hires — and not employees, hiring someone with no remote
every role makes sense to hire remotely, either. work experience probably won’t work out
For some, hiring a remote customer service for either of you. Candidates with proven
representative is a no-brainer — it saves on remote experience will not only fare better
location cost and allows reps to work from but also be able to support your organiza-
anywhere, anytime. Alternatively, other tion in creating a thriving remote workforce.
organizations may find that it’s easier to
manage a team of customer service reps in If you’re willing to consider candidates for

one location, where they can streamline remote openings who haven’t worked

training and communication. remotely before, make a clear list of

qualities and competencies you want to
Start by considering who you’re willing to hire test for during the interview process so
as a remote employee. Are there roles in your you can evaluate how they’d perform in the
organization that could function well outside role without a proven track record.
of an office? Will this employee be able to work
cross-functionally with other teammates who
may work on-site or in other time zones?

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Set clear metrics for success. Build career paths for your remote team members.

A common concern for employers Career pathing plays a key role in employee engagement. When
looking to lead remote teams is: How employees see an opportunity for growth within your organization,
will I make sure they’re meeting their they’ll naturally put in more discretionary effort.
goals? The answer is simple: The same
For remote employees, career growth can be more difficult than
as you would as when people are in-
it is for their in-office peers, due to decreased visibility and fewer
person. Whether your team is remote or
opportunities to network. These conversations have to start with
local, clear expectations and metrics for
trust. Make sure you’re building a personal relationship with your
success should be set up front. When a
direct reports and that there’s an open line of communication so
new hire starts, part of their onboarding
they feel heard and supported.
should include metrics they will be
measured against and frequency of
Schedule regular personal and professional development
measurement. For many remote
conversations with your employees. Use this time to discuss their
employers, the concern is less
personal and professional goals, as well as steps they can take to
about hours than output. By focusing
get there. Be real and transparent in your communications. As an
on metrics for success, you have
example, your remote employee may be interested in a management
an objective way of measuring how
position, but managing a centralized team can be difficult when
well an employee is performing.
you’re remote. Help them to understand any disadvantages at play,
and work together to determine how to overcome any potential
obstacles. This may mean providing opportunities for them to
speak up and share insights during meetings or participate in more
cross-functional projects where they can rub elbows with other
people in the organization.
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Create clear processes for COMMUNICATION
communication and collaboration. Leverage real-time collaboration tools, such
as Slack or Jabber, for quick questions and
We often take for granted how easy it is to simply drop by a
conversations. Use email to send files, memos,
co-worker’s desk to ask a quick question or get a status update
and other important documentation that
on a project. When employees are distributed, communication
might be referenced later.
and collaboration require more intentional structure and process.

Keep in mind that overcommunication is neces-

sary for remote or distributed teams. Where a
SCHEDULING
memo might be courteous following an in-per-
Consider if employees will have flexible or fixed
son meeting, it’s vital communication for em-
schedules. How will each member of the team know
ployees who work off-site.
who’s on vacation, who’s at a conference, etc.? Leveraging
technology, such as Google Calendar, Turbine, or Lync,
can help your team keep track of who’s where and when.

MEETINGS
While many lament the practice that is
meetings, they play an important role in
COLLABORATION
communication amongst a remote or distrib-
Consider using a project management tool, such as
uted workforce. Implement regular meeting
Basecamp, Trello, or Asana. These tools provide an easy
cadences to ensure consistent communication
and efficient way to keep track of projects, tasks, and
of important initiatives, strategic developments,
deadlines, as well as share notes and files.
or organizational changes.

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 Connect remote employees with in-office peers.
At The Predictive Index®, we have
the following meeting cadence for our Be intentional about connecting your remote workers with their

distributed teams: in-office peers. This may include quarterly or annual retreats that
include group activities. You may also leverage technology, such as

• Daily standups Slack’s Donut app, to encourage employees to schedule time to

• Weekly team meetings connect virtually. While allocating time for personal conversations

• Monthly metrics review may not seem appropriate to some during work hours, it plays

• Quarterly meeting a vital role in ensuring remote employees are building personal
relationships with their colleagues, which ultimately leads to better

When facilitating meetings where some teamwork and collaboration.

team members are remote, make a

concerted effort to favor the remote Be intentional about checking in.
person. This includes offering them the
The saying “out of sight, out of mind” can often apply when it
opportunity to share their thoughts on a
comes to managing remote employees. For this reason, it’s
subject before the topic “goes to the floor.”
critical to be diligent about regularly checking in to see how your
Whether your team is distributed or
employees are doing, how they’re feeling, if there’s anything they
completely remote, follow up meetings
need from you, and if there are any blockers to executing their
with written recaps. This ensures that those
deliverables. There are many tools you can use to facilitate these
who were not present are in the loop and
check-ins—from Zeal’s Ava-bot on Slack to a good news/bad news
offers a reference point for anything that
report every Friday to scheduled reminders to reach out and touch
was communicated or decided that you
base. Regardless of which tool you use, make a point to regularly
might want to reference back to.
check in and see what’s up with your remote reports.

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CHAPTE R FIV E

Remote & Hybrid

Team Communication
Best Practices:
When and How to Use Each
Channel in a Manner That’s
Considerate and Inclusive

Working on a hybrid team brings new challenges when it

comes to communication. Just as the office environment
has adapted to the new normal of employees working in
open-office environments, using headphones, and working
flexible hours, communication strategies have adapted as
well. Now, there are more considerations for teams of
employees who work from an office, on-the-go, or from
home. Remember that teammates may be in different time
zones and have different working hours from each other.

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Let’s look at some communication tools and how to best utilize them when managing a remote or hybrid team.

Instant Messaging
Using a messaging app, such as Slack, mimics those drive-by conversations people enjoy in the office.
Team members can stay in communication throughout the day for quick and efficient collaboration, as
well as chat simply to keep in touch. When your team is dispersed, you can’t rely on chance to have these
kinds of hangouts. Proactively reach out to your remote employees to ask them how they’re doing. Tell your
team to do the same, and it will help build stronger relationships across your team. Make sure to encourage
remote employees to keep their status, time zone, and away messages updated, as well as take advantage of
“Do Not Disturb” mode so they aren’t getting interrupted frequently during non-working hours.

Email
Be considerate of remote employees’ working hours. Encourage remote teammates to keep an up-to-date
public calendar showing their working hours for each week. Then, take a quick look before you send an
email to see if they are working. While you may specify a project’s due date in the email, it can still be a
source of unnecessary stress and mental burden for your employee. A study from Virginia Tech showed
that seeing an email from work during non-working hours caused just as much stress and strain on
significant others as having actual work to complete.

While it may seem benign to send an email when it’s convenient for you, likely thinking to yourself,
They don’t have to do anything about it right now. I just need to send so I don’t forget. Next time,
use a tool like Gmail’s scheduling tool to send it during their working hours.

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 55% of communication
Video Conferencing comes from facial expressions
Use meeting time as a chance to connect “in-person.” and body language.
How? Use video. In fact, if you only use audio today,
you’re putting your remote employees at an extreme
disadvantage during group meeting time. Why? The bottom line? Make sure you’re using video technology
that prominently shows the faces, emotions and body language
Because the people on the call are getting only half of the people in the room. Tools like the Meeting Owl video
of the message. Research by Albert Mehrabian conferencing camera show a 360-degree panorama of the full
showed just how much of human communication is room and can automatically focus on whoever is speaking at
more than words. any time. That type of remote experience is key for effective
communication.
Take a look at his study’s breakdown
of the components of communication:

55% comes from facial expressions and body language

38% comes from vocal inflection and tone of voice

7% comes from words themselves

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Phone

Create a plan with each individual employee on their

communication preferences. Maybe you have a remote
employee who cares for their child during the day and
can’t take phone calls out loud during nap time. Make
sure they have a way to let you know when they won’t be
available for phone calls and how others can reach them
(Slack, email, etc.) during that time. Suggest they keep
a detailed public calendar with their preferred method
of communication during given times, or that they keep
their instant messaging app like Slack up-to-date with an
away message specifying how to reach them.

If you’ll be requiring remote employees to have a

smartphone for work, provide them one or a budget
for a phone and plan. Additionally, consider if remote
employees who use the phone to interact with
customers and prospects should have a home phone
line with a dedicated number, use a virtual phone
software, and whether or not they may need accessories
like a headset or noise-canceling headphones.

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CHAPTE R S I X

Remote Team
Management
Resources
Now that you’re on board with managing your
remote or hybrid team, you’re ready to arm
yourself with the resources you’ll need to
succeed. Here’s a list of websites, communities,
team-building ideas, and tools to help you
manage a team with remote employees.

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 RESOURCES FOR REMOTE TEAM MANAGERS REMOTE WORK THOUGHT LEADERS

How to Create a Remote Work Policy Shane Metcalf

Everything You Need to Know About Using Zoom Spencer Jentzch

Alexis Ohanian
Slack Communities for Remote Workers
David Heinemeier Hansson
The 10 Best Subreddits for Remote Workers and Managers
Brian Peters
Remote Jobs and Remote Workers LinkedIn Group Claire Lew
Meeting Agenda Templates (including performance reviews & one-on-ones) Jacqueline Jensen

Scheduling Meetings Across Timezones Hiten Shah

Tracy Halvorson
Remote Management Best Practices
Brie Weiler Reynolds
Technologies Transforming Remote Work

Tech Gadgets to Support Remote Employees

TOP PODCASTS FOR REMOTE LEADERS EVENTS FOR REMOTE TEAM LEADERS

The Accidental Creative Nomad Summit 2019

How I Built This Travelcon 2019

The Investor Mindset No Desk Project Retreat
StartUp Podcast
Harvard Extension Program 2-Day
This Week in Startups with Jason Calacanis Intensive Seminar: Leading More
TED Talks Daily Effective Teams

Bulletproof Radio

The Mindvalley Podcast 26

Conclusion

The bottom line is, there shouldn’t

be a division between remote and co-located
employees. To run the most effective remote
or distributed teams, there is a need for
managers to embrace new techniques and
adapt their style to create new, more efficient
systems. Supporting and enabling employees
produces happy teammates, and as we know,
happy teammates = productive employees.

The benefits of working remotely are

undeniable for employees, managers, and
companies. Let’s contribute to a future
workplace that makes location irrelevant
for remote workers and their managers.

Find the Right Video Conferencing

Camera for Your Remote or Hybrid Team

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