24 Managing Remote Employees

With today s technology, it s likely that you have employees working remotely. Nearly 2, 3 of US companies give employees workplace flexibility. This can range from the colleague who works from home a few days per year to the employee who permanently lives and works in another geographic location. You may even lead virtual teams with members spread around the globe. A lot of wonderful tools make this all possible. File sharing and cloud based tools make it easy for people to work on projects and documents together without actually being together. Email, instant messaging, and video calls have turned our phones and computers into highpowered communication devices that can cross continents and time zones. While all of this leads to enhanced productivity, it can also lead to some challenges for today s manager. Let s explore some methods you can use for maximizing the benefits while mitigating the risks. Set people up for success with the right technology. Remote employees can only be successful if the techn