The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted employees across organizations and caused managers to think differently about their role as they adjust to a new way of employee management that most of them may never have imagined.
Managers have donned many capes amid the pandemic. From becoming a source of information for their employees, a model of organizational culture, to serving as a counsellor and even an IT assistant, managers are doing it all. Overall, the very role of managers is being redefined as employees look to their supervisors to help them navigate the shift to remote work.
Here are a few things that managers must focus on for effective management of remote work and employees, as noted by Jen Colletta, the managing editor at Human Resources Executive:
- Abandoning micromanagement: Managers should abandon micromanagement and focus more on building trust with their employees. They should take up more of a facilitator role: doing everything from introducing new tools and communication channels to support remote work to ensuring they have license to tend to their home lives when they need to and even helping them troubleshoot Wi-Fi issues.
- Being less of a boss and more of a leader: It’s critical that remote managers are less of a boss and more of a leader, says Damian Scalerandi, vice president of operations at nearshore outsourcing technology company BairesDev, in the article. This is the time when most employees look to their managers for guidance, and it’s important for employees to know their managers are there to support them in the work environment as well as provide support for personal matters as well.
- Not over-communicating: Concrete communication plans are very important because it’s easy for remote managers to over-communicate which can make employees feel micromanaged. Managers should check in individually with each team member for about 30 minutes each week, conversations that often go beyond work to help foster a sense of connection.