Management Guide During A Pandemic: Strategies + Toolkit to help you manage remote teams.
Part 2: Practical strategies to help manage remote teams for the long-term. Management Toolkit includes a policy template, guidelines poster, reviewing goals and performance questions, staff survey questions, and a home office assessment form.
It is safe to say that COVID-19 has left most of us feeling knocked off-balance. In an instant, our work and personal lives collided. With the exception of essential service jobs, the rest of us are likely required to work from home (WFH), and figure out how to navigate this new normal.
Working from home is not new and most companies probably had some measures in place prior to COVID-19. In this new normal, WFH is on a full-time basis over an unknown period of time, leaving many companies unprepared. Shifting to a WFH culture has its own unique challenges. Leaders overseeing teams working remotely for the first time should put in place longer-term measures to maximize the effectiveness of their teams.
We are sharing practical strategies to help you develop longer-term guidelines and support your staff.
1. Designate work hours
We’re connected all the time and even more so now with working remote sanctions but does this mean we have access to our teams 24/7? When does the work day begin and when does it end in the ‘new normal’ workday? Here are some strategies to help you set boundaries to prevent burnout and maintain the positive culture you worked so hard to build.
Clearly establish what time your staff will sign-on, and when they will log-off for the day. Get their input and be flexible with any changes. This makes it clear when their work-life stops and home-life begins.
Recognize that employee time and attention may be split on personal matters throughout the day, especially with the disruption of childcare and school. In some households, workspace and equipment may be shared which poses an additional challenge. Ask your staff to block off designated times for work and conference calls. This can help them coordinate their personal obligations making them more productive throughout the day.
To help create structure to the workday, block off time slots for designated activities: responding to emails, video/conference calls, heads-down work time, lunch, and break time.
Model your time management skills by designing a schedule of your own daily activities and share with your team.
Be mindful of sending late night emails to your staff. If they see you sending emails at 2 a.m., they may feel obligated to respond or feel guilty about not responding right away. If you are sending emails at odd hours, let your staff know they are not obligated to respond immediately. This helps to clarify your your expectations and sets healthy boundaries.
2. Communicate online etiquette
Communication is so important especially when you manage a remote team. While working remotely for some staff is a breeze, for others, it is completely new and some guidance can help them understand the do’s and don’ts when it comes to working from home.
It is important to approach virtual meetings as you normally would with any business meeting: they should be effective. Consider the purpose, the length, and establish clear goals, key messages, and any action items you require from your team. It’s especially important during this time to avoid long-drawn out meetings where your staff may be questioning the value and possibly your company’s intentions.
Touch base meetings – keep it brief with the aim of connecting with how your staff are feeling. They do not need to be overly formal and you may want to include fun activities.
Keep in mind that with the absence of in-person connections, video and conference calls may be increasing in volume. Stay on top of your team’s schedule to avoid meeting burnout. If you can ask something quickly through email or DM, try to include that as a form of communication instead.
The way we interact on messaging platforms and text messages may be more casual than in-person meetings. With video conferencing, people are working in their homes and may not be as aware of the things they say. Ensure that staff continue to engage in a respective manner during virtual meetings. If an inappropriate comment is made online, then address the incident as you would in normal circumstances and as soon as possible.
Determine appropriate dress code. It may sound strange to establish appropriate dress code guidelines during a global pandemic but with working from home, it may be tempting for some staff to wear pajamas, inappropriate home wear (e.g. something revealing), clothing with offensive messages or images, baseball caps, etc. Having a pajama day is a fun way to engage staff but is this something that you will be okay with on a regular basis? Determine what your business considers appropriate dress code during this time. A good rule of thumb is to communicate that a more casual dress code is acceptable provided they are not on video calls with clients.
Virtual meetings - housekeeping guidelines to consider:
Set ground rules around communicating on video/conference calls such as using the messaging function, and to avoid interrupting others.
On video calls, movements can be distracting and you may want to ask your staff to minimize talking with their hands, getting up and moving, taking their laptop with them as they walk around, eating during a video call, etc.
Be on time for meetings. The same rules apply to virtual meetings. Joining a video/conference call late is just as disruptive as walking into an in-person meeting late.
Minimize background noise (if possible).
Ensure there is enough lighting while on a video call. Webcams differ so ask your staff to test out their camera before video calls.
3. Record attendance
Consider this business as usual. It is important to continue to accurately record attendance while work from home measures are in place, especially now that work and home life have become one.
Continue to record sick, personal, vacation time as this allows for proper tracking and prevents confusion of online vs. offline time. Provide your staff with time-off as you normally would and minimize contact during this time.
Continue to schedule vacation for staff. The Employment Standards Act (ESA) clearly outlines minimum time-off on an annual basis for employees. It may be some time before things return to a pre-COVID state; if staff are not taking vacation by the end of the year, the vacation liability will be a significant cost for the business.
If your company has implemented temporary measures such as pay-cuts, an option for you to consider is to top-up the pay cuts with vacation time owed to reduce vacation liability. This option provides a financial bridge for staff and draws down vacation time owed.
Offer staff the opportunity to take an unpaid leave of absence. These could be company designated leaves (e.g. sabbatical) or legislative leaves covered under employment legislation.
Communicate with your staff that they should update their out-of-office messages when taking a formal day off.
Vacation under the Employment Standards Act
Infectious disease emergency leave
4. Outline expectations
We’re in week #7 of the province-wide shut down and by now, you may be reflecting on situations where you could have been more clear with your staff on some issues. Hindsight is everything and it’s not too late. Avoid the guessing game and specify your expectations during this time.
Determine whether you will use video calls or conference calls. If you choose video calls, will they be mandatory, or will you provide an option for staff to use conference calls? Some staff may prefer one over the other. If you have a preferred option (e.g. video calls) then clearly communicate the expectation with your staff.
For one-on-one meetings with your staff, we recommend continuing to have them, or starting them if they didn’t exist before. With formal meetings, communicate the importance of the regular check-ins with your staff so they understand the meetings are not optional. Develop an agenda with standing items that will be covered during these meetings. This gives them time to prepare and provide you with deliverables to measure as part of evaluating their performance.
Specify expectations around response time and break time. Do you need to know when someone is on a break or stepping away from their desk? Clearly define expectations with response times to avoid confusion. For example, if you send an email to your staff requesting information and hours lapse without a response from them, think about whether this will be an issue for you. If you think it will be, take the opportunity to be more clear and communicate how you would like them to respond.
For roles with time-sensitive deliverables, map out how long you think the activities should take while working remotely. Review them for fairness and check-in with your team to get their input on whether the expected timelines are reasonable. Keep in mind that they may not have the same type and quality of hardware while working at home which may impact the estimated timelines.
5. Set performance metrics
Do you stop managing performance and measuring goals? In our opinion, no – this still needs to continue. How you do it can look quite different from your regular process.
This is the time when getting the work done needs to be the main focus. Wherever possible, let your employees figure out how and when work will happen.
You should start having conversations with your staff about how performance will be measured during this time to avoid confusion. Staff may assume that performance is on hold or cancelled.
During this time, we recommend an employee-centered approach to setting goals and reviewing performance. Let them take the lead in conversations, involve them in what they think is important to focus on, have probing questions ready, and be compassionate and understanding to their needs.
We understand that many businesses are having to make tough financial decisions and rethink their budgeting and planning. Communicate to staff any changes or expected changes to salary increases, cost of living adjustments, merit and bonus pay if the structure will be different this year.
Setting new goals:
Determine whether you will set goals for the 2020 performance year. Depending on your performance cycle year, you may want to revise the performance period. For example, if your performance cycle is April to March, you may want to change it to June to July.
Break up large goals into smaller goals. Focus the conversation on the work that needs to be completed today, this week, this month and how it will be reviewed.
Be compassionate, flexible and realistic about what goals can be achieved during this time.
Consider what is within and outside their control. Be flexible in reviewing and possibly adjusting the goals later as circumstances continue to change.
Reviewing performance:
The success of performance management is based on the quality of the conversations you have with your staff. It’s less about the process and more about the dialogue. Having two-way performance conversations is especially important when working remotely as misunderstandings or miscommunication can occur.
Review your staff’s performance based on what they could have controlled vs outside their control. Communicate what changes and adjustments you made as part of the evaluation and ask them for their opinion. Do they think it's fair? What else would they consider adding or removing?
If you have constructive feedback to provide, be thoughtful about how and what you will say to your staff. Dedicate a specific time for a performance meeting, focus on the positives and frame the constructive feedback in a way that explains what you would like to see next time.
Avoid placing poor performers on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Document the issues, monitor, and review them at a later time to determine if the poor performance has been ongoing or possibly related to the current environment.
Provide meaningful recognition (e.g. shout out during virtual meetings) to staff who have stepped up and exceeded expectations during this time.
Recognize that changes in staff performance may occur during a crisis. Some staff’s performance may be suffering while others are excelling. For instance, if you observed a staff member whose performance is struggling, reflect on the challenges they may be experiencing. Do they have family obligations at home preventing them from completing their tasks on time and possibly putting them in a disadvantageous position? Evaluate the situation and thoughtfully consider if the performance rating is fair and equitable.
Be prepared for questions related to learning development opportunities, merit or bonus increases, promotional opportunities etc.
6. Be Inclusive
Living the new normal takes time to adjust and it’s important to allow for a learning process. Every staff member will have their own journey. Model inclusiveness by listening to their needs on how to best support them.
Be mindful that some staff are sharing home office space with other family members and may not have a designated workspace or laptop. For staff that do not have designated space or resources, you will need to think about how they will complete their work and timelines. Staff who have children at home may have added challenges. They may be experiencing more interruptions and are required to split their time to manage work and home. Ask for their input when developing a plan of action. Be flexible with response times and deadlines to avoid staff burn-out.
Video conferencing may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially for those without a dedicated workspace. For example, they may have kids running around, elderly parents to care for, or they may prefer not to share what their home looks like with their colleagues. If this is the case, then consider a video call where you are visible and those who are comfortable being on video can join while others can call-in.
Working from home is not for everyone. While some staff do well with limited social interactions, others may be struggling and feeling isolated. If you notice someone who is more quiet than usual, make sure you check in with them. Ask them to join you for a tea/coffee break online.
Engage with your staff. Learn more about how they are doing during this crisis. Have one-on-one conversations with your staff or consider conducting a survey (refer to Toolkit) on how they are coping and how you can help during this time. Review the insights and share with your team. It’s important to work with them to identify practices that work vs. practices that do not work. Be open to feedback and flexible with any changes.
Free Working Remotely/From Home Toolkit:
We’ve put together this toolkit to help you during these uncertain times. We hope you find them helpful in developing longer-term strategies to support your staff in the new normal. We’re in this together. Keep well.
Working Remotely Guidelines Poster - 6 strategies to keep top of mind when developing guidelines.
Survey Questions to Ask Staff - Take a quick pulse on how staff are coping and how you can help. Use the questions to guide you in having conversations with your staff or use them as part of a staff survey to collect feedback.
Working Towards SMART Goals - Use this mind map and sample questions to help set and review performance goals for your staff during COVID-19. It could also be used for any circumstances that requires an employee-centered approach.
Working Remotely Policy Template - Downloadable policy template (Word). Includes key policy sections and tips on how to complete each section. If you do not have a formal Work from Home/Remote policy, you may want to consider introducing guidelines before launching a formal policy. Your staff may be feeling the impact of physical distancing so we encourage you to be mindful of introducing hard ground rules too quickly.
Workplace Safety & Prevention Home Office Checklist - Free resource. Use this checklist to identify home office space needs including ergonomics, home work environment, and healthy work practices.
Stay tuned for our next article in this series: Team building toolkit for remote teams.
Need help managing staff or develop workplace strategies during a global pandemic? Get in touch via hello@mondaymorning.ca
About us: At Monday Morning, we are a team of HR consultants in the Toronto area supporting businesses with their HR needs. With over 15 years of experience, we provide expert HR advice, build people and culture programs for some of the best workplaces, and develop customized solutions to meet your needs. We take the worry out of HR so you can focus on your business.
