The County has some helpful resources and training for supervisors managing remote employees. For training resources, see the resources section of this program. The Learning Management system has videos on this topic from LinkedIn Learning. There are also technology tools that can help with communication. Supervisors can use Google’s chat function to have a back-and-forth conversation with a remote employee. Supervisors can also use Google’s video chat function to have an instant one-on-one video call with an employee. Departments and Offices may have other tools available to their work group that could be utilized (I.e.: Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.) and are encouraged to work with County IT staff to explore appropriate options.
When having meetings with more than one person, supervisors can set up video meetings using tools like Google Meet or Zoom. This allows team members to see each other, so it is more like having everyone in one room for a meeting. This can help remote employees feel included, especially when departments encourage the use of cameras for meetings.
Using tools such as Trello to track employee projects and goals can be helpful. The employee and supervisor can both look at the board at the same time and discuss ongoing work. They can also place items in to-do lists, remove them, or move to a “done” area. Teams can also use this to track which items individual team members are responsible for.
Collaboration through Google docs and sheets can also be helpful for supervisors and employees, or for teams. These allow multiple individuals to look at the same document at one time, and to view real-time changes and updates. Employees can also track who makes which suggestions.
Clear, ongoing communication with remote workers is very important. It is important to have regular check-ins with these staff so they don’t feel isolated or left out. If there are performance concerns, it is important for supervisors to address these quickly and directly. If concerns are not addressed right away, they can become bigger issues quickly. It is also not fair to employees not to know that there may be issues with their performance.
Supervisors needing assistance with managing remote workers can contact their HR Generalist for assistance at any time.
