Top 5 Challenges Of Managing Remote Employees

And how to overcome them

Recovering from the pandemic has looked different across the world and across businesses. From sector to sector, the “workplace” now can mean a variety of things. While changes have looked different for employees everywhere, one thing that is hard to deny is that by and large, employees are encouraged by opportunities for better conditions. 

Almost 18 months since lockdown began, it’s now a job seeker’s market. In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported America had a record 10.1 million jobs available. With many companies struggling to fill open positions, adapting to this new reality is key. Companies that don’t offer remote and hybrid work options are going to find themselves unable to compete to attract and retain talent going forward. 
 

With new remote employees, however, there are many considerations businesses must make. Human resources and global mobility managers have been at the frontline of change since the beginning of the pandemic and will need to lead the charge on creating best practices for onboarding and managing remote employees.

Moving Online

With more people remotely now than ever before. Businesses of all sizes are taking concrete steps to reorganize themselves for new working patterns. Everyone from multinationals such as BP and Deutsche Bank, smaller innovators such as Spotify, to tech stalwarts such as Salesforce and Microsoft are announcing new policies that will allow permanent work-from-home or hybrid arrangements. 

Here are 5 challenges that HR leaders need to consider as they work to onboard and manage remote employees:

1. People and Security Risks

The rush to remote work means new cybersecurity risks. With many people accessing the internet through a home router, possibly without firewalls and antivirus software, companies must find efficient ways to maintain security around proprietary information. Equally, many businesses had not planned for staff to be working from their kitchen table where family and roommates can see their screens. Managers must set up new policies and procedures to ensure the safety of corporate systems and data for remote working setups.

2. Skills and Performance

The move to hybrid and remote working has changed working cultures and processes. Some managers will be challenged to demonstrate they are adding the same value in the new model. Automated workflows, for example, could make the in-person manager less necessary. Conversely, others will find their skills are now more suited to remote management thrive in the changed environment. Being open to change and promoting a culture of learning will make employees thrive no matter their position in this new setup.

3. Communication

Leaders must learn to navigate the new terrain of remote communication or pay the price. Communicating with people in person is quite different from communicating remotely, and often requires more care and sensitivity. At the same time, video conferencing tools make it easy for employees to assemble virtually and take their leaders to task on working hours, conditions, or management missteps. Especially throughout the onboarding process, companies need to over-communicate and work to create the same sense of culture and welcome that employees would experience in-person.

4. Creativity

Several high-profile business leaders have expressed reservations about remote working being viable for all situations: group brainstorming, for example, or deep-diving into a thorny or complex strategy issue. This bias is going to set some companies behind, while those that use this as an opportunity to find new ways to collaborate will see their employees performing higher than they once imagined.

5. Compliance

The final part of the puzzle is dealing with the administrative burden that managing this new hybrid and remote workforce brings. Whether companies are seeing a surge in requests for alternative work arrangements as staff ask to change their assumed work location, or hiring employees from another state or country, these requests add complexity to human resources tasks and have tax and risk assessment implications. Assessing and processing these new demands quickly and efficiently requires new technology and tools.

With employees calling the shots, remote working isn’t just a nice to have anymore—it’s a requirement. While we are still in the relatively early stages of this workplace transformation but as hybrid and work-from-home become the standard way of doing things, getting an automated process for compliance issues is key. 

A study by Upwork found that between 14 and 23 million Americans are planning to move as a result of new work-from-home opportunities. No matter the implications, the future for any successful business involves being able to manage employees from anywhere.  

Scott Turner is a Director at Equus Software, a global workforce management and mobility solutions specialist. Visit www.equusoft.com  Connect Scott Turner