Being a manager and teleworking: difficulties and keys

Being a manager and teleworking difficulties and keys

The last few months have shown us that it is essential and necessary to learn to adapt at work. Even today, many companies have retained, full-time or part-time, the use of teleworking to give more flexibility and autonomy to their employees. But how has the job of manager evolved? Isn’t it harder to motivate a team through interposed computer screens?

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In June 2021, 24% of employees worked at least one day a week at home. This was announced by the Directorate for the Animation of Research, Studies and Statistics (Dares) attached to the Ministry of Labor. Yet a little earlier, in 2019, the Malakoff Humanis group published a report in which 56% of business leaders already mentioned managerial difficulties in the face of this alternative way of working.

What are the difficulties encountered by managers?

Several months have passed since then, and the pandemic of the Covid-19 having forced the use of remote work, we note that the difficulties of the management teleworking are intrinsically linked to communication. Indeed, it is not always easy to stay tuned and maintain qualitative relationships with your team outside of videoconference meetings. Managing without becoming intrusive is also one of the challenges.

In addition, identifying the needs of your employees without informal exchanges (discussions in the open space, at the coffee machine, confidences between colleagues, etc.) becomes complicated when you want to consider each other’s opinions and guide them. management towards collective objectives.

The prerequisites of remote management

Remote management requires more specific adjustments. Practices differ from everyday life in an agency or in premises and the challenges to be met require real reflection:

  • set up new methods of management ;
  • set rules and institute a clear framework for each employee to approve a sort of collective charter;
  • determine common periods of availability so that all employees work at the same time at least certain hours of the day. It is also possible to set up a face-to-face day in order to organize meetings, in-house training, etc. ;
  • Choose communication tools adequate to the needs and above all ensure that they are mastered by the entire team;
  • supervise without falling into “cops”. Nothing better to upset an employee than to give the impression of being spied on. It is therefore better to think in terms of results (and no longer in working time, for example) while applying a monitoring method that is accepted by all.

Communication is the key

Motivating a team and unifying employees around a common goal cannot be done without well-established communication. This is what offers management training from the French School future managers or insiders wishing to develop their skills through this course in four weeks. Positioning yourself as a leader is a fortiori without direct contact, is not an easy thing. This type of training can give you keys to activate according to your needs and which can be applied according to the problems you encounter in your profession.

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