It may have been a global pandemic that forced the issue, but the phenomenon of remote work hasn’t faded with the severity of the Covid-19 virus. As of 2023, 12.7 percent of full-time employees work in fully remote roles, and 28.2 percent of them use a hybrid model.
For managers, remote work can present unique challenges. Managing employees in an office setting is very different from managing employees spread across the country or the globe. The last several years have given management leaders an opportunity to learn and adjust their approach to managing in remote and hybrid settings.
“One of the biggest differences is the level of trust required at the management level,” said Jeff Dufault, associate vice president of sales at Definitive Healthcare. Striking a balance between consistent connection without micromanaging can be a challenge, and building up trust between management and direct reports is essential.
There are many ways to go about building up that trust. At Acquia, management spent time being very intentional about creating accessible directories and resources so that remote employees knew where to find answers to common questions.
At Vestmark, management teams send Slack messages every day with weather updates, trivia and engineering insights; they also send a second all-hands weekly message celebrating wins, acknowledging personal milestones and sharing gratitude. The consistency and inclusivity of the messages keep everyone connected and engaged.
Built In Boston sat down with three leaders working to make the best of their remote management practices, and their tips are encouraging.
Definitive Healthcare is a platform that reduces market complexity and provides commercial intelligence on delivery systems, physicians, payors, patients, government organizations and more.
In your experience, what are the differences between managing in person in an office versus managing team members remotely? How have you tweaked your approach to the former to suit the latter?
One of the biggest differences is the level of trust required at the management level. Seeing people all day working hard in an office setting versus occasionally interacting with them via online chat can be a big adjustment.
We have been fortunate at Definitive Healthcare to settle into a hybrid approach where many employees are both working remote and still coming into an office setting multiple days per week. Our Definitive Cares program has been expanded into local markets, allowing individuals to volunteer in their local communities as well, which was a change we made during Covid.
With remote workers, it’s about setting clear expectations, ensuring that you have the correct talent to be productive in that type of environment and trying to ensure those individuals feel included. All of our important meetings are hybrid, and individuals have the option to attend in person or remotely.
We had all remote workers attend our Sales Kickoff in person back in February, and we are planning to get the sellers together one more time in Q4 for some team building and training. Allowing individuals to come to the corporate office a few times a year can build a sense of connectedness.
How do you make sure you stay connected to your direct reports without bombarding them with communication?
Staying connected is more about ensuring the remote workforce feels supported. There is nothing more demoralizing than being in the field and feeling as though your requests are going into a black hole or not being followed up on.
Staying connected is more about ensuring the remote workforce feels supported.”
We have set up optional office hours utilizing video chat for individuals looking for additional communication/support and proactively send out weekly and monthly newsletters clarifying top priorities and expectations. We also have recurring cadences set up for weekly 1:1s and team meetings so that remote workers understand the cadence of updates management is looking for and nobody feels bombarded at the individual level.
What advice do you have for leaders getting acclimated to managing a remote team?
Trust your employees but be crystal clear with expectations, so you can hold them accountable. Ensure that remote employees know where to go for support, whatever that may be. If their computer stops working, do they know where to go? Have some fun. Virtual cooking classes, happy hours or team trivia nights go a long way in building trust and camaraderie. Embrace technology and all that it has to offer.
Acquia is the open digital experience company that empowers the world’s most ambitious brands to embrace innovation and create customer moments that matter.
In your experience, what are the differences between managing in person in an office versus managing team members remotely? How have you tweaked your approach to the former to suit the latter?
At Acquia, we’ve always had a significant number of employees working remotely as well as globally, so the shift to managing team members out of the office has not changed drastically. What has evolved is that our employees are empowered to create greater flexibility and work-life harmony for themselves, which in turn drives better results for our customers.
What has evolved is that our employees are empowered to create greater flexibility and work-life harmony for themselves, which in turn drives better results for our customers.”
With increased flexibility comes a commitment to creating a positive and productive work environment to thrive. Successful remote teams are truly a team effort. We just launched a new learning course called Working Remotely at Acquia to reinforce our Remote Working Philosophy and share best practices.
Fostering a positive remote-first culture is a company-wide effort and we demonstrate our commitment to our customers and one another through four key pillars: accountability, communication, community and inclusion, and intentional meetings. Within this framework, we provide information to enable everyone to consistently embrace these pillars.
How do you make sure you stay connected to your direct reports without bombarding them with communication?
As part of our communication pillar, we created a Communications Forum Roadmap to help people navigate where to access key company information. This resource is intended to articulate the forums that are highly recommended, as well as additional learning and community opportunities.
By following our Roadmap, we are able to ensure that the team attends intentional meetings while also being included in forums that drive collaboration and foster inclusion.
What advice do you have for leaders getting acclimated to managing a remote team?
My advice is to establish and follow a consistent practice in the key focus areas I mentioned earlier, while keeping an exceptional employee experience at the core. Set clear and transparent goals, and leverage agile Performance Management that provides continuous coaching, bi-directional feedback and frequent check-ins. Find ways to drive inclusion and engage with colleagues on a community level.
At Acquia, we do this through tools such as our internal engagement platform, continuous learning opportunities such as our DEI Speaker Series, Employee Resource Groups, and special interest Slack channels that encourage us to bring our whole selves to Acquia, regardless of location.
These are the core practices that we live by as a team. We believe that empowering greater flexibility in where we work allows us to attract and retain top talent and also allows Acquians to prioritize both their personal and professional growth and make a meaningful impact.
Vestmark provides wealth portfolio management and trading solutions for financial institutions and their advisors.
In your experience, what are the differences between managing in person in an office versus managing team members remotely? How have you tweaked your approach to the former to suit the latter?
Informal chats and desk visits foster relationships and project success while remote interactions tend to be more transactional. In the virtual realm, managers must be intentional about inclusion.
Slack takes center stage for promoting inclusivity and collaboration. To engage employees, our engineering management team orchestrates the week with two key posts.
Each morning, we send a daily message, a blend of weather updates, trivia, and engineering insights. This post unifies our virtual team and acknowledges the diverse locations. The week culminates in a Friday afternoon post celebrating weekly wins, encapsulating victories, gratitude and personal milestones, offering a sense of weekly closure.
It’s important to be intentional about non-project work. Brief messages in the morning (“How did it go with your kids yesterday?”) are as important as transactional conversations. Emoticons, animated gifs and little celebrations of work anniversaries or accomplishments go a long way. Regular 1:1 meetings are vital and not to be skipped.
Emoticons, animated gifs and little celebrations of work anniversaries or accomplishments go a long way.”
How do you make sure you stay connected to your direct reports without bombarding them with communication?
Honestly, managing virtual teams presents challenges that require being more intentional. I routinely go through my direct report list and see if there’s been some space since the last interaction.
Virtual team chapters rally individuals around shared goals and virtual office-hours offer an avenue for those seeking deeper engagement. The key is to set up an environment where direct reports know their outreach will be met with understanding and support.
Virtual work offers the advantage of asynchronous communication. My team and I can tackle tasks without constant interruptions.
A minor practice I adhere to is refraining from expecting instant responses. They might be engrossed in coding, taking part in a team meeting or using flexibility for improved work-life balance. Empathy and patience remain crucial in mastering remote management skills.
What's a specific in-office management practice or technique that doesn't resonate as well remotely and what practice or technique have you pursued instead?
At Vestmark, I’m part of a Virtual Fun Committee trying to look at ways to balance in-the-office activities with remote inclusion. Vestmark has a strong tradition of fun in-the-office events with great tie-ins to the community.
Puppy therapy days are a great example. To create an inclusive culture, we balance puppy days with a Slack pet appreciation channel, #dog-park, where engineers proudly share snapshots of their pets in their home workspaces.
Striking the right equilibrium is still a work in progress. We’ve been contemplating whether virtual fun events yield the same outcomes as their in-office counterparts.
The energy and spontaneous interactions of a large in-person event are unparalleled and create lots of energy and opportunity for small conversations. Online, big events can create social anxiety and lack the opportunity for individual connections. So, we're exploring Slack tools that encourage brief, asynchronous interactions.
