MANAGING BY RESULTS, NOT ACTIVITY
One of the most common fears that managers and executives have when considering virtual teams is, "How do I know my employees will be working if I'm not there to watch them?"
Well the simple answer is that you won't, not every minute. But
realistically, you can't be sure they are really working every minute
you see them in the office either; it is easy to confuse activity with
productivity.
A manager's job is to provide specific, measurable,
and attainable goals for the remote employee so that he or she knows
what must be done and when. These can include reports completed, number
of calls made, and number of support issues resolved - or any other
appropriate measure of job productivity.It is important that the
employee and manager arrive upon a shared definition of the
deliverables and timetable together. This ensures that everyone is on
the "same page" and prevents miscommunication. It also ensures that the
goals and expectations are realistic.
A manager's value to an
organization is as more of a coach and mentor, not an overseer. This
move away from "eyeball management," and the resulting clearer
definition of employee job responsibilities, is one of the major
contributing factors to the improved productivity normally experienced
with virtual teams.
Shifting your focus to performance based management will help you build a more productive mobile workforce.
Lisa C. Hurst on 05 May 15"AUTHOR: ISSIE LAPOWSKY. ISSIE LAPOWSKY DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05.04.15. 05.04.15 TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM. 7:00 AM INSIDE THE SCHOOL SILICON VALLEY THINKS WILL SAVE EDUCATION Click to Open Overlay Gallery Students in the youngest class at the Fort Mason AltSchool help their teacher, Jennifer Aguilar, compile a list of what they know and what they want to know about butterflies. CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED SO YOU'RE A parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend's neighbor's sister. It's prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools-with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning-just aren't cutting it. At the same time, you're thinking: this school is kind of weird. On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can't quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about. Then there's the guy who's standing at the front of the conference room, the school's founder. Dressed in the San Francisco standard issue t-shirt and jeans, he's unlike any school administrator you've ever met. But the more he talks about how this school uses technology to enhance and individualize education, the more you start to like what he has to say. And so, if you are truly fed up with the school stat
