Decision Making and Employees

Working With a Dispersed Employee Base

Identify and explain the considerations you would take into account in developing a strategy for managing the remote employees in the case study.

There are a number potential issues to consider when managing remote employees. The consideration are based on control, motivation, and communication.

Control

Remote employees are not subject to the same level of direct observation and supervision as employees working the same office as their superiors. An important element within any organisation is the ability to develop, implement, and maintain specific performance standards and operating practices. Remote employees operate away from direct observation, and it is possible divergence from the predetermined standards/practices. Therefore, it is necessary for employers to trust the remote employees, as well as provide them with the relevant resources and support so they understand and can maintain relevant standards/practices. Furthermore, additional strategies may be implemented in order to gather feedback from customers in order to assess remote employee performance.

Motivation

Remote employees need to be self-motivated, with the ability to work independently. Working remotely can be relatively isolated, so many aspects of motivation present in the standard organisation, such as the organisational culture, support from peers and superiors including praise and recognition, and the desire for recognition are less likely to be present. In addition, feelings of isolation, especially if accompanied by a relatively low level of support and communication may alienate a remote employee, leave them feeling alone and dejected. Therefore, in addition to the need for self-motivated employees, organisations also need to consider the way in which communication takes place to support the employees, and allow them to feel a sense of belonging to the organisation.

Communication

Communication may be undertaken in many ways with remote employees, utilisation of technology extends the potential beyond telephone calls, with the use of email, video conferencing, messaging apps. Communication is important in terms of control, including instructions regarding current and changing strategies and performance levels, the gathering of feedback from the employee, and support of motivation. As noted above, remote employees may feel isolated and alone, effective communication can help overcome some of these issues. However, the employees also need to feel trusted, therefore communication should not result in micromanagement. Communication may also be facilitated through technology, for example the development of company intranets or forums, which will create a greater level of teamwork even if employees are working remotely.

2. Explain which lessons you would take from the literature on leadership and management, such as the importance of involving employees in organizational decision making, and apply them in this kind of situation.

In literature on leadership there is a significant element of theory regarding the way in which employees should feel valued, including involvement in decision making and empowerment. Likewise, leadership literature also indicates the value of contingency theory and the ability of leaders to adapt to different situations. Therefore, leaders should adapt to the situation of the remote employee, allowing not only for their remote status to be considered, also allowing for the individual needs of that employee. Regular communication between the remote employee and their manager can help to support motivation, particularly where the employee was asked for feedback regarding the way policies and practices are implemented and their views. Furthermore, proactive approaches towards facilitating remote employees' views may be gathered. Technology may aid with this, for example the use of the company website. Where employees views are utilised direct feedback regarding the value of the ideas should be provided. Recognition of input, even where it is not utilised, which is aligned with the democratic style of management, is also beneficial in showing employees that their views are important and that they are heard. For effective leadership to be practised, the leaders should undertake direct forms of communication to ensure all remote employees are included and feel valued. However, there may also be the need to adapt styles when on a one-to-one basis, for example some employees may require more support and mentoring than others. By adapting the style to meet the employee's needs, there is the greatest potential for creating a strong employment relationship which will benefit both employer and employee.

3. Discuss how you can incorporate dialogue into your communication and be effective in supportive communications at a distance.

Dialogue refers to a written or verbal conversation between two or more people. The key element of this is the bilateral nature of dialogue, where the employee is not only told information, they also have a voice. Dialogue needs to be developed in a proactive manner to facilitate this bilateral communication in a timely manner. Several methods of incorporating this into the communication may be utilised. Online tools, such as a work webpage with open forms for employees may provide an opportunity for dialogue not only up and down the hierarchy, but horizontal across the hierarchy. Horizontal dialogue can help to increase social commitment to the organisation and a feeling of belonging between the remote employees. Other online tools which may be utilised include the use of email, especially where one-to-one communication is needed, and for more social communication to build a sense of belonging, the use of social media platforms may be utilised. For example, is possible to create a closed group on Facebook.