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3 Tips for Effectively Managing Teleworkers

If you manage people who work from home at least some of the time, you know that it's more of a challenge than dealing with people you see in the office every day. Of course, it's worth it; people who work from home are highly productive and flexible work arrangements earn you loyalty and good karma.

But how can you work with these folks more effectively? I've got a few tips for your management toolbox.


Web Worker Daily recently cataloged a few ways to ensure you can manage your teleworkers better. Here's what they had to say:

  1. Schedule regular team meetings. With a disconnected team, it's critical to get everyone together regularly -- weekly, monthly, or on some other schedule that suits your organization. Use these opportunities to share best practices, provide training, and deliver company news and updates.
  2. Check in. Use tools like e-mail and instant messaging to check in with your remote team members as often as you pop in to see the folks who work on site. Remember that your most important role is to solve their problems, remove roadblocks, and ensure they have what they need to get the job done. These check-ins are all about resolving those kinds of issues.
  3. Send updates. Be sure that information goes both ways. You shouldn't only get updates from your employees, but also send out regular notes about tools, processes, company up[dates, and more -- anything employees need to know. Remember that if employees aren't in the office every day, they're likely to miss out on information that everyone else is getting just by virtue of being present.
What if you're the teleworker, not the boss? No problem -- we've got a slew of tips for you as well:
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