Career Advice For Remote Workers--Be Visible But Not Annoying

Working remotely can have its advantages, but one of the big drawbacks is that many people feel they're ignored by the home office when it comes time for promotions and recognition. The secret is for those not under the boss's nose to make an effort to be visible, but not so needy it becomes annoying.

One of the best resources I've come across in a long time for people looking to manage their careers through intention (actually planning their career moves) and osmosis (just getting sucked into whatever opening vacuum exists in the organization) is Rise: How to be really successful at work and like your life.
Patty Azzarello became a GM at Hewlett Packard by the time she was33 and a CEO by 35. I recently interviewed her for the Cranky Middle Manager Show and she had words of advice for those who aren't in the office where they can be seen (and heard) on a regular basis.

What are the challenges in keeping your career on track when you work remotely from the main decision makers and influencers in the company?
If you're a remote employee trying to exert your influence on the business, you can feel invisible, isolated, and powerless. Because you aren't physically present you can disappear from thought, lose opportunities, lose chances to influence outcomes, and risk that the value you deliver will not be seen and understood. If you want to build your credibility and influence, you need to exert your personal presence from afar. Building a strong personal presence is harder to do as a remote employee, but not impossible.

Face time is critical. I recommend a 2-4 week break-in period where the remote person spends time physically in the office with the team. If you "live" with people for awhile first, you'll build up social comfort with each other and develop the kind of interactive working "short hand" that only happens when you spend time in the same room. Your productivity forever after will increase, and your presence will remain strong when you go back to being remote, because people will really know you. Decision makers will know what you look like.

If travel budgets are frozen so this isn't possible, offer to buy the ticket yourself and stay with a friend or colleague so you can do this at no cost to the company. You'll make an important and valuable investment in your career.

What are some key things to remember about networking (especially with the people at home office, even if you're not there?
As a remote employee you miss the company lunches and the discussions around the coffee machine. But you don't need to miss connecting with people. Identify people in the company you need to have a relationship with, and make the time to proactively build a relationship with them.

Schedule and spend at least 2 hours a week (if not a bit more) just connecting and talking with people at your company. Live connections = presence.

When you're remote, you tend to limit your interactions to just the work. What you miss is the personal connection. So make it happen. Photos are a great way to make personal connections. Enable them to remember what you look like. Take a snapshot of yourself with your webcam, and attach it to an email. "This is me today". Send a picture of something you saw on the weekend. This may seem silly, but it has a big impact on keeping up your presence!

Where you have key relationships invite people to connect with you on Facebook. Keep yourself current and present in their thinking. Learn what they care about and enjoy. Contribute things of interest.

I have to say that I'm blown away by Skype video. I have clients around the world who I've never met, but after a couple hours of a video conversation I feel like they are people that I know personally. If corporate firewalls prevent it, see if you can arrange some Skype meetings with colleagues from your homes. (Make sure you offer to be the one to deal with the inconvenient time zone issues.)

Don't hide on conference calls. Don't dial in 5 minutes late, do your email and not speak up. Instead dial in 5 minutes early. Greet everyone who joins. Tell them about the weather where you are at and what you have been working on. Learn about their life. Then don't check out during the call. Participate, interrupt, contribute. Make your presence felt. Make people feel like you are "in it".

Become a thought leader in your area of expertise. Write an internal blog. Share interesting news that people at corporate don't see. Seek out external information relevant to your business and be the one to share it. Have a point of view.

Just because you're remote, doesn't mean you need to be invisible. Exert your presence.

Next post, we'll look at some practical tips both workers and their managers can do to increase visibility. Share this post with your friends and check out the next post.

Read more:

• Work from home and get ahead? Yes, here's how
• Having a team communication plan is great. Making it work is something else
• 5 tips for managing remote teams from "The One Minute Commute"