During most of the 30 plus years I managed teams, 20 of those years had staff working remotely. Years before the pandemic I was an early adopter of remote work.
Since the pandemic forced many more companies into remote work a lot more is becoming clearer on its strengths and weaknesses. To that end I would like to share some of my insights.
Younger Staff Need Access to Experienced Staff to Grow Professionally (And Quit Less Often)
The latest research confirms my experience that people in the first 10 years of their careers grow much slower working remotely. The informal conversations, white-board jams, ‘Design Fights’, and hanging out after work all give younger staff invaluable learning opportunities.
A recent study by Harvard, University of Iowa, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published in the New York Times, found that
“…{R}emote work enhanced the productivity of senior engineers, but it also reduced the amount of feedback that junior engineers received (in the form of comments on their code), and some of the junior engineers were more likely to quit the firm. The effects of remote work, in terms of declining feedback, were especially pronounced for female engineers.”
Remote “Crucial Confrontations” are a Disaster.
It’s common knowledge that when managers have difficult conversations with staff they should never be over voicemail, email or texting. Even voice calls are considered ineffective.
Coaching, constructive criticism, and especially discipline without face-to-face communication is at best stunted and at worst damaging. This became particularly clear to me during the pandemic. Tough conversations were uniformly poorly received and ended up doing more damage than good.
Review, coaching, and discipline require trust between manager and staff. Building trust without face-to-face communication is difficult if not impossible. And the research backs me up.
{T}here are potential harms to your relationship with your boss if you decide to be remote too often. Research shows that telework reduces formal communication between employees and their direct manager while also increasing interpretation bias, which is the academic term for misunderstandings. (Fast Company)
Make In Person a Regular Part of Your Management Repertoire
Having regular in person informal and formal conversations are critical to personal growth, professional development, and having a high performing team. And they are clearly better for your younger staff. Make it a goal to ensure these happen on your watch.