6 Ways to Keep Your Remote Workers Engaged and Productive

Published in: http://www.inc.com/

        Do you rely on work from employees who spend some or all of their time working away from your office? If you're like most business owners or managers, the answer is almost certainly yes. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 63 million Americans will work remotely by 2016--more than a third of the total work force. (I myself have come to depend on a researcher who happens to live in Prague.)

        But this big growth of remote work presents big challenges to traditional management styles. Often, these center around face-to-face conversations and observing whether an employee appears to spend a lot of time at his or her desk. How can you make sure remote employees stay on track when you don't see them every day?

        The answer is a combination of changing management practices and adopting technology that gives managers insight into employee activities while also giving employees insight into what's going on back at the office, according to Dustin Grosse, COO of ClearSlide, which makes software that automatically tracks how sales reps engage with customers.

1. Make activity tracking automatic, if you can.
2. Focus on what, not when.
3. Make sure everyone knows they're part of the team.
4. Establish a time and method for regular check-ins.
5. Get to know remote employees as people.
6. Schedule regular face-to-face encounters.

To read more go to: http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/what-do-remote-workers-do-all-day-6-ways-to-keep-them-engaged-and-productive.html