How to Succeed as a Long-distance Manager

When you manage long-distance, be sure to keep in mind these ten surefire guidelines. Successful long-distance managers are managers who:

1. Define expectations. Spell out what you need. If your employees don't know what you expect from them, they probably won't be able to meet your expectations.



2. Focus more on work quality than on time spent. Which is more important to you: Time spent or the quality of work your employee produces? Obviously, work quality is your top priority. Ask yourself if you're spending more time on being sure employees are "in their seats" than you are being sure their work is meeting standards.



3. Address and solve problems immediately. Tackle problems when they appear--don't wait for them to become more entrenched. Little problems, when ignored, tend to balloon into big problems.



4. Are flexible. Is that report due today because you said so or is there a legitimate reason for its due date?



5. Include all locations in meetings and information distribution. Be sure to keep everyone up to date. No one likes to be left out of the loop, especially long-distance employees.



6. Create "face time" opportunities with employees. While this may mean spending money to meet with your employees in person, it's well worth it.



7. Don't pile on extra work. Don't punish your long-distance employees by dumping more work on them than you do on your on-site employees--it will cause unhappy employees.



8. Are consistent in assigning work fairly. Your employees know when someone is working very hard and someone else has nothing to do.



9. Provide equal support to their employees. Your employees deserve your support no matter where they're located.



10. Personally handle problems of off-site employees. You are the manager and it's your responsibility to handle off-site employees. Don't push this task off on your other employees--it's not their responsibility.

Learn more about the variety of techniques you can use to deal with long-distance employees by attending SkillPath's popular two-day seminar How to Effectively Manage Multiple Locations. Look for it coming soon to a city near you.

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