The Art of Remote Management : maintaining presence without being present.
By Eventful Meetings and Events.
Published July 9, 2020.
With restrictions in some states lifting and business of all sizes slowly moving back to their offices, will the strategies and lessons of the last few months move with us, or will we return to the comfortable and pick up where we left off?
Operations Manager Polly Strauss has been managing the team remotely for the past year – she shares some of her thoughts and insights on the benefits and challenges of remote management, how she has navigated the last few months and what she has learnt for moving forward.
Tell us why you work remotely?
In April 2019 I left the hustle and bustle of Sydney for a warmer, slightly slower paced Far North Queensland. I was ecstatic to be able to remain at Eventful despite the personal move and have been blown away with the smoothness of the transition into working remotely almost full time.
One of my key roles as operations manager is to manage the team and although initially it seemed a challenge to do remotely (especially pre-COVID times), it has been rewarding to see how it can be done successfully.
What is the key to its success?
Strong communication is everything! I check in with the team every morning, sometimes just a five-minute touch base and at least once a week a longer session (especially with the more junior team members). The regular catch ups are not to micro-manage but more so for them to know I am available and accessible to them, to ensure I’m across what’s happening and to gauge team capacity. A key part of the catch up is listening, however I have learnt by sharing my own stories and anecdotes it creates a safe space where the team feel they can do so also and makes me more approachable, even when physically far away.
Pre-COVID once a month I spent a week in Sydney for the face to face time, it helped create some structure around monthly check ins – especially in events where the pace can sometimes mean the admin items and check ins get away from us. When hiring new staff, for their induction and training I spent additional time in Sydney to support them through the process and create a connection face to face first (before going virtual).
What are the challenges of remote management?
One of the initial challenges I found with remote management is training, especially as everyone learns differently and some concepts and processes are quite detailed, however we were able to overcome that barrier by using the right technology for what the training element was – sharing screens to show the process and task and video calls (individual and group) to gauge engagement and understanding have been essential.
Ensuring work doesn’t trickle into personal time has always been a challenge for me – when working in the office or from home. Having a dedicated office or workspace has been essential. Allocating tasks for the middle of the day/lunch time (such as some gardening or going for a walk) to ensure I have a break from the computer has also really helped.
How did life change at Eventful as a result of COVID-19?
Like many businesses around the world during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions the whole Eventful team moved to working from home arrangements. Although it happened quickly, having clear communications for the team around the changes, provide guidelines and tips on what worked for me and then once in progress continually check they were doing okay in the new environment. Ensuring they are set up with the right technology and equipment was key.
Video calls have increased dramatically which has been lovely for me. For my one on one catch ups I have found video calls have really increased the level of connection, understanding and I believe both myself and the team members are more focused (harder to get distracted when looking at someone whilst talking). There are some instances though where this is not essential and it is good to recognise that some conversations are better suited voice to voice.
I also believe being able to speak to the team members in a private/home environment has also increased the connection with them, instead of those catch ups generally being in an open office environment.
Now that restrictions are lifting and the team is moving back to the office, what tools will you continue to use for team management?
As we move back to the office there are certainly some things I will be keeping as part of my team management ‘tool kit’ –
1. Video calls are great for one on one team member catch ups but video calls are not required for every conversation
2. When possible ensure one on one team member catch ups are private for the team member (i.e. not in the open plan office space)
3. Utilize technology to help with collaboration, training and multi-channel communication.
4. Embrace change, even when it can be hard to process and take the team on the journey with you – they are most likely feeling it too!
5. Have a wine and a catch up at the end of the week virtually as a team – it doesn’t need to be in person to be fun!
Polly has been a member of the Eventful team since 2016.
A highly experienced account and operations manager, Polly has a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Event Management from Macquarie University, International College of Management.
She has worked in the event space for the last 14 years in roles across a range of sectors; Pharmaceutical, Association, PCO and Event Agency.
