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Wasn't there a risk in introducing remote working? Before it was started, the greatest fear was that, with the change in the support provided, people would be less productive. As it's turned out, staff have to be actively encouraged to take short breaks. You see, they tend to feel they have to answer the phone at the first ring, in case their manager thinks they're sitting around watching TV even though they know we don't do that kind of checking up. When you joined Carserve you weren't happy with the ways things were being run, were you? What was the problem? The management focused on what could be put down on paper, like an organogram showing reporting lines. But they tended to avoid the less concrete issues, like how to ensure the workers knew what they were expected to achieve. So despite detailed planning and plenty of memos, in reality people were working in a bit of a vacuum. How did you turn that around? Communication is important, but regular meetings are no substitute for a change of attitude. Managers have to start from the assumption that the remote workers are doing their job properly, even though they aren't being supervised. So that's what I focused on. |
