Three mistakes that bad bosses make when teleworking and how to improve them

by | Mar 15, 2021 | Communication , Management , Telework  | 0 comments

Some supervisors may feel uneasy about how to deal with their subordinates because teleworking means that employees cannot see each other.

Repeatedly making mistakes without realizing it can lead to a deterioration in the relationship with subordinates.

So, what is the best way to be aware of how to properly interact with subordinates under telework?

In this article, I will introduce some examples of mistakes that supervisors tend to make during telework and how to be appropriate as a supervisor.

Three mistakes bosses tend to make when teleworking

First, let’s take a look at three mistakes that supervisors tend to make when teleworking.

Let’s look at three mistakes that bosses tend to make when teleworking. When you feel that you are not getting along with your subordinates, you should look back and check if you are doing the same things as the mistakes.

I monitor my subordinates to make sure they are not slacking off

When you interact with your subordinates during telework, are you monitoring them to make sure they are not slacking off?

While it is important to prevent slacking off, you should avoid constantly monitoring them with webcams or forcing them to report work excessively often in order to deter them.

It may cause stress to the subordinates, which may worsen the relationship, and it may also make them unable to concentrate on their work, which may reduce their efficiency.

We need to be careful not to monitor them too much, for example, by using different methods to manage their work progress.

Lack of appropriate evaluation of subordinates

It is difficult to see the process of achieving results under telework, making it difficult to properly evaluate subordinates.

Even in such a situation, if appropriate evaluations are not conducted, subordinates will have doubts and complaints about their superiors.

As a supervisor, when evaluating subordinates, you need to be careful not to make evaluations without clear evaluation criteria such as results.

Not being able to communicate well with subordinates

One of the mistakes that supervisors tend to make while teleworking is not being able to communicate well with their subordinates.

This is a situation where they only communicate with their subordinates on business and are unable to build a relationship of trust. Another cause of failure in communication is the slow response to communications from subordinates.

Delays in response can lead to a deterioration in work efficiency and interfere with team collaboration. The speed of communication should be emphasized.



What is a good thing for a boss to do when teleworking?

Now that we have discussed the mistakes that bosses tend to make when teleworking, what are some good things for bosses to do?

Here are three points that supervisors should be aware of when conducting business via telework.

Review your management methods

Under telework, it is easy for supervisors and subordinates to become suspicious of each other, wondering if they are slacking off or if they are suspected of slacking off.

In order to relieve anxiety, moderate checking is necessary. However, we need to be careful not to become overly watchful.

For example, one of the ways to do this is to review the management methods, such as allowing all members to voluntarily report their progress on a regular basis.

It is also important to build a relationship of trust. If you can understand and trust your subordinate’s self-management skills, you won’t have to wonder if he or she is slacking off.

Review the evaluation method

It is important to review evaluation methods so that appropriate and quantitative evaluations can be made even under telework. It is necessary to visualize everyone’s tasks and devise a way to visibly see the progress and results.

Another way to do this is to introduce management methods and tools that allow individual goals to be shared with the entire team and to see at a glance the status of achievement.

By making the status of goal achievement visible to the entire team, they will be able to understand the evaluation of other employees and themselves.

Increase communication

When teleworking, communication needs to be more active than when working in the office. It is important to not only communicate about work, but also to actively engage in small talk.

For example, if the topic of a common hobby is discussed, it can be enjoyed by multiple employees like an in-house club. However, care must be taken to avoid topics that go too far into private matters.

It is also a good idea to periodically conduct web-based interviews and provide opportunities to listen carefully to subordinates. If you can quickly identify their concerns, dissatisfactions, and problems, and offer advice and improvements, it will help build a relationship of trust.

Another way is to use communication tools to facilitate the progress of work with quick responses.

Goalous allows you to The messaging feature allows for flat communication, which allows for quick two-way communication.

Goalous also has an open goal function that allows members to share their goals and track their progress. As Goalous has an open goal function, it makes it easy for members to share their goals and grasp the status of their achievements, making it easier for supervisors to manage them.

Since it can solve the issues of subordinate management, evaluation, and communication in one place, I highly recommend Why don’t you consider introducing Goalous?

Summary

When working by teleworking, it is difficult to interact with subordinates in the same way as in the office. In order to maximize the performance of subordinates, it is necessary to review management methods and evaluation systems.

In addition, since there is no face-to-face contact during telework, communication is inevitably lacking. It is necessary to build a relationship of trust with subordinates not only through information sharing but also through chats and interviews by using communication tools.