Advice
Managing Remote (or Hybrid) Employees: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me 15 Years Ago
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The biggest mistake I made as a manager wasn't hiring the wrong person or missing a crucial deadline. It was assuming that managing remote employees would be exactly like managing office workers, just with more Zoom calls.
Wrong. Dead wrong.
After nearly two decades in management consulting across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, I've seen more remote work disasters than I care to count. But I've also witnessed some absolute magic when it's done right. The difference? Understanding that remote management isn't office management with a webcam attached.
The Trust Paradox Nobody Talks About
Here's something that'll ruffle feathers: most managers think they trust their remote employees, but their behaviour suggests otherwise. They're checking Slack timestamps, monitoring "last seen" notifications, and having panic attacks when someone doesn't respond within thirty minutes.
I learned this the hard way with Sarah, one of my best project coordinators. Brilliant at her job, delivered everything on time, clients loved her. But I found myself constantly wondering what she was doing between 2 PM and 4 PM when her Slack status went idle.
Turns out she was walking her dog and then smashing out her most productive work hours from 4-7 PM. Her results were exceptional, but I was driving myself mad with micro-management anxiety.
The paradox? The more you try to control remote workers, the less trustworthy they become. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that destroys teams faster than you can say "mandatory daily check-ins."
Communication Isn't Just More Communication
Everyone bangs on about over-communicating with remote teams. More meetings! More updates! More everything!
Rubbish.
It's not about more communication – it's about better communication. I've seen teams drowning in Slack messages and Zoom fatigue while still being completely out of sync.
The game-changer was when I started treating written communication like it actually mattered. No more "quick chat" requests that could've been an email. No more meetings without clear agendas. And definitely no more assuming everyone understood what I meant.
Remote work exposes lazy communication habits like nothing else. When you can't rely on facial expressions and office corridor conversations to fill in the gaps, every interaction needs to be intentional.
The Performance Management Minefield
Managing performance remotely isn't rocket science, but it does require you to chuck out half of what you think you know about supervision.
Traditional performance management relies heavily on observation. Seeing who stays late, who collaborates well, who seems engaged during meetings. Strip that away, and suddenly you're forced to focus on what actually matters: results.
This sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly difficult for many managers. We're programmed to equate visibility with productivity. The colleague who's always at their desk must be working harder than the one who finishes early and logs off, right?
Not necessarily. Remote work taught me to become obsessed with outcomes rather than activities. Instead of caring whether someone attended every meeting, I started caring whether they delivered what they promised when they promised it.
Technology: The Great Enabler and Destroyer
Let's be honest about technology. It's simultaneously the best and worst thing about remote work.
The best? You can have team members scattered across three time zones working seamlessly together. File sharing, project management, video calls – the tools are incredible when used properly.
The worst? Tool overload that makes people want to throw their laptops out the window.
I've seen companies using seventeen different platforms for communication, project management, time tracking, and file storage. Employees spend more time logging into different systems than actually working.
My rule now: if you can't explain why you need a particular tool in one sentence, you probably don't need it.
Slack for quick communication. Asana for project management. Google Drive for file storage. That's it. Everything else is negotiable.
The Loneliness Factor (And Why Pizza Parties Don't Fix It)
Remote work loneliness is real, but most companies address it with the corporate equivalent of putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
Virtual pizza parties. Online team building games. Mandatory fun sessions that make everyone cringe.
The loneliness isn't about missing birthday cake in the break room. It's about feeling disconnected from purpose, isolated from decision-making, and uncertain about career progression.
I've found that the most effective cure for remote work loneliness is involvement. Including remote employees in strategic discussions. Seeking their input on big decisions. Making sure they know how their work contributes to company success.
It's not about recreating the office experience online. It's about creating something better.
Setting Boundaries (For Everyone)
Remote work boundaries aren't just about preventing employees from working in their pyjamas. They're about preventing work from consuming their entire lives.
The dirty secret of remote work? Many people work longer hours from home than they ever did in the office. The lines between personal and professional time blur until they disappear entirely.
As managers, we need to model healthy boundaries. Don't send emails at midnight. Don't expect immediate responses to non-urgent requests. And for the love of all that's holy, don't schedule meetings during lunch breaks just because "everyone's home anyway."
I made this mistake early on, treating remote employees like they were available 24/7 because they didn't have a commute. Big mistake. Burned out three good people before I learned to respect their time as much as I would in a traditional office setting.
The Flexibility Myth
Here's an unpopular opinion: unlimited flexibility doesn't work for most people.
The freedom to work whenever and wherever sounds amazing in theory. In practice, it often leads to confusion, missed deadlines, and frustrated team members trying to collaborate across incompatible schedules.
Some structure is necessary. Core hours where everyone's available. Regular check-in meetings. Consistent communication protocols.
The trick is finding the sweet spot between rigid micromanagement and complete chaos. Most employees want guidelines, not rules. They want to know what's expected while maintaining autonomy over how they deliver results.
Think of it as providing a framework rather than a straightjacket.
What Actually Works (The Unglamorous Truth)
After years of trial and error, here's what actually moves the needle with remote teams:
Clear expectations upfront. Not just about deliverables, but about communication style, availability, meeting participation, and response times.
Regular one-on-ones that focus on obstacles rather than updates. Don't ask what they accomplished this week – ask what's blocking them from accomplishing more.
Recognition that goes beyond "good job" emails. Public acknowledgment, career development opportunities, and genuine interest in their professional growth.
Investment in proper equipment. Nothing kills productivity like trying to participate in video calls with a laptop mic from 2015.
The Future Is Already Here
Remote work isn't a temporary adjustment anymore. It's not something we're doing until we can get "back to normal." This is normal now.
The companies that thrive will be those that embrace remote work as a strategic advantage rather than treating it as a necessary evil. Better access to talent, reduced overhead costs, improved work-life balance for employees.
The companies that struggle will be those still trying to recreate the office experience through screens.
I've seen both approaches. The difference in employee satisfaction, retention, and performance is stark.
Remote work isn't going anywhere. The question isn't whether you'll adapt – it's how quickly you'll figure out how to do it well.
Because your competitors already are.