Remote Working - Sharing Our Insight

As you might imagine, the customers who are getting in touch with us at the moment are focused on how we can help them to carry on delivering training remotely.

Which is why the team here have been working so hard on enabling you to do just that. (include link to the Remote Delivery section and a link to ML using the search term Remote Delivery)

But one of the key requests for material is from organisations who are suddenly faced with staff who are working from home for the first time and managers who are trying to manage them in a completely different way.

At Glasstap, most of us have worked from home for many years, so we can appreciate the steep learning curve many of you are now on. But one question I’ve been asked a few times is “do you have any training material, to be delivered remotely, that can ensure that staff don’t treat working from home as a holiday?”

The answer is yes! We do and lots of it, both in Trainers’ Library and Managers’ Library. And it can be delivered remotely.

But what I am learning is that it often isn’t the material organisations initially believe they need. Whilst clear objectives are very important, micromanaging isn’t the way forward; leadership is.

Allow me to explain.

In uncertain and, potentially, lonely times, bringing certainty, routine and a feeling of belonging is key; we want someone to turn to. 

But at a time when so much of our sense of control has been lost, giving employees a sense of input and involvement is also important.

Managers should encourage their teams to come up with ideas and think innovatively about how best to adapt to their new ‘normal’. It is about finding a way to work together whilst working apart. All employees can contribute to that and it’s actively encouraged in Working in Remote Teams, one of Trainers’ Library’s free samples.

The skills that need to be nurtured include communication, emotional intelligence, problem solving, innovation and motivation. But for managers there is the added responsibility of creating a sense of belonging and purpose. It’s about creating a sense of vison for what the team will achieve together and engaging them to deliver.

If you have any questions and need help identifying the right material, please use our Design Coach service. I’d also encourage everyone to use Talk and Share to discuss any concerns or share ideas.

Finally, if any of you want to have a short free trial of Managers’ Library to see how it can help you to support your managers please let Zoe know ([email protected]).

Good luck, stay safe and please keep in touch.

All the best

Frances