Battling isolation – Ways to manage remote service techs.
Managing your remote tech team is difficult. With the new normal, managing remotely can be even more difficult. I discovered the hard way that I needed to adapt my strategy to ensure that my techs were not feeling isolated and they were feeling supported.
Humans are social animals. We tend to suffer and wane when we’re are not engaged by others or in situations where we do not feel supported. I run a tech team of six guys. At one point I also ran a region on the East Coast and in the Midwest with a total of fifteen techs. I never see any of my techs due to geographic location. This make it difficult to lead a successful team. As a manager for me there is no face to face time to talk.
Isolation can also be difficult and debilitating. It is crucial that your remote techs feel connected to your operations and team.
In trying to improve my own remote leadership style I sought counsel from others and did some research. I came up with a list of where I needed to improve to get my team motivated
This seems like an obvious answer. I found in trying to maintain consistent communication that there were five key items that I needed to focus on to keep them motivated
Social isolation is difficult – to successfully battle isolation you need to keep your techs in the loop and give them opportunity to contribute to your team. There needs to be some personalization. Their personal life will affect their work life. As a manger, how much do we know about our techs? I’ve heard dozens of stories about how techs have gone off the rails or just disappeared. I’ve had this happened to me several times and in two cases I could have prevented this by simply checking in. One left because of money issues, one had a sick family relative. By the time I had found out the techs had left, there was no way to offer support.
My team drives my success as a manager. Define what that success means to you team. Creating a strong support structure for you and your team will only lead to success.
Managing your remote tech team is difficult. With the new normal, managing remotely can be even more difficult. I discovered the hard way that I needed to adapt my strategy to ensure that my techs were not feeling isolated and they were feeling supported.
Humans are social animals. We tend to suffer and wane when we’re are not engaged by others or in situations where we do not feel supported. I run a tech team of six guys. At one point I also ran a region on the East Coast and in the Midwest with a total of fifteen techs. I never see any of my techs due to geographic location. This make it difficult to lead a successful team. As a manager for me there is no face to face time to talk.
Isolation can also be difficult and debilitating. It is crucial that your remote techs feel connected to your operations and team.
In trying to improve my own remote leadership style I sought counsel from others and did some research. I came up with a list of where I needed to improve to get my team motivated
This seems like an obvious answer. I found in trying to maintain consistent communication that there were five key items that I needed to focus on to keep them motivated
Social isolation is difficult – to successfully battle isolation you need to keep your techs in the loop and give them opportunity to contribute to your team. There needs to be some personalization. Their personal life will affect their work life. As a manger, how much do we know about our techs? I’ve heard dozens of stories about how techs have gone off the rails or just disappeared. I’ve had this happened to me several times and in two cases I could have prevented this by simply checking in. One left because of money issues, one had a sick family relative. By the time I had found out the techs had left, there was no way to offer support.
My team drives my success as a manager. Define what that success means to you team. Creating a strong support structure for you and your team will only lead to success.
