Supervisor Resources
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Managing Expectations
As with any on-site positions, it is important to set expectations up front for performance and availability. Managing performance for remote or hybrid employees is, in many ways, the same as for staff working on campus. It involves defining the necessary work outcomes from staff, defining a communication plan among the team, and a clear distribution of work among the unit.
- Core Hours. Some teams have found it helpful to set core hours that everyone will be available, such as 10 a.m. EST to 3 p.m. EST. This alleviates the frustration of not knowing when to reach each other and allows for more real time collaboration.
- Business Needs. Design schedules to do what you need to do to fit the business needs of your area.
- Meeting Times. Keep different time zones in mind when scheduling meetings.
- Scheduling Meeting Considerations. Consider scheduling meetings to end five minutes early, such as in 25 or 55 minute increments, to allow transition time.
- Calendar And Email Tips
- Schedule available work hours on calendars.
- Keep calendars up to date and use out of office messaging when away.
- Schedule emails to send during work hours.
- If you often send emails outside of regular work hours, consider adding something to your signature such as “I recognize that we may work different schedules; I do not expect responses to email on evenings, weekends, or when you are out of the office/on vacation.”
- Team Check-Ins. Decide upon the timing of regular check-ins for your whole team. Some teams have daily huddles, while others meet monthly.
- Individual Meetings. Discuss and schedule recurring regular individual (one on one) meetings. Some managers find weekly one on ones to be helpful, while others find monthly to be sufficient.
- Response Expectations. Set response time standards. Employees should know your expectations for responding to emails, phone calls, chats, etc.
- Best practice is to respond within 24 hours.
- Encourage your employees to acknowledge receipt, even if they do not know the answer, as quickly as possible.
- Connect. Be intentional about helping to foster quality connections amongst your team.
- Plan gatherings or team meetings where there is a social element.
- Encourage team members to take time to foster a connection with their teammates.
- Communicate informally as well as formally. Connect with individual team members on a regular basis, both through formal meetings and informal (such as Teams chat).
- Watch for behavior changes in employees and refer employee to resources as appropriate.
- Provide feedback on a regular basis to help the employee have an accurate sense of how they are performing.
Training Resources
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