How to Supervise Telecommuting Employees
- 1). Establish measurable and achievable performance goals for the telecommuting employee. For example, a telephonic customer service representative must answer a certain number of calls within a given time frame. Ensure you have reports that can show these measurements and review them weekly.
- 2). Set up weekly one-to-one meetings with each telecommuting employee. Use this time to obtain the status of the employee's work, review results with the employee, answer the employee's questions, resolve concerns and set expectations about performance measures.
- 3). Review the quality and quantity of the telecommuting employee's output. Evaluate if they are meeting deadlines and producing error-free work. For example, a project manager must be meeting milestone dates and targets of their projects. A writer should submit work on time with minimal additional editing.
- 4). Hold monthly onsite staff meetings for all telecommuting staff. Allow this time to gauge employee satisfaction and gain insight for who may be falling behind. Establish weekly staff meetings with all employees via conference calls. Evaluate employee morale and job satisfaction based on staff feedback during these meetings.
- 5). Call and instant message your telecommuting employees at random to ensure they are accessible and actually working. If the employee is often unreachable or repeated attempts fail and the employee cannot explain their lack of response, telecommuting may not be ideal for this staff member.