I often receive a number of questions about being a manager in a virtual company. Some of the more common questions are: If all the people you supervise telework, how do you know if they are actually working? How can you ensure that people are doing what they are supposed to be doing?
Finding Trust
Trust is one key element in a virtual company that applies to management. A virtual company manager must have the right mindset to trust that employees will be self-motivated and perform high-quality work. If a manager distrusts their employees or requires close contact or oversight to manage effectively, the manager will likely not be successful in a virtual environment.
In 1957, psychologist Douglas McGregor first proposed his classic theory about two different management styles, which he called Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X types believe that employees must be supervised continually. Such managers do not trust that employees will look out for the company's best interest and, therefore, managers must direct their behavior.
On the other hand, Theory Y types seek to empower employees. Theory Y managers believe that employees are responsible and can be trusted. Employees are motivated and will strive to achieve company goals, and management should provide a nurturing environment that allows the employee to grow. A virtual company environment requires Theory Y managers. There is no way to supervise your employees directly; therefore, your management ability is based on trust.
Without this trust-based management approach, a virtual company cannot succeed. A key component of managing virtually is expecting all employees to act like responsible adults. You do not have to supervise their work efforts or provide constant guidance closely. Instead, the employees in the virtual company are trusted to manage their time accordingly with minimal direction.
As I mentioned earlier, virtual companies are best suited for self-motivated individuals. In a virtual setting, an individual earns trust by completing assignments on time with sufficient quality. It is a very egalitarian form of organization. Employees are judged on their ability to produce quality results. I find it slightly shocking when I hear people who work in traditional office environments say, “I wish I were judged more on what I produced at work.” To me, what we produce is why we have a business and should be the basis of evaluating personnel performance.
Finding Success
To be a successful manager in any organization, an individual must be able to set goals and monitor performance toward the goals. By setting goals and tying employee performance to the goals, a manager can evaluate whether an employee is producing at the right level. The manager must have an understanding of the effort required by the employee.
For example, suppose the employee is writing a research paper, developing a computer program, or performing analysis. In that case, the manager must be able to set realistic goals for completing the work. When the work is received, the manager must know enough about the work to determine if the quality is sufficient. Finally, the manager and employee must communicate effectively so that the manager can provide constructive criticism, guidance, and feedback.
A virtual company's remote manager must accomplish these typical tasks in a different environment. Goals must be set for a team of employees who rarely meet face-to-face. Performance has to be managed across team members with interdependent work assignments when they cannot sit side-by-side to integrate work efforts.
Communication must occur solely through electronic means such as phones, e-mail, videoconferencing, etc. The virtual environment adds a dynamic to the work effort that differs from the typical office environment, where these basic management processes can often occur face-to-face. The manager must trust the employee to work on a project without supervision, reach out to fellow employees to integrate work assignments and communicate with the manager if there is a problem with the assignment.
Everything Will Fall into Place
I can remember a time in Fentress when my ability to trust employees was pushed to an extreme. We had a team of four people under a tight deadline to produce an analytical report and accompanying PowerPoint presentation. In the late afternoon, our client requested an addition to the report. Each team member had different interdependent roles – an analyst, report writer, editor, and presentation developer.
Because of the last-minute request from the client, we found ourselves working late into the evening. The analyst on the team was a new hire, and the timeliness and quality of his work were still unproven. In this case, the analytical work had to be completed before other team members could engage to complete the project. We held a conference call early evening to discuss timing and responsibilities. At that point, the analyst committed that he would complete his portion of the work in two hours.
That was one of the longest two-hour periods of my working career. In the end, the well-done analytical effort came through on time, which allowed the rest of us to perform our work and successfully complete the project. During those two hours, I learned a lot about trust. I had to trust that we hired an excellent analyst to apply his skills to the work effort and that the analyst could work unsupervised from home to complete his assignment. Trust is the key to success in a virtual company.
