Making a Success of Managing and Working Remotely

Manage your team successfully so you can all reap the rewards of remote workingThe rise of remote workingThe world of work is changing. Many employees no longer hold the traditional nine-to-five job. Instead, working time is increasingly flexible. Technology has enabled a rapid rise in the number of remote workers in recent years; the TUC estimates that the number of UK people working from home increased by a fifth in the ten years to 2018, and now stands at around 2.5 million people. This number is expected to continue to rise – as a result of changing attitudes and technological developments – with half the UK workforce expected to be working remotely by 2025.Benefits of remote workingRemote working, flexible working, working from home – whichever terminology you use – allows employees to change the locations they work from and their working hours. For the organisation, proven benefits include improved employee retention, a wider pool of applicants, reduced costs, increased productivity, lower absenteeism and carbon footprint reductions. For the individual, the flexibility brings a better work-life balance, reductions in costs such as those associated with commuting, less stress, increased well-being and less time spent travelling. For a manager, it can help them empower team members to give their best, improve well-being in the team and improve job performance and satisfaction.Making a success of managing and working remotelyThis book will help managers and team members alike who are about to or have already started working remotely. It will enable managers to comprehend the challenges of managing remote workers and put strategies in place to overcome these, and will advise employees how to approach their work when doing so remotely. For the manager, this book provides practical advice on how to manage remotely, with emphasis on the use of technology, creating team cohesion and avoiding isolation factors. For the team member, the book provides tips and techniques on how to work remotely, balance work and outside-work demands, and deliver desired outcomes. Using case studies, diagrams and tables, with a good balance of research and practical advice, the book discusses both the technological and psychological aspects of remote working, helping employees and managers understand how they should approach and evaluate working remotely. Ensure you make remote working a success with proven, practical advice – buy this book today. About the author Sarah Cook is the managing director of The Stairway Consultancy Ltd. She has 20 years’ consulting experience specialising in leadership and management development. Before this, Sarah worked for Unilever and as head of customer care for a retail marketing consultancy. Sarah has practical experience helping managers to manage remotely and create high-performing teams. She has also worked extensively with team members to help them effectively transition to new ways of working. Sarah is a business author and has written widely on the topics of leadership, management development, team building and coaching. She also speaks regularly at conferences and seminars on these topics. Sarah is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is a Chartered Marketer. She has an MA from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from The Open University. She is an accredited user of a wide range of psychometric and team diagnostic tools.