If you work from home or if you manage someone who works from home, what have you done to make it work?

I was talking to a client recently who was struggling to manage a team member who worked from home. It turned out that the arrangement had ‘just sort of happened’, no rules or way or working had been agreed … 

I spoke to both the employee and the manager - and it turned out both were equally dissatisfied with the arrangement.

Why don’t people talk to each other? Well, because the manager has to make the time and be open to listen to what the team member is really saying and the team member has to feel able to raise issues with the manager.

This is all related to feedback skills. If the manager in this situation had explained his frustration (in terms of the impact on performance) and then listened to the team member’s point of view, then this could have been resolved months ago.

If you have an unresolved issue, then deal with it. If you need help with feedback skills, then why not send me an email for help - or ask a coach to talk it through with you.