5 Ways to Be Accountable as a Remote Employee

The subject of today’s guest post seems to be on a lot of people’s minds these days.  Clearly it’s on mine as I wrote an employee pledge to employers recently.  It’s on the mind of my former boss who managed me remotely for a couple of years.  She is now working near Boston from home while her company is based in Austin.  She travels back and forth but for the most part is remote.  We were discussing how companies don’t advertise jobs as being flexible, how workers need to prove they are worthy before they are given the ability to have flexibility.  And how frustrating that is to someone who needs flexibility in order to take a job.  Her take was that too many companies have gotten screwed by employees who want to work remotely but then don’t do their work.  I think there is definitely some of that…but I also think that reality and its corresponding urban legend are very far apart.  Most remote workers I know understand that they need to work much harder to prove they are getting their work done than their in-office counterparts and take this issue very seriously.  For those remote workers here are 5 tips from Deborah Fike to help you out.

Having been a project manager at a software development firm, I have managed teams of both in-house and remote employees.  I have to admit, the workplace can be rough for offsite employees.  You can’t participate in the water cooler conversations that happen in all work environments.  You don’t get to joke with your cubicle neighbor.  And worst of all, when something goes wrong, the in-house people love to blame those “playing around at home.”

But don’t despair!  As a manager who got to know both my in-house and remote employees really well, I know that the above are often myths generated by people used to working in an office.  If you look behind these “disadvantages,” you’ll find that water cooler talks often center around last night’s football game, that you can get to know your teammates without being attached at the hip 24-7, and that people often use those whom they don’t know well as scapegoats, even if the problem is internal.

So what’s a remote employee to do?  Well, first you have to accept one thing: you are accountable for the time you work from home.  Having a flexible schedule means better work-life balance, but it comes with the price of staying connected and communicating in smart ways.   That means not only letting people know what you’re working on, but also just getting to know the personalities of your teammates back at the office.  The less you appear as a faceless robot that sends e-mails, the more likely you will be accepted and appreciated by the team, even if you can’t physically be with them.

Below are some tips and tricks I learned by working with remote employees:

• Keep track of your work output.  At a bare minimum, make sure your manager knows what you are working on every day.  If possible, let all your teammates know as well.  There are a lot of online tools out there that record employees’ work output (in fact, my husband and I are building one right now).
• Use IM as often as possible. Even if you can’t physically be at the office, you’re often working near a computer with an Internet connection.  Have your teammates install a common IM program on their machines.  Send quick links, tidbits of information, and questions over these channels as you come across them.   It will not only make it feel like you’re at the office, but you can also have more casual conversations than you can in e-mail.
• Keep a schedule (as best as you can). One of the benefits of flexible schedules is not having clear work hours.  The truth is, though, even remote employees often find themselves working at the same time each day.  Let people know the likely hours you plan on working and remind them to IM freely if they need to speak to you.
• Set up weekly phone calls or video chats. If you are too far away to go to the office at least once a week, I highly recommend weekly sync-ups with managers and other key teammates.   Schedule phone calls and video chats whether you need them or not.  In reality, there is always something work-related to talk about, even if it’s just to clarify a company e-mail.  Plus, you get the bonus of showing off your personality and just “talking shop,” which is hard to do via e-mail or even IM.
• Speak up! If your team regularly sends out group e-mails, make sure your voice is part of the conversation.  Don’t hesitate to respond with an opinion or question just because you think you don’t know the whole story.  It will not only clarify what’s happening at the office, but also allow you to digitally brainstorm with your teammates. 

Just remember the main goal: stay connected, communicate your work output, and get to know your teammates.  It’s on you to remain visible and stay accountable as you work from home!

Deborah Fike is a co-founder of Fellowstream, a Facebook-meets-collaboration tool for remote teams. She has overseen five product launches as a product manager for the Torque line of game engines.  She hopes that the next wave of online tools will help more people achieve a realistic work-life balance.