According to new research, poor management is inhibiting the benefits of remote working. A study of 200 managers, conducted by City & Guilds and Henley Management College, found that although three quarters of respondents said flexible working is common in their workplaces, the same number of managers have had no training on how to supervise remote teams. ( You can read / download the report here

Many employers believe it makes sound business sense, economically and as an aid to recruitment and retention. The Tomorrow’s Leaders study found that a third of managers want to monitor their remote workers closely, but how closely do they monitor what goes on in the office? One could question that as long as the work is done on time and to standard, shouldn’t that be sufficient?

Given that employee roles have already been defined by the HR department, in conjunction with departmental managers, should it not be reasonably straight forward to add productivity expectations to these? Certainly conducting time and motion studies will give you an idea of how long it takes to do certain tasks. Just as in the office deadlines can be set? Is it perhaps a lack of relevant training that has resulted in their still being a less than 100% endorsement of what has changed the working lives of many?

Are you an employer or remote worker who has successfully (or unsuccessfully) overcome the hurdles associated with remote working – we’d love to hear your thoughts!