Now that you have made an informed decision about who to outsource to and how to outsource by finally hiring a remote employee, the next logical step is to ensure that this particular mode of outsourcing works for you. In other words, how do you – sitting halfway across the globe – manage your remote employee? How do you make them accountable for their work? Particularly when you can't see them physically or personally monitor their progress.
Luckily, technology has proved to be the biggest ally when it comes to remote management of your dedicated outsourcing partner.
Here is how you can make your virtual employee accountable for their work:
1. Create and maintain a regular system of checks and cross-checks. If your remote worker knows that their work is being assessed on a regular basis, they'll be more alert and less prone to take their work carelessly. Ask your remote employee to submit a weekly status report of the work done during that time period. This will also help you to keep tabs on their output as well be able to identify any lapses or errors in the work at an early stage itself.
2. Set aside a time each day or each week to interact and discuss the work and its progress with your remote employee. The written word can never take the place of direct communication. Thanks to the vendor's facilities, it is easy to have a face-to-face interaction with your remote employee via video conferencing, Skype chats, and the like in 'real' time. Talking and discussing like you would with any other locally employed worker can help dispel the perceptions of time and distance.
3. Share any concern that bothers you with the outsourcing vendor's HR executives who are always available to liaison between you and your remote employee. It can be constituted as putting pressure on your remote employee, but in reality it is another way of letting them know that their performance is being strictly monitored not just by you but even by the vendor's HR executives.
4. Clearly outline tasks, action plans and set deadlines for your remote employee. Once your remote worker knows what is expected of them, they can focus on that target and work towards achieving that deadline. Clearly defined goals make it easier for your remote employee to work with as well as for you to assess their performance as well. There should be no room for any vagueness or ambiguity in this area.
5. Inform the employee about the standards that you have set for the work, the measurable criteria that can gauge the level of their work. At the very outset of your partnership, make sure that the employee knows just what exactly is expected of them, the standards that you have set and the criteria that would be employed to gauge their progress.
6. Do not ignore or take lightly any lapses in work or poorly submitted work. Let the virtual employee know that any sub-standard work will simply not be accepted.
Making a remote employee accountable for work can be a daunting challenge but not an insurmountable one if these guidelines are followed.
Daya Mukherjee is a Senior Content Writer and Editor working for a Remote Staffing Outsourcing company in India. You can find out more information by visiting our Outsourcing, Outsource,Websites.
