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Updated: November 24, 2020 Ask ACE

Ask ACE: In the age of coronavirus, how do you manage a distributed team?

By Arthur Fink, of Arthur Fink Consulting

Q: My staff are all working at home, far from their manager. How can I manage this distributed team?

ACE advises: The older “management by proximity” won’t work any more. You need to have clear agreements with each staff person on your team about projects, results and deliverables. Meet regularly with staff remotely, in virtual space, to review progress towards these goals, and determine any need to revise the work plan, timetables, or performance metrics.

For your staff to work as a team, they need to be able to contact each other. Staff members need to declare time slots when they are reachable. Ideally they will have a dedicated workspace, and pay appropriate attention to privacy, confidentiality and backup. This should be summarized in a work-at-home contract.

Have a candid discussion about distractions and particular challenges that each staff member may have while working at home. Childcare is the most common, and probably the most difficult challenge — especially in today’s environment with most schools closed.

For prolonged work-at-home situations, somebody should send regular updates that would substitute for water cooler-style conversations — personal news about other staff or company plans to renovate spaces.

With all these arrangements in place, you can have effective collaborative work, with staff accountable, supervisors confident and family/home life still intact.

Arthur Fink is a creative consultant concerned with the social context of technology, with effective communication in the workplace, and with finding the important questions that businesses and non-profit organizations need to address. He can be contacted at arthur@arthurfink.com.

About ACE

The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a nonprofit association of independent consultants who value “Success through Collaboration.” The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com.

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