How do you motivate people who report to you, when you all work in a vitrual office environment?

Answer 1

I am in the IT field and I'm a manager as well. We are working with this issue right now. We are in Michigan, and we have someone that is working out west, and 2 people working down south.

The thing I have found is everyone responds differently to encouragement. I have learned some of their personalities, and have found ways to get them to respond in a positive way. One guy, if you tell him to do something, he acts lie you are being bossy. I have learned to tell him I need help with something and then he will help. Other people you have to give them a list of things to accomplish and then they work hard. Very few people will handle the "get your *** to work" talk from long distance. Another thing I have learned is to make them your friends, friends will work harder for you remotely, because they don't want you to look bad.

Good luck, and if you run across good ways to keep them motivated, please let me know.

Answer 2

I work in a virtual office enviroment. So far, we are a small division of a larger company. There are seven of us including the supervisor. Employee selection was the key in our case. Each one of us is exceptionally experienced in our field. Most of us have been in management positions in the past, and each for our own reasons wanted to work from home. All of us are self motivated, so the issue of the supervisor having to motivate us is not a problem.

But, some of it is the same as if you worked in an office together. Every employee has a different 'hot button'. Some method of interaction that they respond best to. As their supervisor/manager/director, it is up to you to discover what that is. Some people need more attention than others. Some shine brightest when you give them some special task for which you let them know they are the best suited to handle. And let's face it, some are simply not suited to working off-site and without hands-on supervision. We have ninty days from the date of hire to make that decision.

Follow your remarks with, "What do you think?". In jobs that allow for people to work in a virtual office enviroment, it is usually rather specialized. We all feel very comfortable with what we are doing and have been doing it a long time. These kind of people do not usually respond well to a heavy hand or arbitrary orders. We all can miss some point or another. But how that missed point is presented to us will make all the difference in the world as to how we will react and respond.

Make sure they all understand that they are an integral part of the team. Building a good, strong team spirit is imperative to make this type of venture successful.

And when you have exhausted all avenues, be wise enough to know when to cut loose the chaff.

Answer 3

This is a tough one, but I guess I should pitch in since I am one of those people that are very hard to motivate.
I think it's important to figure out what motivates different people.
I was born and raised in Eastern Europe. Getting yelled at motivates me, I don't take it personally. That's just what worked back home and now not much else works. I'm also motivated by a sense of purpose.
Also if those who report to you are not getting paid enough so that they don't have to constantly worry about how they're going to pay for bills and necessities, then you can forget trying to motivate them. A lot of people have this problem these days as wages have been stagnating while cost of living has gone up significantly.
Some people like me, like to be checked on often, they need to be constantly stimulated with questions, there needs to be constant flow of info to keep them interested. Others just want to be left alone and can be trusted to get things done. There are few of those types of people.

Answer 4

My suggestion is to keep the lines of communication open. Be there for support, and also tell people when they've done a great job. Set goals and objectives, and let everyone on the team know how well you're doing against the objectives. Every once in a while, you could send free e-cards to brighten up their day or make them laugh. Have conference calls, and let everyone share any insights or questions they have. I'm not sure if your employees are working remotely, but just knowing there's a team (they're not alone!) and that you as their manager care about each of them will make a difference. My former employees have told me just being acknowledged for who they were and what they contributed to the team kept them going.

Answer 5

It really depends on the overall environment within the company. Even in virtual offices moral can get low. Try having some fun events and using rewards to help motivate the people you work with.

Answer 6

When you get an answer that shows you how, write a book for the home office worker.
I am thinking that threats will not work well, unless there are things you can do to them from afar.
The answer is more like pulling them up rather than beating them down. Read some sales motivation books, or listen to the tapes they have for making people perform.

Answer 7

1) Set high performance metrics;
2) Create reward incentives;
3) Allow periodic open forum communication;
4) Treat all in your v-office as if they are all superstars;

Answer 8

Be upbeat and positive in all communications, and show results from their work. We are all motivated by different stimulus, but that should help!

Answer 9

offer incentives for getting their work done. make little 'contests' and give gift certs for the winners. have face-to-face meetings from time to time and make them fun, NOT serious (or too serious).

Answer 10

Hmmm. So the cattle prod won't work, then?

Good luck.