Remote Work
Leader Checklist
Employees and supervisors (leaders) must communicate clearly about remote work expectations. The following checklist will help you establish a foundation for effective teamwork, continued productivity, and service to the IU community.
- Understand relevant guidelines. Review the guidance on the Remote Work Policy. Leaders should verify that their employees understand this information.
- Review the technology needs and resources. Identify technology tools staff use in their daily work and determine whether the resources will be accessible when working from home and ensure employees know how to access your team’s local technical support should they need assistance.
- Ensure employees know how to access the IU network and other tools you regularly use.
- Determine which platform(s) you will use to communicate as a team, clarify expectations for online availability and confirm everyone has access to the technology tool(s) and support resources. For example, use Skype or Teams or another instant messaging client to stay connected to colleagues.
- Review work schedules. Remote work sometimes gets confused with flex work. Be clear about your expectations with employees in maintaining their current work schedule, or flexible scheduling, based on employee needs.
- Draft a work plan. Review the questions below with staff and work through answers together.
- What routine responsibilities/tasks cannot be fulfilled while working remotely and how will it impact operations or other people? What are ways to reduce the impacts?
- What routine responsibilities/tasks require regular communication and collaboration with others? Proactively contact each partner to confirm how you will communicate while everyone is working remotely.
- Often, employees experience fewer interruptions while working remotely. Are there any special projects or tasks that you can advance while working remotely?
- What events or meetings are scheduled during which the remote work arrangement is in place? Will they be postponed or canceled, or will they take place using technology? What follow-up needs to occur due to postponements or cancellations?
- Make a communication and accountability plan. Leaders should tell employees how often they should send updates on their progress and what those updates should include. Leaders should also communicate how quickly they expect the employee to respond while working remotely and the best ways to contact the leader while working remotely
- If you usually make daily rounds to visit employees at their desks, you can give them a call during this period. Maintain team meetings and one-to-one check-ins, altering the schedule if needed to accommodate any alternative schedules that have been approved.
- Conduct regular check-ins. Start each workday with a phone, video or instant message chat. Your employees will be eager for connection and information during the disruption and the structure will help everyone create a positive routine. Connecting every other day or weekly may be fine, so long as you are in contact frequently enough that your employees are in sync with you and/or with one another.
- Use the Four Simple Actions adapted for remote workers to engage remote workers.
- Reinforce workplace skills and behaviors for working remotely with the five IU Core Competencies while working remotely.
- Be positive. A positive attitude toward remote working and a willingness to trust employees to work remotely effectively is key to making such arrangements successful and productive. Remote working presents an opportunity for managers to become better leaders. Instead of focusing on how many hours your employees are working, re-emphasize measuring results and reaching objectives—regardless of work arrangement. The employee’s completed work product is the indicator of success, rather than direct observation. By focusing on the employee’s work product, managers will improve their own organizational abilities and skill in managing based on objectives.
- Use the Remote Performance Conversation tool or other Performance at IU tools to regularly guide conversations about priorities, challenges, and successes on a regular basis.
- If remote work is temporary, debrief after normal operations resume. Employees and leaders should review work plans when work returns to normal, assess progress on the employee’s work plan and prioritize any unresolved or new work that resulted from temporary operational disruption.
