Managing a Mobile Workforce. Managing a Mobile Workforce. Managing a Mobile Workforce. Presented by 5 Star Consultants, LLC 1. Employees on the Go

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1 Employees on the Go Challenges and Solutions Presented by Sharon M. Litwin OBJECTIVES Managing a staff that you don t see every day Communicate with staff in an effective manner Spend productive work days reaching goals Prioritize activities to relieve stress during the work day Let work be FUN and Rewarding! Managing off-site staff Hiring practices make sure that staff you hire are responsible and dependable Set boundaries and ground rules 1

2 Set achievable goals Be consistent Communicate Everyone is accountable Scheduling visits Office sets schedule or staff? Expectation for number of visits: type of visit tasks to be done location of client residence Tools Cell phones GPS Laptops Directions Mileage reimbursement 2

3 While driving, staff should not: Eat Drink Talk on cell phone Text Download itunes Results of eating, drinking, talking, texting, or downloading Require your staff to have auto insurance Communication between office and field staff Telephone Text Inservices Performance evaluations Pot lucks 3

4 Communication Clearly, Objectively, Frequently, Positively If in doubt of message, clarify and get in writing so management is on the same page Methods meetings, in Writing, voic , Clearly define expectations Acknowledgement by staff of understanding Characteristics of effective leaders: Integrity, Courage, Sensitivity Ability to Prioritize Excellent Communicator Knowledge and Experience in Area Supervising Goal Driven Rather than Task Oriented Organization united in goals all on same page All Levels participate in goal development Goals must defined, achievable, while still a challenge Standards must be high 4

5 Evaluate Progress Objective measurements audits, interviews, observation Define progress per employee and for group in order to identify benchmarks Involve staff in evaluation process Accountability Weak area for most Front Line Managers Once expectation is clearly communicated, Manager Must hold the employee accountable Identify reason for lack of accountability: More education needed Did not understand Expectation Is not willing or able to comply Feedback, Coaching, Counseling Follow up with employee in REAL TIME Have an objective, written plan prepared Clearly explain expectation not met Stick to the subject Give specific examples Share benchmark results of dept Ask employee for explanation 5

6 Feedback, Coaching, Counseling Actively Listen Assure that employee stays on track If employee is defensive, do not become defensive stay calm, remain firm but compassionate Offer further education Ask employee for solution Develop Action Plan with employee with timeline Set follow up meeting Planning Prioritizing Process Development Prevent Fires Planning Must have a game plan prepared in advance for the day, week, month, year As specific as possible Ties in with the strategic plan and goals Goal driven, but will also have tasks 6

7 Planning Incorporates regulatory requirements and Performance Improvement Revise daily as needed working tool Keep ahead of the paperwork Prioritizing Based on Plan Supervisor s s buy in time commitments By deadline, importance, availability of resources Process Development Evaluate previous crises and fires to identify process issues Develop task force consisting of all stakeholders to revise or develop process Communicate to all staff including the expectation that this will decrease time, increase quality etc, using previous crises as case study Upon implementation, set time intervals frame to evaluate progress and follow up 7

8 PREVENT FIRES Rather than spending a day of frustration putting out one fire after the other, your efforts made from PLANNING, PRIORITIZING and PROCESS DEVELOPMENT will be rewarded. MOVE THE BALL Planning, Prioritizing, Process Development Improving Outcomes Recruitment Customer Satisfaction Team Building Increasing Morale Scenario #1 An employee refuses to do a task. They informed during their interview i that they would be required to perform the task, asked if they were capable of doing so and answered yes. 8

9 Scenario #2 Two employees were hired at the same time for the same position in the same department. Employee A is a hard worker, and thus is receiving i all the extra jobs to complete. Employee B is an okay worker and is not being required to take on the extra jobs. Employee A is frustrated, stressed and feels over-worked. Scenario #3 Employee A is the only clerical support for Department XYZ. The department has increased their productivity by 31%. The work load for the clerical support has increased sufficiently enough to justify having two fulltime clerical support staff. However, management cannot approve hiring another clerical support employee due to budget constraints. Thus, Employee A is handling the job of two people. Scenario #4 A group of co-workers was in-serviced on new or revised policies or practices. After repeatedly addressing changes, one or more co-workers is still not compliant in following the changes. How do you handle this? 9

10 Scenario #5 An employee comes to you upset and says, I ve worked here for 5 years and now a new person gets hired and tells me they are making $1.00/hour more than me. This isn t fair. Scenario #6 A manager gets a complaint from a referral source regarding an employee who said how busy he/she is and how under-staffed he/she is. This employee also told the referral source that he/she wished the referral source would make it easier for him/her and call back later in the day. Scenario #7 A manager meets with his/her team regarding a project with a tight deadline. One employee comes back to the manager later and says, This isn t my job and I have too much to do. How will I get all of this done? 10

11 Scenario #8 An employee comes to you and says, I don t think that we are doing this part of our service in the way that meets the state guidelines. 11