Kevin Sheridan - The Virtual Manager: Cutting-Edge Solutions for Hiring, Managing, Motivating, and Engaging Mobile Employees

PRAISE FOR THE VIRTUAL MANAGER

This lucid and concise book contains much common sense about the realities of managing colleagues you cannot see. Sheridan reminds us that some timeless human virtuesthe ability to listen, to empathize, to communicate clearlyare needed in the modern globalized corporation as much as (and perhaps more than) ever.

Stefan Stern, director of strategy at Edelman in London, visiting professor of management practice at Cass Business School

This insightful book contains actionable advice and fascinating case studies that will help managers effectively manage, empower, and engage their virtual workers. Kevin Sheridans best practices for motivating and engaging the virtual workforce are both thought-provoking and illuminating.

David Shadovitz, editor of Human Resource Executive

A passionate evidence-based argument for why virtual working not only improves performance through active employee engagement but also makes better use of time, reduces absence levels, and is also good for the environment.

Mick Marchington, professor of Human Resource Management at Manchester Business School and coauthor of Fragmenting Work

This insightful book recognizes that work is not a place, but instead its the act of value creation that can happen anytime and anywhere. With this shift comes the need for a new set of guidelines, skills, and resources, not just for individuals and teams, but for their managers too. The Virtual Manager is packed full of smart ideas that leaders can use to build an effective and engaged virtual workforce, and leverage all the benefits that remote working has to offer.

Jennifer Rosenzweig, research director, The Forum: Business Results Through People, affiliated with Northwestern University

CUTTING-EDGE SOLUTIONS FOR
HIRING, MANAGING, MOTIVATING, AND
ENGAGING MOBILE EMPLOYEES

KEVIN SHERIDAN

Copyright 2012 by Kevin Sheridan

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

T HE V IRTUAL M ANAGER
Edited and Typeset by Kara Kumpel
Cover design by Ty Nowicki
Printed in the U.S.A.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sheridan, Kevin, 1960

The virtual manager: cutting-edge solutions for hiring, managing, motivating, and engaging mobile employees / Kevin

Sheridan. -- 1

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60163-185-5 (pbk.)

1. Telecommuting--Management. 2. Virtual work teams--Management. 3. Employee motivation. 4. Organizational effectiveness. I. Title.

HD2336.3.S54 2012

658.3123--dc23 2011043023

I want to dedicate this book to the millions of virtual
employees and virtual managers around our globe, who
both struggle and succeed in bridging the management
and human gulf between each other; the very genesis for
this book was to help in that meaningful purpose. I look
forward to and invite hearing about your success stories after
implementing the best practices discussed in the book.

I give incredibly heartfelt thanks, praise, and recognition (a key Driver of Engagement featured in ) to the many HR Solutions marketing team members who made this book possible: Ashley Nuese, Kristina Anderson, Michael Savitt, Melissa Herrett, Amelia Forczak, and Lisa Henthorn; these talented individuals are certainly helping me to think as, and aspire to become, a great virtual manager.

Deep thanks to my wife, Barb, and my two young daughters, Morgan and Hannah, for their love and support while I was oftentimes very virtual, writing this book somewhere other than home.

Special thanks to Maryann Karinch, who was instrumental in making this project a reality.

Lastly, some of the most pertinent best practices in this book came from the many employees at HR Solutions, who have consistently taught their senior leaders the important best practices of letting go and building trust.

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

Henry R. Luce, author

When organizations look to the future, the most innovative and successful leaders realize the potential that virtual workforces have to change the face of business. Increasingly, leadership and organizations are viewing work as something you do, rather than somewhere you go. As organizations expand across the nation and the globe, remote labor forces are becoming vital to business success. Currently, 82 percent of Fortune Magazines 100 Best Companies to Work For already have virtual work policies. That number is expected to rise as time and technology advance.

As working at a distance continues to take root, virtual workplaces may soon become more common than physical office spaces,when you factor in the past growth rate. Each year, the population of virtual workers grows, and observing this pattern contributes to the belief that virtual workforces are here to stay. The trend toward virtual work is, in fact, gaining such a hold in the workplace that colleges and universities are beginning to introduce programs dedicated solely to best practices for virtual work. To remain up to par in this increasingly distanced world, managers must consider the increasing demand and necessity for a virtual workforce.

Remote workforces help maintain an organizations competitive advantage. Distance employees contribute to higher profits, larger market shares, and an ambitious edge. Prior to incorporating remote workers into your organization, it is imperative managers understand every facet of the virtual workforce in order to establish the most successful virtual teams.

Virtual work has not always looked the same. Remote jobs were originally referred to as telecommuting, reflecting the most commonly perceived benefit of such work: reduced commute times. As employers began to view telecommuting as benefitting more than just commuters, telework was adopted as a broader term. The most recent phrase, virtual work, is an all-encompassing term meant to refer to entire populations who are working together, separately. For the purposes of this book, I will be all-inclusive in my definition: A virtual employee is anyone who works remotely or in a different location than her manager or peers. A virtual manager is a leader who manages employees in various locales.

Whether referred to as telecommuting,