Even at the best of times, having a difficult conversation is never good. The obvious thing to do is to avoid it, but we all know that providing feedback via a Post-It note (we’re showing our age here) or addressing an important issue by text message, doesn’t work in any walk of life.  

In office and business environments before lockdown and remote working, a friendly request for a chat in an office or meeting room was the best way to have a difficult conversation with a staff member, but now, with increased remote working, how do you remain in control when your team are potentially far away? 

Maintain close contact with your remote team 

The first thing to remember is that being asked to have a conversation shouldn’t be a bolt out of the blue for your team member. Effective management of remote and flexible workers requires regular check ins which can be done by a variety of different means. Staying in regular contact not only reduces the chance of miscommunications and misunderstandings, but can also make it easier to do a quick check in if something isn’t working.  

What do you hope to achieve? 

So, the conversation is less of a catch up, and more of a capability meeting. With this in mind, it’s vital that you map out exactly what you want to achieve from the conversation and what the context will be. We recommend this for any formal work conversations, whether they are face to face or remote.  

Having an outcome that you are working towards will make it easier to keep the conversation on track and can also help if the call doesn’t go as planned.   

Schedule a date and time 

The last thing any of us ever want is a call out of the blue to discuss how we are doing at work. For sensitive and confidential conversations, it is always best to schedule a time for the conversation and also let them know what it is going to be about. Planning a time gives you both an opportunity to think about how you can best find a solution to the problem.  

Also, consider the best platform for the conversation. In many cases, a video call gives a more face to face feel than a phone call.   

Take time to listen 

Any conversation with a team member should never be one sided. They will want and need to talk, so you must be prepared to listen to them. It may be that they are feeling unsupported or under skilled and you can help them with additional support and training.  

Keep a record and keep it legal 

As with any meeting, it is important to keep records and notes of anything that is said. If you are doing a video call, you could keep a recording of the call (but make sure that you let the employee know that it is being recorded). This means you can refer back to it in the future. Alongside this, you should make sure you stick to facts and company policy. This is because you don’t want to risk an accusation of discrimination based on protected characteristics.  

Follow it up 

Once you’ve had your conversation, make sure that you follow up any points that were raised and that the staff member also receives a summary of the contents of the call. If they have raised any issues or made any requests, see if they can be resolved or dealt with, and schedule another one to one call for further in the future.  

If you would like any advice on managing remote workers, or are interested in management training, our team are ready to hear from you.