Lightning Talk – Effective Management Practices With Remote Teams [Beginner – 3:30-4:00pm Central]

The COVID-19 pandemic forced an overnight transition of the majority of the library workforce to a telecommuting situation. This included individuals who are familiar with remote working and employees that never worked remotely and whose duties cannot be easily translated into a remote working environment. Employees realize that there is an added effort and time to locate information from coworkers. Social isolation and reduced interactions among team members may lead to decreased productivity and cause frustration.

While some employees thrive in telecommuting situations, the circumstances have changed. Even experienced telecommuters cannot find the distraction-free environment that they are used to during work from home. Managers have to provide the leadership during these uncertain times, and guide the team to ensure productivity, while maintaining the employee moral. During this collaborative activity, we will focus on templates for workflows and processes that can be replicated for the successful management of remote teams. What are the best practices in organizational management and collaboration? We will focus on practicing empathy and being compassionate during project planning, setting expectations, and coordinating interactions when managing remote teams.