Keeping development apace for junior talent
by Kate Ledwidge, Senior Associate, JMW Solicitors
A result of the coronavirus pandemic has been that employers have had to adapt to the new normal of “remote-working”, which has been a cultural shift for some APAC businesses who are used to working solely from an office. This has created several technological and logistical difficulties, with one of the issues being that junior employees across the globe have reported that they feel like communication, supervision and support has reduced as a result. In numerous surveys, millennials, in particular, have reported that they miss the human experience of being in the office. This is why it is essential for employers to ensure that junior employees feel supported in their careers whilst working from home because otherwise, this can have a negative effect on engagement and motivation, as well as increasing anxiety and stress levels. So, as employers look to the future of adopting a more flexible approach to remote-working, how can managers ensure that the next generation is adequately engaged and developed while working from home?
Invest management time upfront
A golden rule of good management is that you usually receive the quality of work from your juniors that you deserve. When remote-working, sending emails to junior employees with short, blunt instructions might feel like a great time-saver. In fact, it is likely to create a worried, confused and inefficient employee, who feels unable to ask questions, and so gets things wrong. Alternatively, spending the time having just a 10 minute call in advance, explaining what is needed, in what format, where to find useful resources, and (crucially) why all those things are important, makes it far more likely the work will be done well. You will also have an engaged, confident and purposeful junior, who has a proper understanding of the commercial context they are working in. This is a great recipe for development.
Feedback in real-time
It is tempting to de-prioritise giving feedback to juniors when they are not sitting next to you, with bated breath, waiting for your response to their hard work. It is easier to think “Oh, I can discuss this with her next week”, or “I’ll drop her an email when I have more time”. However, feedback starts to lose relevance very quickly and is much harder to learn from it as more time passes. Even worse, these “best of intentions” can end up slipping a manager’s mind altogether. The best remote managers will always make time for feedback on the same day or, at worst, the day after.
Genuine virtual “open door policy”
It is perhaps too easy to say, “call anytime”, and then feel your job is done as a remote manager. While this is great in theory, because it seems to give employees access to supervision on tap, it only works if it is put into practice. When the time comes, if it is more “give me a try this afternoon, because you might catch me between meetings. If not, then tomorrow sometime – can you check my diary?” its value is lost. A junior may be floundering with a task, and only need a 5- to 10-minute discussion. Even though it can be challenging, the best managers will answer their phone if they can, or otherwise, call back as soon as they can. If it then requires more time than they have, they will set a specific slot when they do have the time.
See remote calls in the same way as office conversations
A great trick is to adopt a mindset where phone calls are seen in the same way as office conversations or meetings. If you would have asked a junior to sit in on a meeting, or grabbed them to join in a conversation, do the same with your remote calls. Modern technology allows you to quickly loop in multiple participants. This addresses one of the most significant downsides of remote working, where people miss out on “learning by osmosis” as they can no longer listen in on the discussions or meetings they otherwise would have learned from in the office.
Regular one-to-ones
All employees have career goals and aspirations, whether they work remotely or not. Take time for regular video meetings to discuss these and how they can be achieved. Juniors might need extra guidance on how to achieve them while working remotely. Tackling this head-on will avoid frustration and de-motivation, as employees can still see a clear path in front of them for progression at work.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
