Many of us have to manage parts of our job remotely, whether it's replying to an email on our laptop whilst on the train, or texting someone to ask them to attend a meeting when you're out of the office. If you've taken the big step to allow some members of your staff to work entirely away from the office, here are some issues and considerations to bear in mind. There are challenges and problems that will rear their head that wouldn't normally occur if your staff were in the office where you can supervise them on a more personal level. Although flexible working can be extremely beneficial to the business and the employee, you'll need to look at all angles before you can fully integrate a flexible working style into your business.

Clarifying the role of the employee

Don't make the mistake of thinking that remote working just means that your employee will be doing the exact same job they do in the office, but in a different place. That's the principle, of course, but it doesn't always work that way. Working remotely will need discipline on their part - their attitude should be the same as someone who is self employed and in charge of their own times. Routines need to be established, and communication opened up. You should be able to reach your employee during working hours with the same ease you used to be able to walk over to their desk. The employee themselves will have to minimise distractions and make sure that they are in an environment that is as conducive to work as the office.

Make sure they have what they need

If the employee doesn't have, for example, their own business mobile, you cannot expect them to "check in" with the office at their own personal expense and routinely do so. Make it easy for them to be in synch with the office by providing suitable remote hardware, software, and telecommunications. Technology is often the key to working remotely and if you haven't provided someone with what they need, they may easily be able to point to the lack of support as a reason for miscommunication or underperformance.

Communication considerations

As mentioned before, the employee should easily be contactable and also have the same access to email and software to do their job properly, as if they were still sat in the office. Remember that they can still be delegated to - being out of the office doesn't mean you're out of the team! Occasionally people can feel isolated or not as "social" when they're not working in the same building or room as their colleagues and you should take steps to prevent this. Regular face to face meetings will help, this will also enable you to get a good progress report and monitor how effectively you employee is working remotely. If you have more than one person working remotely, make sure that you meet with them all regularly - a management presence breeds confidence and allows your team to remain focused.

Before saying "yes" to a request for flexible working or deciding to introduce remote working to your team, think about the planning, execution and delivery of the same results you would expect in the office. It can be great for people to be effective on the move, but it's your job to keep them on track and performing well.