Description

Are you struggling to manage remote or hybrid employees — or are you still holding out hope that everyone just comes back to the office? Whether you're a reluctant convert or a seasoned remote manager looking to tighten things up, the fundamentals of leading people don't change when they're not in the building. What changes is how intentional you have to be — and this episode walks you through exactly what that looks like in practice.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why managing remote and hybrid employees isn't fundamentally different from managing in-person teams — and what actually does need to shift in your approach
2. How to set clear expectations around work hours, availability, deliverables, and response times so that both you and your employees stay out of the guessing game
3. Why micromanaging remote workers backfires — and how to define success as an objective, measurable outcome instead of monitoring minutes spent appearing busy
4. How to build a communication rhythm that works for both you and your direct reports, including how often to check in, what cadence to use, and why the Pomodoro technique is worth recommending to your team
5. Why trust is the foundation of every successful remote work environment — and how leading by example on work-life boundaries sets the tone for your entire team

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — Managing Remote & Hybrid Teams: The Real Truth
• 01:22 — Practice 1: Schedule Regular Video Check-Ins
• 03:34 — Practice 2: Set Clear Expectations & Define Success
• 05:08 — Practice 3: Communicate on Their Terms (Response Time & Cadence)
• 07:09 — Practice 4: Encourage Breaks & Model Work-Life Boundaries
• 09:07 — Practice 5: Trust Your People — And What That Actually Requires
• 11:57 — Free Download: 5-Point Performance Rating Scale

If you've got remote or hybrid employees and you're not sure whether your performance management system is actually built to support them, take the free HR Audit and find out where the gaps are: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🔍 Ready to find out what's really going on inside your business? Take the free Salt & Light HR Audit at saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit. In about 10 minutes, you'll get a clear picture of where your people operations stand — and exactly where to focus next. No fluff, no sales pitch. Just clarity.

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Free download: 5-Point Likert Scale Performance Rating — link in show notes
• The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
• The Pomodoro Technique — pomodorotechnique.com

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/5

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