Skills Shift launches new course aimed at ‘often overlooked’ homeworking weak point
Management training specialist Skills Shift announces a new live online learning programme specifically for those who are managing homeworking teams.
Skills Shift, a management training company focused on change – shifting managers’ people-skills to adapt to shifting business needs – has released a new training programme, ‘Successfully managing homeworking teams’.
According to Skills Shift’s managing director, Philippa Thomas, the course is targeted at the weak point of many organisation’s shift to homeworking – the specific skills people need to effectively manage a distributed workforce. “In the shift to homeworking,” says Thomas, “much of the focus has been on the workforce – how they adapt, how they are equipped and so on. This is understandable – because, for many, this is an entirely new way of working. But it is actually tougher for managers and team leaders to adapt – and this is often being overlooked, with many managers being expected to just cope.”
Skills Shift’s new training programme aims to address this and is – of course – delivered online. It consists of two two-and-a-half-hour modules, delivered live by an experienced management trainer, with a third, optional, two hours’ ‘mastermind’ coaching session.
The programme helps managers and team leaders to understand the changes needed to manage a distributed team: measuring KPIs and outputs, delegating to and trusting workers they are not in proximity to, communicating effectively, supporting the workforce, developing skills within a distributed workforce, dealing with emotions, team spirit and morale, running far effective remote meetings – and more.
“A distributed workforce needs to be managed in an entirely different way,” says Thomas. “Proven management skills don’t automatically translate into a distributed working environment. We build on the skills the managers already have and enable them to be far more effective when leading a homeworking team.”
Skills Shift believes that people who can better manage a distributed workforce get far more from their teams and deliver more for the business. “It’s clear that homeworking isn’t a temporary fix to a short-term problem,” concludes Thomas. “It’s going to be an accepted part of the business landscape from this point forwards. Those companies which get this right will have a real sustainable advantage in the new normal.”
‘Successfully managing homeworking teams’ is available now, from Skills Shift.