Supervisor Survival Series: Trust Your Teleworkers – Unless There’s a Reason Not To

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Monthly Observations, Guidance, Tools, and Tips to Make Your Job Easier

Right now, an unprecedented number of federal employees are teleworking as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe. Supervisors are understandably overwhelmed, especially as they work to fulfill their agency’s mission while also modifying their management approach to lead remote teams.

Supervisors may feel suspicious of employees who are teleworking, and may assume their employees aren’t doing their jobs. But in reality, if your employee is a good employee in the office, they will probably be a good employee while they’re working from home as well. Sure, some people are not cut out for telework, but most people are doing what they can right now.

Instead of micromanaging your employees, FELTG suggests you trust them, unless and until they give you a reason not to. Yes, there may be employees you have to watch more closely during this time, but if most of your employees are performing their work acceptably, then take the pressure off yourself to feel the need to manage their every move. They’ll appreciate it, and so will you.

The Supervisor Survival Series: Talk to Employees Regularly

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February 19, 2020

This may seem obvious, but it’s worth stating: Supervisors and managers should have regular conversations with their employees throughout the appraisal year. In the course of those conversations, supervisors should provide feedback on the employee’s performance and conduct – positive and negative. The benefits to regular interactions are too many to list here but include improved employee morale, clarity of provided expectations, an increase in employee willingness to be honest with the supervisor, and a better understanding of the challenges employees are facing.

Supervisor Survival Series: Buy a Notebook and Use It

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If you’re a supervisor in the federal government, you need a notebook. Because federal employees have multiple avenues to challenge management actions, contemporaneous documentation is critical evidence that will help you demonstrate bona fide, legitimate reasons for your workplace decisions. You don’t have to write a novel; simply include a date, time, and any relevant details.

Here’s an example: “On January 10, 2020, I received Employee X’s annual leave request for January 13, 2020. I denied the request because Employees Y and Z are already on annual leave that day and Employee  X is needed to cover Project A in their absence. Employees Y and Z  requested leave for January 13, 2020 on November 19, 2019.”

It might seem obvious, yet many supervisors don’t take the time to make contemporaneous notes. You might never need them, but you’ll be very glad you have them if the situation calls for evidence in addition to your testimony.