Managers all around the world are facing new sets of challenges and unprecedented problems with remote work. Supervising subordinates and maintaining interpersonal relationships can especially be more complicated since it is related to human behavior and psychology but there is minimal in-person interaction in the remote work environment. Hence, it’s tough getting through with employees. Managers should, therefore, ask crucial and impactful questions to the employees to understand them, recognize their problems, strengthen relationships, and so on.

One important tactic of employee management, observation, is completely out of the picture in remote work. Managers do not have a first-hand view of what employees are up to, how they are performing, what problems and issues they are facing, or simply their experiences, etc. The only alternative to observation is asking the right questions at the right time and figuring out the unspoken things. Here, we have a list of some impactful questions that managers at GoCode Solutions ask their employees to better understand them.

1. How has your experience been with remote work lately?

How does this question help?

There is a misconception that remote work is easier than in-office work. It may be true for some people, but not for everyone. Remote work requires people to have very distinct sets of skills like maintaining extended periods of focus, clarifying expectations, proper communication, assertiveness, being proactive, etc. Developing these skills may be a challenge to some employees and by asking about the employee’s experience, managers can dive into the areas and skills they should provide support with. 

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows:

1. What challenges have you been facing in the current work arrangement?

2. What have you learned about yourself or work while working remotely?

2. What does your daily routine look like?

How does this question help?

Every employee must be living under different circumstances at their home: living alone vs living with parents; pets vs no pets. You never know! Hence, the level of burnout due to such factors is different for each employee. Moreover, some employees may be facing problems in having a boundary between work and personal life. Thus, by asking this question, managers can identify the pressure level for employees and help them in energy management.

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows: 

1. How often/how long are your breaks and what do you do during breaks?

2. Are you able to stick to a work schedule at home?

3. What does your work setup look like?

How does this question help?

Work setup impacts an employee’s performance and productivity level. An improper work setup may be the reason why some employees are slacking. By asking this question, managers can identify if their work environment is a factor in their decreased performance or if there are other reasons. If yes, managers can provide tips on how to improve the setup so that employees can have an optimal work setup.

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows: 

1. Have you faced any hardware/software/network issues?

2. Do you need any equipment or process improvements that will help with your work?

4. What are some of the challenges you are facing with remote work?

How does this question help?

The motivation level of employees depends on the types of challenges they’re facing. If the challenges are way above their capacity, it leads to demotivation; while if the challenges are within their capacity, it's vice versa.

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows:

1. What is the best and the least thing you like about working remotely?

2. What are the high and low points of your typical day (maybe, yesterday)? 

5. Who do you most connect with at work? 

How does this question help?

Even though it may be hard to make connections in a remote work environment, the human brain seeks belongingness to a social group. Though it may be one person, every employee wants some level of connection with colleagues. By asking this question, managers can identify if the employees have been able to develop social networks beyond their immediate colleagues. The absence of such connection could lead to dissatisfaction with the workplace. Thus, managers help employees struggling with social connections by conducting out-of-work meetings, improving the way such meetings are conducted, and so on.

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows:

1. Have you interacted with people from other departments or made friends beyond your team?

2. Who do you reach out to when you need help or support or improvement ideas?

6. What more do you want to learn about our company, team, or work?

How does this question help?

Employees often learn a lot from one another whether it is work, culture, values, updates, skills, or just information exchange. When working remotely, this is also missing and employees may feel as if they are somehow out of the loop or not part of the team/company. This question allows managers to recognize how employees feel - about their circles, management, or their position. It can help managers in optimizing the systems of the organization to help employees feel more connected and valued if needed.  

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows:

1. Do you know this process or step affects our work cycle or processes?

2. Have you heard of any news or surprising updates from anyone in the company recently? 

7. How effective and consistent are our communication and information systems?

How does this question help?

This one is a more straightforward question than the others on our list. Asking this question helps managers to pinpoint the caveats in the company’s communication and information system. Analysis of the answers can enable improvement or changes in communication tools and mediums, remove confusion or bottlenecks in information exchange, etc. 

Some follow-up questions along with this one can be as follows:

1. Are you able to find the necessary information to perform your tasks easily and timely?

2. Have you ever had to face problems or redo your tasks because of inadequate or incomplete information?

Key Takeaways: 

The list of impactful questions like this does not end here. Any company or manager should devise their own questions like these by recognizing the need. How and when to ask these questions also depends highly on the purpose and intention behind them. For example, some questions are better suited for one-on-one meetings while others are suitable for team meetings or group discussions; some can be included in surveys whereas others during feedback sessions. Regardless, conversations around important issues covered by these questions must be carried out even though they might be difficult.