The first global report focusing on people leading remote change.
We hope that through The Remote Managers 2020 Report, we can help all managers no matter their level of experience develop best remote management practices and lead their virtual teams to success throughout 2020 and beyond.
Managing remote teams is a key skill that goes beyond just being able to work from home. In fact, it requires a whole different set of traits, practices, and strategies compared to managing a team located within the same office.
2020 so far has been a year in which many of us have found ourselves working outside the office, whether through personal choice or due to the recent global pandemic. A lot of us are only just familiarizing ourselves with the ins and outs of making remote work a success, and this is especially so for managers out there with no remote experience.
This report summarizes the remote team management experience of 594 managers who participated in our Remote Managers 2020 survey. We’ve made sure to include respondents from a cross section of industries, working conditions, and company sizes to help get the clearest idea of what is going on in the whole remote management world.
529
Managers
54%
3+ Years of Experience
40%
Team of 8+
56%
Fully Remote Teams
53%
Have Remote Work Policy
Only around 1 in 5 managers have remote management experience of more than 6 years. The most common team size that managers are leading is 3 - 8 people. This suggests that the remote industry is still working its way up to larger teams.
More than half of managers work with teams that are fully remote (56%) and half work with different types of hybrid teams (44%).
Managers think that the biggest advantages of remote teams are happier employees (59%), a global talent pool (57%), and more productive employees (52%).
On the other hand, the most commonly named disadvantages of remote teams were a lack of relationships among employees (57%), difficulties in communication (47%), and decreased employee visibility (45%).
In terms of the most important traits needed by a remote manager, communication leads by high margin in the survey (69%), followed by organizational skills (37%), and self-discipline (35%).
Among the key responsibilities of remote managers, defining and cultivating a unique team culture remotely is the most difficult, whilst organizing and delivering remote meetings is the easiest.
87% of remote managers believe that remote work really is the future. While some are unsure, only 2% believe that it isn’t. Despite whether it is the future or not, almost all of the surveyed managers believe that they will still manage remote teams in their future roles.
Trust issues and the perception on how work should be carried out are the biggest obstacles preventing companies from implementing remote work, according to remote managers. Technology is no longer a hurdle, and the vast majority (90%) of remote managers believe that “remote tools” will become standard even for non-remote staff.
Want to learn more about how managers communicate with their teams, what the most successful team setup is, and more?
Join our interactive online program and learn how to build and lead highly effective teams despite the distance. Advance your management and leadership skills with industry-leading experts.
Learn More