Locating, recruiting and hiring high quality employees is crucial for the success of any company, no matter what its size or which industry it’s in. That may become more and more challenging for some managers over the next several years, as millennials become the predominant working age group. If you remain stuck in a mindset from years ago – one that dictates employees can only be productive in a traditional office environment – you will be hard pressed to find millennials who want to join your staff.

Allowing employees to work from home or other remote locations can be a huge benefit to companies of all sizes. Studies show that workers who are allowed to work from home are generally happier and less stressed, and actually save their companies money by eliminating overhead, cutting down on supply costs, etc. Unfortunately, many business owners and managers have been hesitant to give their employees the flexibility to work remotely because they worry that the workers won’t be as productive as they would be in an office environment.

If your employees are like most Americans, when they’re not actively engaged in other activities they’re glued to their smart phones. In fact, according to a recent survey, 81% of Americans own a smart phone (as of June 2019). While that statistic in itself might not be cause for alarm, the amount of time Americans spend on their smart phones may be: current research suggests that the typical smart phone owner in the U.S. spends over 4 hours a day – every day – on the device.

It’s hard to remember when the Internet wasn’t part of our day-to-day lives. But believe it or not, the Internet only became widely used in 1995, making it just under 25 years old. For some of us, it seems like only yesterday, while other people can barely remember a time when we did all our banking in person, paid bills via “snail mail,” watched television to catch up on news stories, did our shopping at a local mall, and picked up a phone to communicate with family and friends.

Recently, the world lost a true legend when iconic businessman Lee Iacocca passed away. Whether you agreed with all of his business decisions or not, no one will deny the impact he had on not only the auto industry, but on U.S. commerce in general. Iacocca once said, “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them.

We can all agree that becoming a good manager or supervisor takes skill and practice.  That’s true in virtually any workplace. So how in the world do you motivate employees who work from remote locations? You might be surprised to learn that the secret to motivating remote employees is not nearly as much of a mystery as we’ve been led to believe. What follows are some methods used by successful supervisors to keep their remote employees performing and succeeding in their jobs.