Exploring the effectiveness of remote line-management: A case-study at MWH IT

Abstract

Globalisation of organisations is increasing (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002) and with that, as are the existence of globally distributed teams (Global Workplace Analytics, 2016). The IT department at the engineering firm MWH, now part of Stantec has a number of globally distributed teams which means that the line-manager of each employee is often not based in the same office or even geographical region. This research uses semi-structured in-depth interviews with members of the IT department at MWH to build a qualitative case-study with an interpretivist phenomenological epistemology and subjectivist ontological paradigm. The research answers the question: ‘To what extent can globally remote line-management be as effective as local line-management for IT at MWH?’. The effectiveness of line-management is established by exploring the motivation and engagement of employees through their responses to interview questions. The findings show that line-managers can be equally effective when either local to their employees or in a different geography, but that there are additional challenges when remote. The research identifies methods to maximise the effectiveness of remote line-management, such as the usage of metrics. Recommendations are made based on the results of the research.