How to manage staff remotely

working remotely

Now that hybrid and remote working patterns are going to be the long-term solution for many, we’re hearing from clients that their businesses want to provide more formal support for their managers.

While we have faced significant challenges during the pandemic and adapted to these pretty quickly, as we start to emerge into the ‘new normal’, more and more workers are opting for a hybrid option (spending some time in the office and some time working remotely) rather than going back into the office full time.

A recent poll by a Spinnaker consultant on LinkedIn showed that just 11% of his network surveyed would want a full return to the office – and this brings its own set of challenges for managers.

Good managers want to get the best of their people no matter where they’re working, but at the moment they’re stretched and are seeking practical, time efficient solutions that will enable them to support their teams as these working environments continue to shift and change.

How often should you check in with your staff? How flexible are you expected to be? How can you ensure remote work is outcome focused? What tech and resources do you have in place? How will you know you’re getting it right?

Here at Spinnaker, we provide support for leaders to help answer these questions, giving practical content and guidance on clarifying expectations with staff, and helping build confidence and competence in the world of remote working.

Our Remote Working ‘Stackables’ are designed to be an accessible solution for managers with busy diaries.  These are one-topic focused sessions that are 60-90 minutes in length, interactive and practical. The sessions work as standalone items or collectively (in any order). Ideally suited to groups of 10 managers, the five topics covered are: Managing Performance, Aligning and Managing Expectations, Boundaries, Keeping Connected, and Personal Style.

Sarah Hutley, Reward Manager at Spinnaker said “Some managers have adjusted fantastically to the virtual working world, others have found it tough. The problem is, as HR professionals we don’t always know which managers need the support. This is an efficient and targeted way to make sure all of your managers are equipped to handle quality conversations within their teams, and ultimately ensure the success of these new hybrid working models.”

If you’d like to know more, please contact Sarah at [email protected]

Benchmarking crew wages – Spinnaker report published

ship docked

Spinnaker is delighted to have published their 8th Seafarer Daily Wage Cost Report.

This report includes daily wage information for seafarers working on vessels including bulk carriers, LNG, LPG and cruise ships and is made up of data from 47 companies and over 250,000 seafarers.

The reports calculate the cost of filling a berth on a vessel using values for both salaried and unsalaried (paid only whilst at sea) seafarers with varying rotation patterns.

This daily wage cost can easily be multiplied up to provide monthly or annual figures.

Even in these unprecedented times, the reports have continued to grow and now provide data for even more nationalities for container, chemical tankers, crude tankers, LNG, LPG and cruise ships than in previous reports.

Spinnaker is also able to carry out further analysis based on this daily wage cost data such as:

  • Targeted peer group benchmarking
  • Ship manager or ship owner reports
  • Summary reports for senior or junior officers

Phil Parry, Chairman of Spinnaker, explains that “Benchmarking enables people to understand how to plan budgets and demonstrate to their staff, and to their staff’s unions, that they are paying fairly”.

He added “Benchmarking is not necessarily about paying the most, or paying the least, it is enabling people to understand where they are paying relative to the marketplace”.

Analysing the data at Spinnaker is reward manager Sandra Briegoos, who highlighted some key numbers. Spinnaker data shows that since 2017 there has been a 2% to 7% increase in pay for senior officers on chemical, crude oil and product tankers, compared to a 3% to 6% increase for those in the bulk sector.  Spinnaker also noted that the majority of companies review pay annually.

The full report is available exclusively for participating members of the Seafarer Employers’ Association. If you would like to know more about joining and accessing this data, please contact Helen McCaughran at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1702 595 302