Most of us are forced into trying it now. Many of us are intrigued by the idea of it even after quarantine. But what does a long-term remote work strategy really look like?
Too often we’re offered a remote work blueprint from highly successful tech companies like Google, Shopify, and Amazon. But what is possible for local government and main street businesses? Is there a simpler version of the expansive technology toolsets employed by these companies full of technologically savvy employees? Can my law firm, health care practice, municipality, fill-in-the-blank realize benefits from remote work with a strategy that fits us?
The answer can certainly be yes! A strong culture and clear organizational goals influence the ability to create a simple and effective technology plan that moves you towards supporting a thriving remote workforce.
We’ll cover:
As we’re hearing more questions about remote work from our clients, we’re also seeing compelling data from the market and VC3 employees:
The interest is clear which indicates there must be something behind the curtain. But what is the value?
The true benefits to your organization can, of course, vary depending on your set of circumstances. However, here are a few that seem to be more common and backed up by data.
The potential benefits are compelling, which is, of course, driving this renewed interest. But does your organization have the culture to realize those benefits?
Much of the literature on remote work at some point agrees on this: you need a strong culture. How do we keep our employees engaged and enthusiastic about where the organization is going?
It can be easier in an office setting to achieve culture almost by osmosis. Simply being there creates an opportunity for cross-departmental conversations and cohesion around the coffee pot. So, how do we recreate some of the atmosphere and value of an office in a remote world?
Here are a few examples VC3 actually uses and finds valuable to support remote employees:
Ultimately, an organization will benefit from identifying new communication channels; creating new communication norms; and ensuring a safe, simple, and sometimes anonymous feedback loop is present between employees and leadership.
Perhaps some of the items discussed are not yet present in your organization or would not work. Remote work isn’t always a good culture fit and it’s important to understand your organization’s and employees’ appetite for remote work early on.
You’ll notice in the few examples we shared that technology is present, but not at the forefront. However, to implement these culture changes and enable remote employees, you might need a few new technology tools.
A glance at those highly successful tech companies we mentioned earlier may make you feel like you must invest heavily in all new technology. Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be your course of action.
It may be wise to take a crawl, walk, run approach. Test the waters with a pilot group of employees without breaking the bank or torpedoing operations.
Here are the technology categories you’ll need to consider:
To crawl, you really need this one. Employees must be able to easily access all applications, documents, and data required to perform daily tasks. Cloud technology becomes your best friend.
Not only will you need a video call platform like Microsoft Teams or Zoom, but you’ll also need a computer, camera, and audio equipment to support those video calls.
You also should look into a group chat tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams. This allows for quick, structured work conversations as well as some needed fun conversations for team building.
Visibility is crucial to keeping everyone in sync. Digital tools are a great way to achieve that visibility with options like Microsoft Planner, Basecamp, and others you can keep track of tasks and projects. We wrote a helpful post on how to use Microsoft Planner!
Keeping the visibility theme going, it’s a great idea to create a series of metrics for each employee or role. These metrics allow for managers and leadership to measure output and performance in lieu of measuring the input of an employee’s time at his or her desk. Beyond creating this employee scorecard, it’s helpful to have an online visual dashboard that shows real-time progress on these metrics. Such a dashboard is now far more in reach for most organizations with a tool like Microsoft’s Power BI.
Supporting a remote workforce does bring to mind some new cybersecurity challenges that need to be overcome. Hopefully, the following are already in your cybersecurity plan, but each becomes even more important with remote employees:
Offering remote work is not a simple project nor should it be a decision reached lightly. You have to consider your business goals, organizational culture, and technology toolset. You are best positioned to understand your business and culture. But maybe you’d like some help understanding the technology required and how to best align it with your organization.
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