The recent uptake in working from home arrangements has been astonishing insofar as the speed with which it has occurred, particularly for those organisations that previously didn’t have these arrangements in place. Understandably the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictions have been the catalyst for numerous changes to personal and professional lives.
But there is a significant problem looming and it relates to how well structured is your framework and systems to support a virtual working future. The urgent rush to establish the capability for employees to work remotely and the potential impact to productivity presents significant risk of failure unless this is immediately addressed.
Leaders in business need to take urgent action and instigate a thorough review and develop plans to support virtual working arrangements into the long term.
A shift in the mindset
Over the last few of months there has been many articles and conversations about this topic and this has inspired me to share my experience. As a manager and a leader, I’ve been exposed to remote working arrangements for approximately 20 years. Over this time I started allowing my team to have some remote working flexibility as this was part of the fabric of the organisation where I was employed. I was somewhat apprehensive for the typical reasons such as employees being out of sight and not knowing what they’re doing when unable to contact them. But this was the early days and the journey forward required some personal adjustment on my part and on the part of my teams. For me it came down to two things, trust and a support framework, while on my team’s part it came down to an appreciation that this is a privilege and not a right.
Ultimately remote working shouldn’t be seen differently to working in the office. Additionally there should be a connection with the reward and recognition framework and part of the way performance is assessed and talent managed. It is also about the employee’s leadership qualities, the relationship between managers and employees and the work the employees actually perform and how the output is measured. There is also of course the technology such as computers, connections, security and tools. Although there are many solutions, the only point I will make is to ensure you invest to get it right as business performance will be impacted.
Apart from the technology, the other points can only be anchored over time. Unless this is immediately addressed, I fear many organisations that have recently moved to a remote working arrangement may find themselves failing due to a lack of considered and structured strategy.
In my experience the most important foundation stone is trust. As we all know trust is something built over time and through an authentic connection with your employees. Also important is a leadership culture amongst the employees to ensure there is the self-drive and motivation required to work in isolation of colleagues and the office environment. As critical as some employees may be about the office, it is structured for work whereas the remote environment (most likely home) may not be.
The other important requirement is understanding different ways to communicate and when to apply them. Once again there needs to be appreciation that in the office, presence is a form of communications and needs to be replicated in the virtual environment. Fortunately, the many video call applications provide a pseudo presence and I would strongly suggest using these on as many occasions possible, rather than a phone call or email.
It is worth checking in with the team at least once each day even if only to ensure they’re OK. A word of caution, be conscious of your tone and language particularly that you don’t appear to be checking in on their presence. In the post Covid-19 world, you will likely find yourself having some employees in the office and others at remote locations. When conducting meetings ensure there is equal participation in the discussion by specifically asking each person whether there is anything they want to add to the conversation.
Measuring success
When it comes to performance measures there is no difference between the office and remote working. The output expectations should be the same. When employees talk about the benefits of not having to travel to/from the office, unless there is quantifiable data showing productivity improvement, do not otherwise confuse the topic with working more hours. There may be more output but this may not be the result of productivity improvement. I’ve also heard that working from home means less interruptions. Although I’ve found this to be more perception than reality. Apart from distractions around the home, work colleagues will still contact each other albeit via different means. In fact, I’ve experienced situations where not being present has contributed to delays and other complications.
This may all seem very basic but these are fundamental to success and often forgotten. The result is a gradual disconnection and reduced quality of work.
Defining what remote working can look like
Moving forward and beyond Covid-19 we will see a readjustment period and, in many cases, redefining a new normal. We’ve all heard of various scenarios ranging from those employees that prefer to be in the office and those preferring remote locations, most probable a hybrid model. We’ve heard of some companies looking to reduce office space and manage attendance on a roster basis. I’ve even heard of smaller companies planning to come together to share office space but otherwise have their staff permanently working from home. I recently read an article suggesting that if a role can be performed from home, it may be able to be performed anywhere in the world. I felt this statement really drives home the broad nature of remote working.
Assuming your organisation is realistic about creating a sustainable virtual working environment, there are many questions you need to ask and, in the responses be realistic and unbiased. These questions relate entirely to the employee’s connection with their employer. What determines the level of this connection comes down to the actions of the employer. I’ve covered some considerations in this article but there are many more topics that also underpin a remote working arrangement which broadly falls under the heading of employee experience. Understanding the phases and expectations across the spectrum of employee experience will continue to rise in importance and will play an increasingly critical role.
Now is a good time to act
Now is the time to focus some attention on a long-term vision for remote working (ideally part of a flexible working arrangement) and a strategy to get you there. This will ensure your organisation is positioned to support a sustainable remote working arrangement that will underpin employee and business success.
In closing here are some call outs that your organisation should be considering –
- Understand what a flexible working environment means for your employees and how this translates for the business. This needs to be positioned so that it is constructive and appreciative of all perspectives in order to ensure a balanced approach. Additionally the metrics that measure success need to be identified, qualified and how they’ll link to existing KPIs.
- Explore the broader topic of enablement appreciating the broad nature that this involves. It is extremely important to ensure there is an understanding that many of the prerequisites to success may not be immediately obvious.
- Build a multi-facet plan and instigate the journey that strengthens the fundamentals required to build a participative workforce delivering improved benefits and future proofing the business
Blue Scala can work with you to help navigate the broad considerations associated with this topic and we welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with your organisation.
