Adapting to the revolution: 5 key pillars for an effective remote work strategy
40% of industry leaders feel apprehensive about their ability to effectively lead remote teams.
(Source: Harvard Business Review)
It is one thing to spark a revolution, it is quite another to spearhead it. For organizations, the challenge lies in ensuring equilibrium around remote work.
5 key pillars for an effective long term Remote Work Strategy and actionable tips to make it happen:
Culture: 70% of business leaders say that culture is as important a component as strategy and operations. (Source: Quantum Workplace) When planning a remote work strategy, the experts at Forbes suggest a few relevant measures:
#1 Do a cultural audit. Inquire whether it translates to a remote culture.
#2 Update HR policies. Make them resonate with newly onboarded remote workers and provide training.
#3 Conduct virtual town halls. Create shared experiences by hosting unique virtual events such as happy hours and yearly corporate huddles.
Communication: For remote teams, communication must be deliberate, concise, and responsive. Leaders are creating new ways of getting messages across. 16% of supervisors use technology that can help them assess internal communications.
(Source: Wrike)
- Set expectations early on.
- Run meetings that inspire ideas.
- Phone calls and live video conferencing over texts.
- Schedule daily huddles and brainstorming sessions.
Trust: A people focused strategy necessitates a healthy and nurturing remote work environment.
- Address isolation. Encourage team interaction over common interests, goals, and values.
- Intentionally encourage reactions and responsiveness in meetings where people benefit from non-verbal cues.
- Embrace small talk. You can designate a channel for informal conversations.
- Acknowledgement matters, big or small. Pat your remote workers on their everyday accomplishments.
Performance Tracking: 90% of businesses require remote workers to attend cybersecurity training to reinforce secure work-at-home situations. (Source: Open VPN) Leaders believe in mastering key metrics to ensure productivity anywhere model.
- Measure less but measure the basics. Cover quantifying delivery, customer satisfaction, and call response times — metrics that differentiate you from the competition.
- Go weekly. Tracking outcomes every week allows you to assess if things are on track in a shorter time frame.
- Identify off-track metrics. Human resource is a work in progress. If a measurable is off, simply turn it into a point for further discussion with the employee.
Flexibility: Statistics around work-life balance show that companies can double employee output by embracing flexibility.
(Source: Forbes)
- Have a concrete plan for getting work done — but one that’s flexible enough to accommodate varied schedules and availability.
- Respect time zones. A small example; while sending meeting invites or declaring deadlines, ensure that it fits all participants’ time zones.
Remote is a trend that is here to stay. Now that you’ve learned how to optimise your company’s operations for long-term remote work success, it’s time to put knowledge into action.
Flexipert has designed smart engagement models to accommodate the dynamic needs of remote working while setting you free from liability. Results? Improved expectation alignment. Predictability. Capacity on tap with no lock-ins. An organic reduction in the need for premature talent replacement. At the end of the tunnel, you’d see the light of exponential growth while keeping your costs relatively low.
