It's safe to say that the remote employment movement is only going to continue to become more commonplace in the future. With current data showing that the out of office workforce could reach 5 million workers by 2020, astute organizations are familiarizing themselves with what the future of work will look like. Paired with the predominance of coworking and an enhanced emphasis on the employee experience, the landscape is evolving rapidly.
And although the stats speak for themselves, there are still plenty of people that are skeptical about an arrangement that excludes a traditional office setting. Many believe that an in-house approach is more beneficial than allowing employees to work at will, in their own space, for a variety of reasons, including—the ability to monitor performance, face-to-face proximity with team members and the efficiency of communication between counterpoints—to name just a few.
These fears, although important to acknowledge, can also be easily assuaged with the right structure; it's possible to overcome the potential pitfalls of hiring a completely remote team—it just takes a little savvy to get started and patience to push through the initial adoption.
With a growing reliance on technology and more innovative hiring practices overall, any institution—from a small start up to an enormous enterprise—has the ability to alleviate most of the major disadvantages of employees being out of the office. Take these ten steps into consideration when getting started to thwart missteps, allowing the ability for the virtual team to thrive.
They say, 'when you know better you do better'—that most definitely applies to best hiring practices too. Taking the time to understand the remote revolution as it exists right now, and how it applies to the future of work, will make the team's transition that much easier.
"Consider that there are three kinds of distance in remote collaboration: physical (place and time), operational (team size, bandwidth and skill levels) and affinity (values, trust, and interdependency). The best way for managers to drive team performance is by focusing on reducing affinity distance. Try switching most remote communication to regular video calls, which are a much better vehicle for establishing rapport and creating empathy than either e-mails or voice calls. And design virtual team-building rituals that give people the opportunity to interact regularly and experience their collaboration skills in action.
Other easy steps include tasks like setting up a Google alert for 'Remote Work' and you'll easily catch many of the plethora of articles that exist on the topic; as well as identifying the media that best covers topics that affect you—Fast Company, Entrepreneur and Inc. are all great places to get started on studying up on remote work. There are also resources dedicated to from the work from home community as a whole that dive into the nuances of the lifestyle.
With a remote team, technology is the best asset for success; the idea of remote works practically exists because of it. When the enterprise puts a primary focus on the most beneficial tech solutions for the team, everyone wins.
"You want your employees to be able to interact with you and their co-workers when they need to. In an office, employees can go to each other's desks or meet at the coffee pot throughout the day. For a remote team, you'll want to mimic this accessibility with technology.
Taking the time to diligently think through and develop cohesive core values for your team is a monumentally important task. What you cultivate will become the cornerstone of your team's success plan, and it starts with making sure your team is already comprised of stellar leadership.
"At the end of the day, it all starts with you. Show your employees how to treat long-distance colleagues by checking in with your remote team members frequently, prompting collaboration and finding ways to include them even if it takes an extra step or a few dollars. It's easy to continue talking with the people in the room if a call drops but model good behavior by making sure that everyone is able to participate before continuing. Once they see that you've prioritized inclusiveness, it will become part of your company culture.
Just because no one is watching doesn't mean there isn't plenty of work to be done at any given time. As such, there is a delicate balance in discovering how to encourage accountability without employees feeling like tasks, projects or the like are being demanded from.
It's important to understand what you're asking of your team— and that begins from the time that you first write the job description. Because of the lack of proximity, clarity is imperative to achieve great accomplishments. Team members must feel informed and understood to best flourish on their own.
You're already a little 'alternative'—so why not make the most of your unique view of how employees work? By creating policies that are open-minded and reformist, you're engaging a whole new pool of potential talent that understands the idea of balancing work and play.
Giving a team the ability to be flexible in both in the hours they spend and the way they manage their projects creates an overall dedication to their work and sense of responsibility that is often tough to cultivate in an everyday office.
"Have a family event coming up and need to travel on Friday? No problem.
These things have all happened and are regular occurrences within our distributed team.
Although the long-term benefits of remote work are proven, it's also true that immediate, in-person interaction is necessary to build trust, clarity and transparency from the get go.
Employee experience, or 'EX' is most easily described as, "a complete redesign of the organization that puts employees at the center… instead of trying to force people to fit into outdated workplace practices, organizations must redesign their workplace practices to fit with their people," according to SHRM.
With the insurgence of millennials entering the job market, there is a unique opportunity for companies to hire top talent by trending ahead of the curve when it comes to progressive work policies.
As the biggest shift in the way we work since the industrial revolution, remote employment is not just something to be aware of, but instead, essential for hiring managers and top-level executives to innately understand and implement appropriately going forward.