When your organization opens its doors to remote workers, everyone needs to adjust to the benefits, challenges and differences of such arrangements to ensure that productivity doesn’t suffer.
Consider this: For your regular Tuesday meeting, the staff crowds the third-floor conference room for an update on current projects and a quick look ahead to key initiatives. And every week, about 10 minutes in, the manager remembers the two remote employees who have been trying to dial into the meeting via conference call. These common mix-ups impact the productivity of those working remotely, as well as their colleagues on-site. Not to mention their morale.
Many in the workforce are navigating this brave new world for the first time. As a company heads down this path, it needs to equip remote workers and on-site staff with appropriate technology, training and workplace culture considerations. Making remote workers feel like they’re part of the team takes much more than merely setting a corporate policy or mandate. Both employers and remote workers need to acknowledge the differences in this virtual workplace, and take steps to ensure productivity and participation.
To create a successful remote worker program, start by addressing three issues:
- Workplace culture: While most standard employee policies apply equally to remote workers, different cultural expectations come into play. A remote worker has a real responsibility to be visible in the organization, and may face an uphill battle to contribute on an equal footing with other employees. Just because you can’t walk down the hall and poke your head into an office when you want to see someone doesn’t mean that person is sitting at home on the couch in pajamas watching TV.That’s why companies need to provide tools that allow remote workers to be (virtually) present during the workday. Instant messaging, enterprise social networking and video conferencing are all ways to bridge this cultural divide.
- Collaboration and communication: With thoughtful implementation of desktop video conferencing, document co-authoring and other collaboration solutions, there is no reason why distance should diminish your ability to work together.The responsibility here cuts both ways. Remote workers depend on communication technology to do their jobs and keep coworkers up-to-date on current projects and availability. But on-site employees also need to be able to communicate effectively with tools such as Skype or Lync. Consider organization-wide Skype or Lync training to put everyone on the same page.
- Community interaction: Participating in the larger workplace community is challenging for remote workers, as is joining interest groups internally within the company. Remote employees are looking for ways to be part of the culture and engage. As such, companies should do everything possible to help people connect in these informal venues using tools like groups in Yammer focused on hobbies and interests.
Remote working offers many benefits and challenges, and both the company and the remote workers are responsible for making sure that they act as a team and share equal footing, despite distance. At first, setting up a conference call may seem easier than a video conference, but putting a face to a name helps build relationships in the workplace, and visual interaction could help with trust and teambuilding.
Beyond providing effective technology, companies also need to consider the impact of remote employees on workplace culture. Collaboration and communication tools are able to bridge these differences, especially when implemented with forethought and follow-through.
Learn more about leveraging technology for remote workers by contacting Portal Solutions.
