Remote work is fast becoming the norm for businesses around the world. With the rise of digital technologies and changing work cultures, brick and mortar offices are no longer the only viable option for success. Remote work is the future of work, and as businesses look to embrace this shift, those that have already adapted to this new model provide great examples of what success in this setting looks like.
In this blog post, we explore how a remote-first approach has enabled our company to thrive. We detail the challenges that come with going remote and how we overcame them. We also detail the measures we put in place to make our work environment conducive for remote success. From prioritizing and standardizing communication to embracing flexibility, trust and collaboration, we illustrate how our approach to remote work has brought us success.
The Advantages of Remote Work
There are numerous advantages to remote work, not only for employees but also for businesses as a whole. These advantages include:
Lower Overheads
When businesses transition to a remote work model, they can save a lot of money on overheads such as office rent, utilities, and office supplies. This is because remote workers typically use their own equipment and work from home or a co-working space. Eliminating the cost of physical spaces can help businesses save large sums of money and reinvest in other areas of the business.
Increased Productivity
Studies have shown that remote workers are more productive and efficient than their office-based counterparts. This is likely due to the reduced distractions that come with working from home, as well as the ability to structure their workday according to their personal preferences. Remote workers can complete specific tasks at their own pace, often with fewer interruptions which can act as a drain on productivity. AgeSKILL IO conducted a survey that revealed that 76% of employees based in remote settings reported focused and motivated workdays.
Higher Employee Satisfaction
Remote work has been shown to have a positive impact on employee satisfaction. By offering more flexibility, trust, and autonomy to employees, remote work leads to a sense of ownership and a more manageable work-life balance. This, in turn, leads to higher employee morale and motivation, as well as reduced turnover rates.
A Larger Talent Pool
Embracing remote work allows businesses to tap into a global pool of talent, from countries and regions where they may have had limited access to candidates before. This can be of enormous benefit in ensuring a broader skill set that is available to the business. By choosing to go fully remote, businesses can eliminate the need for proximity to office locations as a limiting factor on potential employees.
Overcoming the Challenges of Remote Work
Remote work presents many challenges that must be overcome to be successful. Some of the most common challenges include:
Isolation and Loneliness
For remote workers, the experience of working alone can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. This is especially true for individuals who thrive in social settings. However, technology has offered solutions to some of these challenges, from messaging platforms like slack that are dedicated to remote teamwork, co-working spaces and virtual team environments.
Communication Barriers
Effective communication is critical to the success of remote work. Without face-to-face interaction, there’s a higher probability of communication breakdowns which can lead to misunderstandings and errors. Companies can provide online communication training and set the necessary standards for message etiquette that enhance effective and efficient communication. In our experience, it helps to have a central platform for all communication, where employees can easily access information, updates, and collaborate on projects.
Managing Teams Across Different Time Zones
Working across different time zones can lead to confusion and delays, particularly when it comes to scheduling meetings or collaboration sessions. It’s essential for businesses to have a time zone policy to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding when meetings will occur. It is also beneficial to schedule meetings based on co-worker’s time zones to avoid disrupting the productivity of employees working in different regions.
Overworking
Since remote workers have the freedom to structure their workdays, they’re often susceptible to overworking. This is because completing a specific task can be done at any time during the day, and the line between work and personal time can become blurred. To overcome this challenge, businesses can encourage workers to maintain a healthy work-life balance by providing resources for employee wellness, and actively advocating for a reasonable workload.
How Our Company is Thriving with Remote Work
At our company, we have been thriving with our remote work model. Here are some of the ways we’ve embraced remote work and made it work for us.
Communication
We recognized from the beginning that communication is key to the success of remote work. We created a series of standards that guide how messages are sent and responded to, as well as developed communication strategies that ensure everyone is kept in the loop. We prioritize transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in all our communication channels– from one-on-one chats to team meetings.
We have also developed a social media-like platform for all employee communications, including updates, project status reports, milestones achievements so that employees can easily access and share information. We have set clear communication protocols for the tools we use, such as email, video conferencing, and chat platforms.
Collaboration
We believe team collaboration is essential regardless of the team being remote or on-site. We have employed agile project management methodologies which allow our teams to consistently work together to deliver results. We schedule the necessary face-to-face meetings to ensure that we maintain a human connection, as well as fostering a team culture within our virtual environment. We encourage sharing project updates, feedback, and collaboration virtually through platforms like Asana or Trello. We keep the projects alive, focused and tracking through to delivery.
Empowerment
Trust and empowerment are core to our remote work model. We believe that by entrusting employees with autonomy and flexibility, they can better manage their time and work in ways that suit them best. This not only fosters trust, but it also breeds a sense of ownership, and for us, is crucial in generating an engaged and productive workforce. We have achieved this by setting specific and measurable goals, enhancing online training and resources, and providing the necessary support and backing to our workforce to make that necessary leap into remote work.
Flexibility
Flexibility is key to remote work success, and our remote-first approach has given our employees the freedom to work at their own pace, when and how they desire. We also focus more on the results than the inputs so that our employees deploy their best skills to meet the desired project outcome. This has been instrumental in keeping our team motivated and empowered to deliver.
Utilizing the Right Tools
When embracing remote work, it’s essential to have software tools that ensure effective communication, collaboration, and productivity. We have invested in the best-in-class virtual communication tools such as Zoom, Slack, and Google Suite. These have allowed us to work together as a team irrespective of our geographic location. We also use project management tools that automatically track deliverables, milestones, project timelines, and billable hours. Our team has maximum flexibility and minimum stress working from these virtual platforms wherever they are located in the world.
Conclusion
Remote work has become the norm and will increasingly shape how we work. The adoption of remote work presents numerous opportunities and challenges. However, businesses that have embraced remote work as a core foundation of their communication, collaboration, trust, empowerment, and productivity strategies have reaped the rewards.
In this blog post, we’ve illustrated how we have evolved work, how we have overcome the challenges related to being remote, and how we have created the right environment necessary for a thriving remote-first company. We believe that remote work has been critical to our success story, and hope that other businesses can learn from our experiences as they chart their journey towards remote work.