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Overcome the Challenges of a Distributed Workforce

April 8, 2019
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By Achurch Consulting

Everywhere you go, people extol the virtues of remote work, including the flexibility and freedom of working out of an office. Most claim they would never return to the old ways of working.

But what about the other group of employees who were afraid to make the transition? Or the group forced to make the transition, but who (so far) haven’t found it to be the “Garden of Eden?”

Why Remote Work Matters

Creating a successful team of both remote and in-office workers is an investment worth making. Numerous studies suggest that remote employees who have an integrated work and home life experience meaningful balance which results in:

  • Less stress and absenteeism
  • Higher productivity
  • Greater job satisfaction
  • Increased commitment and passion for their work

Remote Workforce Frustrations

Distributed and remote workforce models expose the strengths and weaknesses of an organization’s physical environment, which often veils inefficiencies caused by:

  • Poor management styles
  • Disjointed organizational structures
  • Ineffective document storage systems
  • Inconsistent use of communication systems like chat and email

As a result, the negative influence on productivity — frustration, low morale and slow progress — becomes more pronounced. Out-of-sight workers feel disengaged because they get treated as an afterthought. For example they:

  • Aren’t invited to attend in-person meetings
  • Don’t get updates on important milestones
  • Were left out of key side-work discussions
  • Lack processes and support to help them reach their work goals

Lack of Informal Information Gathering Systems in Remote Environments

A physical work space seems to naturally foster critical data and project-specific information exchange, often through:

  • Informal exchanges with nearby co-workers or other managers
  • Impromptu hallway discussions

But in the virtual working world, these “informal” systems collapse. Information and direction that was once easily obtained is now a challenge to assemble and becomes a burden to getting the work done.

A remote work environment also removes the natural, face-to-face interactions that inherently create trust and improve collaboration and communication between co-workers and clients. One of the biggest challenges of virtual connections is the lack of emotion portrayed through forms like:

  • Phone calls
  • Video conferencing
  • Emails
  • Chat platforms

Best Practices for Increasing the Success of Virtual Teams

To diminish the discontentment felt by many remote workers — and create a mixed team of highly motivated in-office and remote workers — follow these best practices:

Improve your structure

Organizations who employ remote workers fare better with:

  • A strong, transparent, accountable leadership team in placePerformance-based outcomes
  • Strong employee buy-in and engagement

Upgrade your communication tools

Allocate resources towards communication tools that enable a highly efficient, communicative workforce. Then, establishing reliable, “formal” lines of communication using those tools. Promote standard operating procedures and protocols for:

  • Client and team meetings
  • Email response times
  • Sending and storing files
  • Using chat tools
  • Worker availability

Deliver Hands-On Training

With the right structure, communication tools, and protocols in place, you’ll better position your team for success. But to ensure successful, collaborative relationships amongst staff and customers you must train your staff on using the established virtual work habits best practices.

Connect with us to learn more about our work in transforming the distributed workforce. You can also meet us in person at CalSAE — 2019 Elevate Annual Conference.

Posted in Virtual Teams
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