Key factors to successfully implement a remote work program

A remote work program has become a differentiator for organizations looking to attract and retain talent. The possibility to work from home provides staff with greater flexibility and reduces levels of pressure and stress.

Having grown more than 44% over the last five years, remote work has proved to be a huge enabler for business productivity. 85% of businesses confirm that productivity has increased in their company because of greater flexibility. Furthermore, and according to FlexJobs, 65% of workers are more productive in their home office than in a traditional office cubicle.

Deploying a remote work model is also an outstanding way of safeguarding your employees in a crisis scenario. Your agents will find some relief in knowing they can work from a remote location, at any given time, in case of a threat to public health or temporary impediment to hosting people within an office.

Implementing this program, however, is not as simple as it may seem. Here some steps to ensure a successful deployment of a remote work model.

#1 Key considerations

Do not start working on the possibility of remote work simply because everyone else is doing it. Think about why and how it can benefit your organization as a whole. Here are key questions to consider before moving forward with remote work:

• Do you trust your workforce to perform in remote conditions?
• How will this impact your employee development and retention strategy?
• Does your workforce want to perform their job remotely?
• Can you provide a transparent explanation for the reasons, benefits and challenges of going remote?
• Are you prepared for the changes that come along a remote work scenario?

#2 Establish trust and empower your teams

A successful remote work model starts with mutual trust. This is a top-down strategy where leaders must make use of available communication channels and rely on empathy, transparency and honesty. Creating trust, whether in the office or in a remote location, is based on the three big A’s:

• Authority: Empower your employees to be in charge of decisions that concern their work and check on them regularly to see if there are any obstacles arising.
• Accountability: Establish tasks and realistic goals, and inform your staff that they are accountable for the outcomes. Nourishing a sense of responsibility takes guidance and knowledge sharing, so ensure your agents know what to do and how to do it before taking any measures.
• Affiliation: Facilitate communication and collaboration between you, your team and also among team members. When people are working from home, it is more likely that they feel lonely and isolated. Nurturing human relationships is of utmost importance to keep a healthy daily routine and a motivated workforce.

#3 Stress-test your infrastructure

A big part of remote work is about relying on the appropriate tools and platforms to enhance employee engagement and performance. Your infrastructure must encompass every task and interaction of a person’s role, including training, collaboration and quality management, among others. Additionally, your infrastructure should make these tasks as smooth and easy to perform as possible. Application leaders should stress-test the existing technology to ensure it supports remote work for everyone that is involved in the organization.

• Communication and collaboration: Does your infrastructure solution handle calls and videoconferencing for all the employees who need it?
• Task management: Is your management and quality system suitable to reduce time on manual, time-consuming tasks and does it allow an easy and intuitable tracking of assignments, deadlines and other important details?
• Storage: Does your storage solution provide the necessary space, agility and privacy for the information managed by your organization?