Roadmap to a Sustainable Remote Work Strategy
A real advantage of working with Cresa is that our team produces outstanding thought pieces about the post COVID office environment and the effect it may have on your company. Here is one example of how to plan for a sustainable remote workforce and how forward-thinking organizations can take advantage of a once in a century opportunity to reimagine their workforce strategy. If you have questions or comments about this article, let’s start a conversation. You can contact me through my website or call me directly at 301-841-6542.
Author - Jason
Jones
Jason Jones is a managing principal who oversees the Remote
Advisory Services service line at Cresa.
Roadmap to a Sustainable Remote Work Strategy
The outbreak of the coronavirus proved stressful for
organizational leaders all over the world. Mercifully for many, the decision of
whether to send workers home to work full-time was made for them by their
government. Shelter-in-place mandates provided clarity and removed any
second-guessing.
For months, leaders have continued to allow employees to
work from home because it is the safe choice, and for most organizations, the
technology is working, employees are reacting favorably, and productivity has
been maintained.
But a debate is percolating among leaders and employees that
presents a significant challenge, and some of these questions are popping up:
“What will our remote work policy be post-COVID? Will my manager allow it? Will
my employees demand it? And how much authority do we extend to managers to make
decisions about remote work for their teams?” Once the health crisis passes
leaders will be faced with a choice regarding where and when employees work,
and the right answer is not so obvious.
Forward-thinking organizations are taking advantage of what
may be a once-in-a-century opportunity to completely reimagine their workforce
strategy using remote work as the key element. And they are leveraging a
newfound culture of acceptance for remote work to maximize operational
productivity, increase talent attraction/retention, and capture financial
benefits.
There is a roadmap to help leaders navigate these issues and
inform their thinking so they can make good decisions based on the unique
dynamics of their organization. The roadmap that follows, which begins with
awareness, can help your association create an optimal plan.
Awareness
It sounds simple, but many leaders skip the very first step
of educating themselves. Organizations must avail themselves of best practices
and understand the benefits and challenges. Understanding the benefits creates
the drive to make it through the hard work of planning and implementing. Yet,
understanding the challenges brings a reality check and a recognition for where
to focus efforts. Remote work is not a new concept. Others have walked this
road, and their lessons can help you avoid reinventing the wheel.
Discovery
Build a team, establish goals, and review critical
requirements. Critical requirements are the meat and potatoes of the roadmap.
Use them as a checklist so you do not miss anything that might bite you later
and cause you to retract your remote work policy.
Planning
The key to the planning phase is to analyze your evaluation
of the critical requirements and solve for any capability gaps. Then, find the
right balance, quantify the benefits, and create your formal plan. For those
who have an existing plan, seek to optimize what you are already doing. In
either case, you will build consensus among leaders about the revised plan
moving forward.
Implementation
Perhaps the most overlooked and undervalued part of the roadmap
is the pilot plan. However, a pilot plan allows organizations the opportunity
to discover unknown factors, such as how each employee and each manager will
react to the new normal. Take time to measure, modify, and then roll out the
plan on a broader scale. This will put you in a position of confidence that
your plan is sustainable. In addition, how can anyone design their long-term
office space effectively when they do not yet know for certain how many people
will be using it and how often? Complete this key step of a pilot plan before
committing to the design and the size of your office and its associated costs.
Then, proceed with full deployment.
Ongoing management
Good reporting and analytics of key performance indicators
are the hallmark of any sustainable program. Making adjustments over time can
be accomplished via formal and informal communication and reporting processes.
Organizations may also benefit from formal performance management tools. The
key is consistent and quality communication with employees so that leaders have
dependable feedback on the key metrics of productivity, financial performance,
and employee well-being.
End of Article
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301-842-6542
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