Humans usually adapt by necessity, unfortunately not enough by will. The proof is made with the situation of COVID-19. Organizations that are not functional from a distance are forced to close. Those who kiss the remote get away with limited damage.
Working at a distance is not a far-fetched demand from millennials. The remote will become a standard for many people on the job market in the near future. If you are not actively on the file, it is time to get started. It’s a question of talent, profitability and efficiency.
Why is remote working important?
Remote businesses are hiring all over the world.
When you want to hire a new employee, of course your pool of potential candidates is limited by the geographic location of your office. Beyond 50 km from the workplace, you will not be considered by a candidate. While for a company like GitLab, which operates 100% remotely, the whole world is a recruiting pool. The talents you are looking for may not be 50 km away from you, but they are certainly somewhere in the world.
2. Quality of life matters more than you think.
The best candidates I meet all want to work partially or totally from a distance, simply because it's a huge gain in quality of life. People want to trade hours spent on the road for more family time. No constraint of place, no constraint of time, just efficient work and more time for yourself. If companies want to collaborate with the best candidates, it is a prerequisite to offer to work remotely.
3. It’s economical for everyone.
If 100% of our employees at Bulldozer were in our Quebec City offices, we would certainly have to double the size of our premises, therefore spending an additional $ 60,000 per year for our facilities, which directly imputes the bottom line. Beyond the rent, it is estimated that an employee occupying office space costs us $ 10,000 more. How much do you think an employee at home costs?
How to adopt a remote working strategy?
There is no such thing as a perfect rule and working at a distance is certainly not suitable for all organizations. At Bulldozer, working at a distance has been encouraged from the very beginning. We are far from perfect, but here are the principles that allow us to get the best from remote work, without impacting our operations:
Encourage communications - Communication is the first issue for the effectiveness of the remote. Use tools to centralize communications and always encourage writing to facilitate asynchronous work.
Visualize the work - If 100% of the work of your teams is visible to your entire team, it is much easier to coordinate, therefore to follow the progress of work in progress and projects;
Install coordination rituals - Make sure you have regular coordination rituals in place, ideally always at the same time. These rituals should be mandatory and well understood by the team.
Measure the delivery flow - Working remotely means more freedom and autonomy in your teams. Performance will become more important to track than time worked. Make sure you measure it and follow it.
Define a clear vision and objectives - More than ever, your team will have to assimilate a vision and be focused on clear objectives. The "OKR" goal setting methodology works wonders for us!
Post clear rules and processes - Your minimum demands on your team should be clear. Take the time to document your rules and business processes and make sure the information is accessible.
The success of the process will depend greatly on the will of the managers. If the remote is not part of your culture, it is not encouraged and it is not properly structured, there is little chance that you will be satisfied with the results. Implementing good remote working practices in your organization will take time, but it is very doable and the benefits will be enormous. Better get started now!
Good work from a distance! ✌️
About Bulldozer
Bulldozer is a digital business strategy firm. We help organizations that have a positive impact in our society (Familiprix, AddÉnergie, Oxio, GLobalVet) to make the most of the opportunities offered by digital. Our team of +30 enthusiasts specializes in business strategy, marketing intelligence and digital products.
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