CEO/Co-Founder at Virtual Vocations, one of the leading online job boards focused exclusively on remote jobs.
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If your company is at the point where you’ve put into place a clear remote work policy, you've done a lot over the past two years. Businesses globally helped employees get settled into their newly outfitted home offices, decided which positions were better as hybrid or fully remote roles and instituted guidelines surrounding online communication and meetings. As leaders, you may feel like the transition to remote work is finally over and done with, and you can finally just “set it and forget it.” Unfortunately, that is not the case.
While you have undoubtedly completed the hardest parts — implementing remote work guidelines and policies within your organization — continued internal conversations are essential for keeping your team successful in the digital workspace. Here are five ways to determine if your remote work arrangements are continuing to benefit your company and your employees or if some changes may be in order:
1. Establish a remote work committee.
If you don’t have a dedicated HR department within your organization, as is the case for many small businesses, ask a group of employees to form a committee tasked with periodically reviewing the company’s remote work policies, including asking for feedback from co-workers regarding aspects of their jobs or processes that they find to be problematic as well as parts they view positively. Gathering regular feedback from all employees, whether they work remotely, hybrid or in-office, is important both for morale and in determining the effectiveness of your remote work policies.
2. Utilize remote work communication surveys.
One of the more challenging parts of creating a successful remote work environment is making sure everyone understands the appropriate channels of communication and what the expectations are surrounding response times. Leaders often skip over general etiquette requirements for communicating with colleagues in writing.
To keep everyone on the same page, consider sending out surveys to each group of employees, including both managers and their team members, as well as those working fully remotely, on a hybrid schedule and in the office. Breaking down the feedback you receive by segment can be extremely helpful in determining if there is any confusion in how and when to communicate in a remote environment. Soliciting feedback on these topics on a regular basis can also help leaders identify and address any new communication issues that may surface over time.
3. Have casual conversations with team members.
There’s nothing more intimidating than being summoned to a meeting with management to discuss work-related performance or behavior issues. These formal meetings can be avoided if managers whose team members are new to remote work make it a point to casually check in with them.
This can be about common mistakes they notice day-to-day, like missing meeting times, having too much noise in the background during calls, submitting projects late or forgetting to respond in a timely manner to co-workers’ requests. Doing this gives leaders better insight into the ups and downs of working remotely and how employees’ actions affect other team members and their performance and productivity. Keeping the lines of communication open and comfortable can minimize the need for more formal interventions.
4. Keep an eye on employee engagement.
Some key signs of a successful remote work environment include that all of your employees are engaged with one another, whether they are on- or off-site; that they know when their co-workers are available; and that they are still engaging in non-work-related conversations and are willing to show up to either virtual or on-site events.
While non-work-related activities may not be required as part of the job, participation in them can serve as a good indicator as to how connected your team members are with one another. It can also tell employers a lot about the morale within the company, including whether your remote work setup is functioning effectively. Camaraderie among co-workers is especially necessary when working remotely in order to facilitate effective brainstorming, creativity and collaboration.
5. Institute regular remote work training.
Providing regular training for employees, whether they are working remotely, hybrid or on-site, can be a valuable tool for keeping remote work policies in place long-term. Over time, it’s common for employees who work remotely, or who work with others who are working remotely, to grow lax on some policies. This might look like not using direct messaging for work-related projects and conversations or adhering to the company security and privacy guidelines when working from home. Ongoing training and refresher courses can keep employees and managers on track and ensure everyone stays familiar with the expectations surrounding remote work within the organization.
Final Thoughts
Whether your company is brand new to working remotely or a seasoned virtual organization, regularly assessing the effectiveness of your remote work policies and guidelines is vital to ensuring they continue to provide the same benefits to the business as they did when first instituted. Over time, employees and management might change, new company services may be added and many other changing business factors can contribute to the need for continual conversations and reviews of existing remote work policies. By being open to discussions and adapting policies as you go, leaders can make sure existing remote work arrangements continue to benefit the company and contribute to the success of the business and team members.
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