5 tips for managing remote work arrangements, from an expert

In today's environment made up of gig workers and non-traditional work engagements, many companies have started to adopt an organizational structure which allows for virtual teams and/or flexible work arrangements as a progressive approach to its people strategy and in some cases, to address the fundamental gap in skilled talent.

Although utilizing a new work arrangement such as virtual teams or employing more global teams can seem like a daunting task, there are tremendous benefits to flexible work arrangements and virtual teams, including lower absenteeism, enhanced productivity, improved work-life balance, the ability to cultivate talent that can thrive with flexibility, reduced overhead costs, the ability to scale quickly without the burden and cost of additional office space–and in the case of a distributed (global) workforce, the ability to find talent anywhere in the world.

Here are some proactive steps that companies can take when their employees are not working 9 to 5 out of a centralized office location.

1. Understand that culture adoption and change requires nurturing with virtual or remote teams.

Cultivating a strong, connected workforce is essential to positive company cultures and employee retention, and that is an even more important goal with remote workers than it is when you're operating in a traditional 9 to 5 setting. Sometimes, developing a positive and unified company culture can be a slower process in virtual and distributed teams, simply due to the fact that they're not all in one place at the same time, but that's okay!

As long as you're making a strong effort to cultivate your culture, you're already taking a step in the right direction. Make sure that your HR department and your leaders are instilling strong company values, goals and objectives in all employees at all times. These should be clearly understood & incorporated as part of the daily employee experience, no matter where the employee is located—whether that's in their home office in Singapore or in the company headquarters in New York City.

2. Ensure that your employees have an acute awareness and knowledge of what is occurring within the company.

It is not necessarily groundbreaking advice to say that frequent and clear company communication is important, but it's really important when your employees aren't all in one place. One thing to consider is a weekly all-company meeting which includes employees across the organization.

Some companies set up a video or conference call that includes staff across the globe, and use this time to cover a review of company core values, a team and company performance update, shout-outs between colleagues for teamwork and a job well-done, and any other important information pertinent to all employees. At Maco.la, this specifically proved valuable during a recent merger integration where it required global employee alignment surrounding culture, the business and transitional activities.

3. Build a culture of trust: Keep the expectations for remote workers' productivity the same as those who report to a corporate office.

First and foremost, you should hire the employees who prove that they can be trusted to work from home, on the road, etc. Typically, employees who stick to deadlines, over-communicate, and provide constant updates are the individuals you want to represent your company, no matter the location. If able, it can be helpful as an employer to engage prospective employees on an assignment to assess how well they can perform as a remote worker.

Managers should also be trusted to work alongside their remote workers, despite time or location differences. Train your managers on how to effectively manage culturally diverse and remote teams. They should keep their schedules flexible, knowing that it will be necessary for remote and global teammates to contact them in order to foster collaboration and productivity. Maybe even more important still, make sure that everyone is clear on teammates' availability to promote respect of work-life balance while keeping business responsibilities in mind.

As for ensuring that remote workers are putting in the same amount of effort as in-house employees, the company and its HR department need to implement and manage clear and measurable performance goals and expectations that are uniform across the organization, despite the employees' location. Goal metrics should not be lowered or heightened for those who work remotely, or vice versa.

4. Don't be afraid to adopt new technologies to help with engagement and collaboration or easing the burdens of cross-border administrative duties.

First off, don't forget about the importance of a face-to-face meeting. Even when it's not feasible to travel to meet with your remote employee, you can still organize a face-to-face. It is 2018, after all! Use technology collaboration tools to connect, communicate and perform work. Tools such as Teams, SharePoint, Skype and Slack encourage transparency, collaboration and communication, and can be useful in having a more human interaction with your remote employees even when you're not able to visit them in-person. There are plenty of resources that can be used to bring a virtual workforce “together” and they don't often require a lot of technical know-how. In addition to the above, I've also used Zoom and FreeConferenceCall.com to facilitate meetings with my staff, colleagues and even to conduct interviews.

As for the administrative issues associated with remote and global employees, embrace new technology solutions that both improve both efficiency and security. With the technology evolution of blockchain and smart contracts, administrative processes such as hiring, benefits and payments can be streamlined. Modernizing payroll and payments to standardize and expedite global payment processing via a blockchain application will greatly simplify payroll and accounting processes. Automated verification of wages and benefit coverage will also improve operational efficiencies and enable more timely communications between a decentralized workforce across different time zones.

5. Remember that your company needs to comply with jurisdiction-specific regulatory and employment laws.

Blockchain, which as previously mentioned, is expected to revolutionize how we transact and will bring about technology solutions such as smart contracts and other tools to help manage compliance. It's anticipated that certain laws may be slower to recognize this new evolution of how business will be conducted. Employers should keep in mind that regulatory and employment law compliance remains a requirement regardless of how quickly a law adopts to the change in landscape. The risk for non-compliance may not only be costly, it can have more extensive ramifications.

With the advent of the gig economy and the evolution of technologies which revolutionize new ways of working with talent across the globe, companies are adopting and embracing change. The traditional business and management structure that we're used to just isn't the standard anymore. The best employees aren't always willing to move across the world to do the same job that they just as easily can do at home, and even those who might live locally might not agree on a traditional 9-to-5 schedule.

The best way for companies and HR departments to grab a hold of the most sought-after employees is likely by implementing a decentralized work structure, but you have to be prepared to adopt innovative approaches in order to ensure success!

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Monique Black is co-founder and principal adviser of talent at investment and management firm Maco.la. Monique is a 25-year veteran of the HR industry with extensive experience in helping companies successfully navigate various operational complexities.

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