Going From IRL to Fully Remote: 15 Things to Consider

Part 1: What to consider when thinking about moving to a fully remote workforce.

Exactly two months ago I wrote an article on how this new “working from home” reality was in fact a work in progress, especially in relation to managing a team. While finding my ways to cope, I was also thinking about the sensitivities of my team, and trying to find the balance of the two.

Here’s an update: I still don’t know, but I’m getting better. I’m not sure we will ever know all the tricks. The pandemic will keep ebbing and flowing, without giving us much time to observe and develop solutions that are relevant. We need to remember that a general work-from-home hack might not translate to “how-to-work-from-home-during-a-pandemic.”

Here’s the tweet though — pandemic or no pandemic, this experience is moving many companies toward a fully remote workplace. Every virtual boardroom has this topic on the agenda. I’ve noticed that many companies were pleasantly surprised with the versatility of their operation and how quickly they were able to transition to remote work. They adapted quickly and so far it’s going well, so it begs the question: at a time like this, when all bets are off, why not consider a fully remote workplace?

Atlassian — Virtual Team Building

There are countless pros to the logic: save money on real estate, equipment, and physical security; no location restrictions on talent, flexibility for support coverage, global distribution — the list goes on. Just ask the many fully-remote companies that are already out there in the world.

The cons list is the same, and probably just as long, but with different categories: work-life balance, workload monitoring, performance measurement, confidentiality, and company culture.

A friend and mentor recently asked me what company culture in a remote environment would look like. How does it differ from the looks of today’s in-person company culture we know so well? We know virtual conferencing, we know meetings in different timezones; but how do we elevate our processes so that it not only works well but becomes a fundamental differentiator for our company and its employees?

For the past 10 years, at least, company culture has been a driving force in determining the right place to work for a lot of people. Employees are looking for a vibrant culture where support for their career is represented in a great work environment, spectacular benefits and a shared and contagious passion for achieving great success as a team.

While I’m not sure anyone has or is expected to have the answers just yet, we’re in a prime position to start thinking about the questions we need to be asking. That’s where I’m starting.

The Goal: help our companies create a remote work plan that highlights company culture! Let’s continue to achieve success and attract (and retain!) top talent in our new remote offices.

Questions on bringing company culture to life remotely:

1. How do you connect and engage with your team beyond the functionality of a conferencing tool?
2. What are the nuances of an in-person meeting that make it special and unique?
3. How do you get the room’s attention when you’re ready to begin a meeting?
4. How do you encourage the necessary and important office small talk?
5. How do you engage on just the attendance level to make it more than just clicking “Join Zoom Meeting.”
6. How can you require full-attention and concentration half-way around the world?
7. How do you successfully share updates, knowledge and important information in a way that is strategic and digestible?
8. How can you differentiate between daily, semi-important but interesting updates and a company-wide announcement?
9. How can you ensure everything you Slack is being read and consumed?
10. How do you manage workflow and work ethic?
11. How can you measure individual contribution?
12. How do you create and measure against goals?
13. How do you encourage questions within a big/shy group?
14. How do you keep the attendance of higher executives from being intimidating?
15. Which remote companies have remote workplace tips that we can learn from?

I’ll leave it there, a list of questions to spark conversation and get your mind moving. It might not be the time just yet to strategize or come up with an exact plan, but it’s certainly the time to start brainstorming.

Let me know what you’ve been thinking about, and what I might be missing.