ReturnA new management model
Spotify announced last Friday that it will pay the same wages to employees who work from home as it pays to those who work at the office.
This decision marks and highlights a phenomenon that has become widespread with the lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic: remote work.
But the issue is much deeper and complex than that. The reality is that for some time now, there have been digital nomads, displaced workers, freelancers, etc., who work from any location, at any time, as long as they have a computer and connectivity.
First of all, it’s important to note that, when properly implemented and managed, this can be a win-win situation: for the employees that have the flexibility to organize their work and schedules to be more productive, and for the companies that have less structural costs, given that the teams do not use space, electricity, etc.
Key factors
But the main factor here is the implementation and control of this practice that, in many cases, is new, both for employees and companies. And with new practices always come challenges that businesses need to recognize:
- Difficulty in conciliating the schedules and tasks of employees that are dispersed, even in different time zones;
- Difficulty in tracking the work done (many companies track work by the hour and not according to the tasks that are completed);
- Lack of support or difficulty in clarifying doubts, questions, or obstacles that arise in the project;
- Existence of many tasks that are not performed in a digital environment;
- Need to ensure security, reliability, and access to the company from the outside;
- Need to create means for remote work.
Challenges
These are just some of the many challenges we have identified in the projects we have implemented. Our experience shows that there are fundamental principles for all organizations that are considering continuing and even reinforcing remote work:
- Plan with the departments/teams how they will operate (locally, remotely, or in a hybrid modality) in the short, medium, and long term;
- Clearly define what is expected of the remote teams’ work, if possible, converting it to tasks and specifying deadlines to deliver;
- Start operating from a deliverables perspective rather than from tasks or open projects;
- Measure and control work, preferably with tools that allow launching tasks and time spent on each task.
- Maintain dynamic meetings, short but more regular, to monitor the work, identify bottlenecks or blockages that prevent the correct completion of the work;
- Invest in technological security, namely firewall, VPN, etc.
These are some of the most relevant decisions that companies need to make that ensure a higher percentage of success in remote work implementation. Never forget to plan as much as possible and ensure that communication is effective and fluid.