Practical tips to make remote workers successful for 2019 and beyond

Tips for remote workers

By Ian MacRae & Roberta Sawatzky

Flexible Working on the Rise

We know that flexible working is on the rise and that when it is managed well, it can lead to significant improvements in productivity and profitability and reduce employee turnover. Yet there is more to flexible working than freeing employees from the traditional nine-to-five schedule and setting them free to set their own schedules.

Giving employees flexible working should not be an excuse to renege on traditional HR responsibilities In fact, the shift toward flexible working will require HR and management to develop new skills, and adapt performance management frameworks to ensure flexible working arrangements are effective.

The degree to which flexible work happens can vary greatly, so for ease of discussion, we have identified the following five formats.

1. Employees work from a colocated space 100% of the time with more traditional hours (e.g. Monday to Friday, 9a to 5p), with all work being performed during working hours within the walls of the organization’s workspace.

2. Employees have a physical office managed by their employer. This location houses their main workstation; however, the employee has the freedom to work outside of the office 1-2 days/week or just a few times a month.

3. This form is growing in popularity, especially in more tech-centric organizations. This form still has a building, or home base, but employees have a higher level of flexibility in where they work. While some employees might be required to spend most of their time, if not all, in the office due to the nature of their job, other employees are free to work from wherever, so long as they continue to meet expectations.

4. Organizations that find themselves in this form would be fully distributed, but have a building(s) somewhere that employees can use to work from, house retreats, conduct client meetings; however, there is no requirement for them to ever be there.

5. This level relates to a fully distributed organization with no physical building, anywhere. If face-to-face client meetings or gatherings are called for, a third party space is required.

Managers and HR must consider two important areas when developing strategies for remote or flexible working: The individual differences of employees; and adapting a performance management structure to flexible working environments.

Individual Differences

Individual differences in personality are excellent predictors of success and achievement at work. These individual differences can help HR to understand which employees will be driven and self-motivated, which employees will learn more quickly from training and development as well as who is more likely to thrive in complex or ambiguous circumstances. Consider two personality traits that are strongly linked to performance at work:

2. Workers who are highly conscientious are better at long-term planning and self-motivation. They tend to be better at managing their own schedules and plans. This is typically an asset for any type of work, but becomes even more important as workers become more flexible and independent. Employees with high conscientiousness are tend to be able to manage their own schedules with less oversight. Those with lower conscientiousness tend to need more supervision, especially when they are not in an office environment.

2. Workers with higher level of adjustment tend to be better at managing their own emotions and stress levels. Those with lower adjustment tend to be more reactive and sensitive to their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. While all remote or flexible workers will need support, those with lower adjustment will benefit from a greater amount of support from HR to manage the stresses and challenges that come from working outside of a traditional office environment.

Understanding the individual differences in employee personalities will help HR to better manage people wherever and whenever they choose to work. Just like in a traditional office environment, different employees need different types of support to succeed. Embracing flexible working does mean abandoning employees. HR must work to find new and innovative ways to support employees and improve employee engagement and productivity.

Performance Management

What does performance management look like in a remote or flexible context? In our research, over 250 remote workers reported that people desire meaningful work; they want to know it is connecting to work done by their co-workers, and that the work is connected to organizational goals and mission. Therefore, use of data to drive metrics helps employees know:

• How productive they were,
• What that productivity mean to the team/organization?
• How the work they did related to the work others are doing?

Clarity around deliverables and timelines removes ambiguity for all employees. Our research determined that remote workers want to receive feedback on an as needed basis, and they want on-going discussion to identify their successes, and potential growth areas. They also need a space to provide feedback regarding the barriers managers need to remove for individual and team success. However, they also want the more formal annual discussion around accomplishments, goals, challenges, and contributions. Well-applied metrics, combined with mutually agreed upon goals, and evidence of on-going growth of relevant competencies, can serve as the foundation for effective, respectful performance measurement.

The point is, while not as simple as one would hope, remote/flexible work is a growing reality, and a slow movement towards a marketplace that is more open, global, and flexible. When done well, flexible working allows humans to experience a greater cadence of meaningful experiences both in work and in their personal lives. We hope to see more organizations give thought to opening up their proverbial walls, and select a balance that works for them, while enjoying significant improvements in productivity, profitability and reduce employee turnover.

Want to take part in our research on personality and remote workers and receive a report about your personality at work? Login and take the test here: https://highpotentialpsych.co.uk/node/365

Ian MacRae is the author of High Potential: How to spot, manage and develop talented people at work.

Roberta Sawatzky is a professor at the Okanagan School of Business, consultant, and researcher focusing on remote work.

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