Summary:
In recent years, the world of work has undergone a seismic shift, propelled by technological advancements, and changing societal attitudes. With its rigid hierarchies and organizational structures, the traditional office model is being challenged like never before with the rise of remote working, automation, and the gig economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has only hastened these changes, as companies worldwide have embraced remote work as a permanent option. Dr. Mythili and Dr. Mavis, two leading experts in the field, are releasing a groundbreaking new book this year: “The Future of Work G7- Perspectives, Trends, Developments, and Automation Effect.” As an expert in this field, Dr. Mythili’s article delves into corporate strategies for navigating this changing landscape and learnings for organizations to unlock the potential benefits of remote work while ensuring their employees remain happy, productive, and engaged.
Introduction
In the future, remote work, hybrid work, and other flexible work options will be extensively witnessed worldwide. Countries, societies, organizations, and individuals need to embrace the change gracefully and adapt effectively to ensure the sustainability of business growth. Most of the world has experienced remote working during the pandemic and has realized that it is a two-edged sword that needs to be tactfully managed to leverage its true potential and benefits. Remote working offers numerous benefits for both employees and employers. One of the main advantages is increased flexibility and autonomy, as remote workers can set their schedules and work from any location with internet access. This can lead to greater work-life balance, reduced commuting time, and increased job satisfaction.
Remote work can also increase productivity and cost savings for employees, as it reduces the need for expensive office space and allows for a larger pool of talent worldwide. Additionally, remote work can positively impact the environment by reducing carbon emissions associated with commuting. Remote or hybrid work presents unique challenges for both employees and employers. One of the main challenges is maintaining productivity and communication. Without a proper structure and accountability of an office environment, it can be difficult for employees to stay motivated and focused. Additionally, it can be challenging to maintain strong relationships and effective communication with colleagues and managers when working remotely, which can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection.
These companies have established effective remote work cultures, and their practices and principles have been recognized and studied by publications, industry experts, and researchers. They have also been featured in lists and rankings of top remote companies.
Success Stories: Corporate Illustrations of Remote Work Across Verticals and Strategies for Overcoming Challenges.
American Express
American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield. It is a global financial services company offering credit cards, payment processing, travel services, and insurance. American Express has embraced remote work for several years, with a significant portion of its workforce working remotely before the pandemic, particularly in customer service, sales, and operations. The company has implemented clear communication protocols and provided employees with the necessary equipment and resources to work effectively from home. American Express also offers a range of support programs for employees, such as mental health resources and virtual wellness sessions. To successfully implement remote work, American Express has focused on maintaining a strong culture of trust and transparency. The company emphasizes the importance of communication and collaboration and provides employees with the necessary tools and resources to work effectively from home.
Buffer
Buffer, the social media management platform, was founded in 2010 by Joel Gascoigne and Leo Widrich. Though it is based in the UK, now it is headquartered in the United States, with offices worldwide. It operates as a fully remote company with team members worldwide. To manage remote work effectively, Buffer emphasizes asynchronous communication, encourages regular check-ins, uses robust communication tools, and focuses on results rather than hours. The company has faced challenges such as communication barriers, time zone issues, and building a remote company culture. Buffer has adopted specific strategies to create a successful and productive remote environment. Some of them are Zoom, Slack, and email to facilitate clear communication, regular team member check-ins, and all-hands meetings and retreats to build team cohesion. Buffer promotes a culture of trust and flexibility and allows team members to work in the way that suits them best.
Michael Dell founded Dell in 1984, headquartered in Texas, USA. Dell has been a remote work pioneer since the early 2000s. In 2009, the company launched its Connected Workplace program, which aimed to have 50% of its global workforce working remotely by 2020. Dell reported in 2019 that over 60% of its international team members worked remotely or in a flexible location. The program successfully improved employee engagement and retention and reduced costs associated with office space. Dell has effectively implemented their remote working with a result-oriented approach, clear communication, technology-enabled productivity, training and development, and flexibility. Despite their efforts, they faced challenges like security & Privacy, employee burnout, and engagement. Dell addressed these challenges by implementing strict security protocols, regular meetings, frequent manager check-ins, and virtual events, and prioritized employee self-care to create a culture of trust and collaboration.
GitLab
GitLab, a software development company founded by Dmitriy Zaporozhets and Valery Sizov in 2011 in San Francisco, California, has been fully remote since its inception in 2014. Despite the challenges of remote work, GitLab has maintained productivity and collaboration by implementing clear communication protocols and providing employees with necessary equipment and resources. The company prioritizes transparency and open communication, encouraging employees to share feedback and ideas to improve remote work practices. GitLab’s success is attributed to clear communication channels, documented processes, and a culture of transparency. Their approach provides valuable insights for other organizations looking to thrive in a remote work environment.
Infosys
Infosys is an Indian multinational I.T. company founded in 1981 by a group of seven engineers led by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, and S. Gopalakrishnan. With a global presence, it has become one of the world’s largest and most respected I.T. companies. It operates in over 46 countries, offering a wide range of I.T. services and solutions to clients in various industries globally. Infosys has offered remote work options to its employees for several years, and the company has invested in technology and infrastructure to support it. However, like many companies, Infosys has faced challenges like communication and collaboration, employee engagement and data security and privacy. The company provided employees with a laptop collaboration tools, and various communication channels like video conferencing, instant messaging, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, extensive training, prioritized employee wellbeing, and strict data security protocols
Salesforce
Salesforce, founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez in 1999, is a CRM platform that provides a suite of business functions. Before the pandemic, the company had a flexible work policy. During the pandemic, Salesforce implemented remote work in response to COVID-19. While implementing remote work, Salesforce faced technical challenges, communication, and collaboration issues, maintaining company culture, and employee well-being. They overcame these challenges by investing in technology, promoting a culture of trust and cooperation, increasing video conferencing and collaboration tools, and providing mental health resources, employee wellness programs, and flexible schedules.
Shopify
Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company started by Tobias Lütke, Scott Lake, and Daniel Weinand in 2006. It embraced hybrid working, where some employees work from an office, and others work remotely. Shopify’s remote work approach is successful because of its strong culture of trust and accountability, collaborative tools, flexible working options, holistic employee support, and focus on outcomes over time. Shopify’s challenges in remote work have included communication, collaboration, isolation, work-life balance, and technology barriers, which they have addressed through regular video calls, virtual team-building activities, project management software, virtual social spaces, flexible schedules, mental health resources, IT support, and more.
Tata Consultancy Services
TCS was founded in 1968 by J.R.D. Tata and F.C. Kohli. The company began experimenting with remote work in the early 2000s; it wasn’t until 2009 that it implemented a formal work-from-home policy as part of its “Workplace of the Future” initiative. T.C.S. faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as ensuring data security, managing remote teams, and providing employee support. Still, they could transition smoothly to a fully remote work model by investing in new technology infrastructure, providing training and resources to employees, and implementing new policies and procedures to support remote work.
Wizeline
Wizeline is a software company founded in 2014 by Bismarck Lepe, a former Google executive. It is a global company with offices in the United States, Mexico, Vietnam, and Spain; that provides product development tools and services. Wizeline is currently implementing a hybrid work model. During COVID-19, they operated remotely and faced many challenges like; communication, collaboration, work-life balance, and technical issues during the transition to remote work, which they addressed by establishing clear policies and guidelines, providing tools and resources, and offering support to their employees. The company also continuously monitored and adjusted its remote work policies as needed to ensure the success of its teams.
Zapier
Zapier was launched in Missouri, United States, in 2011 by Bryan Helmig, Wade Foster, and Mike Knoop. It is a tool that would make connecting various web applications and automating workflows easier. Today they have over 4 million users worldwide. Zapier is known as a remote-first company with more than 300 employees working from different locations worldwide. Zapier’s success with remote work is due to clear communication, a results-focused approach, documentation, knowledge sharing, regular virtual meetings, a strong company culture, and virtual social events. The company over-communicates and encourages employees to be responsive to colleagues’ messages. Zapier has faced many challenges like loneliness, isolation, communication breakdown, time zone differences, and collaboration issues. They have met the challenges head-on with various work approaches like; game nights, happy hours, clear communication, documentation transparency, over-communication, asynchronous communication, and adoption of different collaboration tools to foster a culture of trust and teamwork.
Best practices: strategies for effective remote work, as demonstrated by corporate examples
- Effective and frequent communication is crucial for remote teams. Clear and timely communication helps team members stay connected, informed, and productive.
- Remote teams should establish clear communication channels and protocols, such as regular meetings, chat applications, and email communication guidelines.
- Organizations should train their employees on how to work effectively with the latest technology.
- It requires a high degree of trust between team members and managers.
- Trust is essential for team members to feel empowered, motivated, and productive.
- Managers should focus on results rather than micromanagement and regularly provide support and feedback to their team members.
- It relies heavily on technology; having the right tools and infrastructure is essential for success.
- Remote teams should have access to reliable and secure technology tools, such as video conferencing software, project management tools, and collaborative platforms, to help them stay organized, connected, and productive.
Conclusion
In today’s fast-paced and dynamic business landscape, remote work has become integral to organizational success. Effective & frequent communication, a culture of trust, timely training, and access to the suited technology are essential elements that must be prioritized to ensure the success of remote work. By prioritizing these elements, organizations can build a thriving remote workforce that stays connected, effective and engaged, even in the face of unprecedented challenges. It’s time for businesses to act and embrace the future of work.
Author Profile
Dr. Mythili Kolluru is an experienced Assistant Professor in the Graduate Studies Department at the College of Banking and Financial Studies in Oman. She specializes in Strategic Management, Organizational Studies, and International Business, with a doctorate in Strategic Management. Dr. Kolluru is a certified Strategic Planning Professional and Chief Strategy Officer of Funkeyb, a London-based Management Consultancy firm. She is the creator of the “Strategic Thinking Wheel” framework and has supervised over 100 research projects. Dr. Kolluru’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and she is the author of a book on strategic management, as well as holding several copyrights.
Contact her at professormythili@gmail.com to learn more about her expertise.
References
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Dell. (2005, September 13). Dell team members enjoy balance of work and personal life from home or flexible locations. Dell. https://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/uscorp1/press-releases/2005-09-13-dell-team-members-enjoy-balance-of-work-and-personal-life-from-home-or-flexible-locations
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GitLab. (n.d.). All-remote. GitLab. https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/
“Inside GitLab’s remote-only work culture” (2021, March 24). TechRepublic. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/inside-gitlabs-remote-only-work-culture/
“The ultimate guide to remote work: A conversation with GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij” (2021, May 18). ZDNet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-work-a-conversation-with-gitlab-ceo-sid-sijbrandij/
TCS. (n.d.). About us. TCS. https://www.tcs.com/about-us
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“Remote work isn’t going away: 10 companies hiring now for full-time remote jobs” (2021, May 18). CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/remote-work-isnt-going-away-10-companies-hiring-now-for-full-time-remote-jobs.html
“How Shopify runs on remote work” (2020, June 30). Shopify Blog. https://www.shopify.com/blog/shopify-remote-work
“Shopify’s remote work culture: Tools, tips, and best practices” (2021, March 23). The Blueprint. https://www.fool.com/the-blueprint/shopify-remote-work