Remote is Work: Tips on Setting Up Your Organization for Success
Many knowledge workers have successfully worked remotely for two years and counting. In a previous post, I shared my learnings around remote work thus far. I also mentioned the need to develop structures to make remote work successful. In this post, I’ll share some ideas for how you can structure remote work to set up your organization for success. TLDR; communication is critical.
Establish a Writing Culture
Earlier this year, I read Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon. Two former Amazon executives shared some of the unique tactics that the corporate giant used to run its business. One of the techniques that resonated with me was the emphasis on written communication. The authors contend that establishing a writing culture offers several benefits:
facilitates asynchrous communication, reducing the time spent in meetings and facilitating collaboration across time zones
promotes egalitarianism—a good idea can originate from anyone and anywhere in the company
precludes the risk that a charismatic verbal delivery will mask a sub-par idea
helps the author get clarity on their own thought process by forcing them to defend their perspective in writing.
In practice, establishing a writing culture encompasses strategy and process documentation. It is also about making invisible work visible. Here are some tactical examples:
Every meeting has an agenda to focus the discussion. Every meeting also generates meeting notes and/or a meeting recording, so that those who did not participate live can catch up on what they missed.
Each team builds in time for writing process documentation as part of their job responsibilities. Process documentation lives in a centralized, accessible knowledge repository. This documentation should be searchable, updated regularly, and somewhere employees know to look. It’s true that writing this documentation takes time and is likely not the most exciting thing on anyone’s to do list. It’s also true that failing to document this information makes it harder for organizations to scale and increases the risk that employees will burn out and lose motivation. (A program manager can be a great hire to develop and scale this knowledge repository and lead change management efforts to maintain it.)
Teams generate working agreements at the team level and employees generate user manuals at the employee level to guide others on how to work with them most effectively.
Individuals and/or teams track work performed, explain how that work supports team and/or company goals, and share upcoming planned work.
Foster Connections
Having the discipline required to establish and sustain a writing culture is a major accomplishment. But, unlocking growth in a remote environment also requires trust. In an in person setting, human connections often arise organically when a group of people sits next to each other day after day. Those bonds can still form in a remote setting, but it requires additional work to foster connections. Here are some tactical examples:
Pour energy into recurring one-on-one meetings with employees. These meetings should not simply be status updates but rather should be opportunities to discuss career development, impart problem solving skills through coaching, unblock issues, etc. Don’t underestimate the power of these synchronous conversations to feed motivation.
Schedule periodic check-ins, or even informal “coffees”, with key stakeholders to stay in touch. Recurring meetings can be dangerous, so keep these conversations at a monthly or quarterly cadence and revisit their utility as part of a regular calendar audit (this audit can be monthly or quarterly, depending on the pace of your organization.)
Establish a culture of gratitude to maintain motivation. I used to send a weekly shout-outs email to my team praising their accomplishments, learnings, and any behaviors I wanted to replicate (e.g., taking time off for mental health.) It sounds silly, but this email went a long way to keep my team engaged through some difficult personal and professional circumstances.
Consider optional office hours for those in need of social connection (as long as these sessions are truly optional, in the sense that no one is discounted for failing to participate.)
Host periodic in person team building events, ideally quarterly, to welcome new hires and maximize time for synchronous connections.
