CEO at VertexOne.
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History will certainly tout 2020 as the “Year of the Remote Workforce,” although the shift from in-office to remote work has been going on for years. A global pandemic simply hastened the trend. If it weren’t for occupancy restrictions and social distancing mandates, most companies would not have even considered remote work on a large scale.
As CEO of VertexOne, a utility-focused software as a service company with 25% of its workforce working “remote” prior to the pandemic, I’ve seen this firsthand. In the fall of 2019, we began to encourage remote work by providing virtual tools training, supplying computer cameras and asking that calls be on video. For long-term success, we committed to optimizing the work-from-home experience throughout 2019 and into 2020.
When the pandemic struck, our planning ended up working better than we ever imagined. We shut down our offices to comply with local health mandates, but we were amazed that it had little impact on projects and customer service. That validated the decision to phase out our office locations over time.
You might think technology is what enables organizations to perform such a feat. The enormous surge in videoconferencing and internet usage would seem to support that. However, technology alone cannot enable going virtual for the long haul — It is only one of three strategic pillars required to make a radical long-term change.
Technology Is Required For A Remote Work Strategy
Organizations in high-touch technology fields favored business in person, or they did until the pandemic. Implementation projects for large-scale enterprise applications, for example, have always required extensive in-person, on-site work. And customers like that approach. So, once the pandemic is past us, why wouldn’t we go back to what has always worked?
Technology simply makes it unnecessary. A prime example from my own experience at VertexOne, using remote access, cloud-based infrastructure, we not only continued implementation of a large CIS in the midst of a nationwide lockdown, but also performed a 100% remote go-live of that system, proving that technology can permit organizations to perform complex projects remotely.
Many companies deployed laptops and other applications so employees could work remotely during shelter-in-place orders. However, for a long-term strategy, you need to ensure remote employees have the right technology to do their jobs outside an office. For my company, employees needed cameras and audio equipment to effectively communicate with current customers and prospects via visual cues and screen sharing. You also need to review your other communications tools (chat applications and collaboration apps) to see if they work well or create excessive distractions.
Putting Your Virtual Employees First
The adage about employees being your greatest asset is truer than ever. We put a lot of time and money into developing an inclusive and social workplace. What happens when suddenly everyone is virtual and company gatherings aren’t possible? When an organization decides to close its physical offices over time, it must create methodology and programs to drive employee engagement globally — to put its virtual employees first.
We emphasized attracting, hiring, collaborating with, and enriching the lives and careers of our 100% remote workforce. It was necessary to revisit our key employee-related policies:
• Values: Core values and mission of the company.
• Recruitment: Attracting the best talent.
• Diversity: Driving inclusion and diversity.
• Engagement: Virtual and in-person leadership approach.
• Motivation: Compensation and incentives.
• Virtual Workplace: Standards, policies and expectations.
• Collaboration: Tools and policies to get the job done.
• Enrichment: Continued learning opportunities.
• Satisfaction: 360-degree feedback.
But some employees may not want to work remotely full time, so it’s good to provide coworking spaces or office memberships. Virtual employees need goals just like in-office workers, so it’s critical to schedule periodic touch points. Also, boundaries between work and personal life can be stressful, so it’s important to encourage virtual employees to schedule breaks throughout the day.
Finally, put capital into your people. Use what you save on overhead costs on enrichment, training and incentive programs for your virtual employees.
Changing Your Business Processes To Match The New Culture
The third pillar of our strategy needs little description, but its importance shouldn’t be understated. The success of moving to a fully remote workforce requires changing how you do business.
For example, your hiring process must fully embrace virtual work because your search for talent needn’t be constrained by location. Onboarding needs to indoctrinate new hires into the remote culture and make sure they feel supported from the start. Performance evaluations must change to reflect and address potential distractions when working from home. You must standardize which tools are for which type of communications. The list goes on.
Each of the components of your technology and employee-first pillars will likely require process changes. These changes need to be in place before you transition to an all-remote workforce.
Can A Company Go 100% Remote And Come Out On Top?
It can, and I offer our company as proof. We closed our Richardson, Texas, office in mid-2020. This closure did not involve a reduction in force; rather, we’ve increased headcount by 38% over the last 12 months. Our employees from the Richardson office love the arrangement: They serve their customers from home and continue to exceed all our customer SLAs.
As we move toward a more remote workforce, we need less office and desk space, less physical infrastructure, less power and fewer amenities, significantly reducing overhead costs. As VertexOne shifts additional offices to remote, our savings will rise. These savings provide additional resources we can direct to benefit and enrich both our customers and employees — to put people first.
A Successful Remote Workforce Is About More Than Technology
It may seem like enabling a remote workforce is just a matter of deploying the right technology, but all three of these pillars — people, processes and technology — are critical to long-term success. The benefits from that success will let you build an employee-first culture, even if those employees rarely set foot in an office.
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