5 Considerations for your Distributed Work Strategy
Distributed work is about much more than technology tools. A client recently told me that they have all the tools for remote work, but no strategy to manage its implementation during rapid deployment. Their organization was overwhelmed by user requests at a time when support resources were stretched to the limit. The result was virtual chaos.
The pandemic has brought a whole new perspective to our Distributed Work Strategy consulting team, and I suspect it’s also brought new perspective to your business. As with many things in business, the strategy is important as it tells stakeholders why you’re doing something and how to actually do it.
Many clients are often surprised when I tell them that technology is one of the easy parts of developing a remote work strategy.
Here are 5 things to consider when developing a remote workplace strategy:
Purpose - why are you doing this?
As with any fully defined strategy, it is essential to understand the reason for moving to remote work. My experience in working with our clients is that this often isn’t clear. During our engagements we spend hours with stakeholders helping to define why remote work is important to the organization. For some it’s essential. For others, they feel it’s forced upon them. For others still, it’s fully integrated into their corporate DNA. What is the purpose of your remote work strategy?
People - who needs to work remotely and why?
In some organizations the answer is “everyone”. For others the answer is that only select types of employee need remote work capabilities. It’s important to remember that different job roles require different remote work tools and capabilities. It’s important to to be clear about who we’re building this strategy for. This clarity will bring a lot of synergy when it comes time to deploy the strategy.
Risk - what are the risks associated with a remote work strategy?
There are certainly risks to be managed and mitigated. There’s a data risk. There is possibly a risk (or a benefit) to your corporate culture. There’s a communication risk. When we undertake a consultation with clients, we work very hard to clearly define the risks, both perceived and real. It’s also worth asking - What are the risk associated with NOT having a remote work strategy?
Reward - what does a well implemented remote work strategy mean for your organization?
By clearly defining the win can ensure that we’re clear on why we’re doing this and what exactly we’re aiming to achieve. Note that the reward will be different for everyone. It’s important that we understand the win from various perspectives. This is one reason why stakeholder engagement pays dividends.
Rollout - how are we going to roll out this strategy?
Are we going to put it on the back shelf for the next pandemic scare? Are we going to get ahead of the curve and have it change way that we work? Perhaps somewhere in between. In any organization, execution its critical. This is where the rubber hits the road.
About our Distributed Workforce Transformation Practice:
Forte is a boutique business and technology consulting firm. We work with clients like you to help you define opportunities, identify risks, and implement strategies. We have a specialization in Distributed Work Transformation, Cloud Communications migration, and audiovisual systems design to bring distributed workers into the office. Often, our team just gives you the extra human bandwidth you need to implement fast change. Our team of consultants include business leaders, technologists, financial professionals, and HR consultants.