Remote Work Battle Heats Up

Need a Culture Boost?: Building Extraordinary and Adaptive Cultures Course Available Now!

Are you a leader, consultant, coach or trainer? Join Belongify and get certified!

What It’s About: Remote, hybrid or in the office? Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, recently discussed how workers and their bosses continue to disagree over their respective at-home productivity levels. The argument, Nadella said, shouldn’t be hashed out based on anything but data. (BTW Microsoft has reinvented itself and now has one of the highest rated cultures).

According to Yahoo! Finance, Nadella made his comments a month after Microsoft released its latest Work Trends Study. Surveying 20,000 people across 11 countries, it found that nearly all (87 percent) of employees say they’re more productive when they work remotely, or in a hybrid setup. It’s no wonder hybrid work is proven to be the most cost-effective and popular model.

So What?: As a bank CPO, I introduced a company-wide remote work policy in 2014 (5,000 people), well in advance of the pandemic. Our data on productivity and morale was overwhelmingly positive. We eventually became the No.1 place to work in Canada, as judged by the Great Places to Work organization. It took a bit of convincing of our exec team, especially our CEO. However the findings proved that it was the right policy. (Btw, we let people decide when they wanted to work remotely, with no limitations other than to make sure they delivered value to customers and each other). Some roles (like front line bank branch workers) obviously had to show up to work at a location and time. However, about 70 percent of employees had total, self accountability as to when/where. Leaders had to learn how to set better objectives to be sure value for work was achieved. And one couldn’t work at the bank if they needed watching, babysitting, or surveillance.

Now What?: Some organizations are doing dumb things like using surveillance/tracking data to check how long it takes to write an email, key strokes per hour, and other stupid practices. Stop that! It is likely meaningless, and builds massive mistrust. Here’s what I’d do instead:

Invite workers whose roles depend on value creation and NOT location, or time, to work wherever/whenever they need to get the best results.
Do not confuse equality with equal. Making a dogmatic call because “we are a manufacturer“ is frankly foolish, and you will lose top talent. Stratify the policy based on roles.
Ensure standards of role contribution/objectives of remote workers are clearly stated, and coach to those results.
Make it known: NO Results means NO job
Use psychometric data and other tools to ensure you’re hiring self-accountable people for remote roles.
Use macro company wide productivity data to determine whether it’s working (including attracting and retaining top talent).
Share the data transparently with all employers, and listen to them.
Put your ego in the desk drawer, and trust your people if you’re one of these leaders that dogmatically insist ALL people need to be in the building “9 to 5.” Don’t be a control driven dinosaur.

Remember that people ARE the source of success.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: With today’s tech, the world has the gift of realizing that hybrid/remote organizations can survive, and in many cases, flourish, with employees working any time/any where. Now, we’re tasked with asking ourselves what culture we want to preserve. I see both sides. There’s a pageantry when attending an office space, which you cannot recreate at home. Zoom meetings and in person meetings might be equally as efficient, however there’s no arguing that physical meetings offer superior human interaction. Leaving or entering a parking garage is more substantial than turning on or off a computer. The idea of an empty metropolis, like New York City, with skeletal rows of towering skyscrapers, completely absent of activity, is a let down. Simultaneously, the thought of someone valuably contributing to an organization from a peaceful home office is new, aspirational and beautiful. Doing all your work on a dingy couch, in pajamas, is not so glamorous, and likely lonely. I think the battle differs between every organization, city, community, team and employee. When you were hired, were you as drawn to the office space as much as the work you contribute? If it’s healthier for you, and your community, to attend an office, then maybe you’re part of the workforce that fights not to lose that part of our culture. However, if you’re better off working in a remote format, then that’s a case-by-case decision that we should all thoughtfully and intentionally consider. There are pros and cons to both.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis.

Remote Work Battle Heats Up

Search Blog Posts:

Follow Us: