TECH TALK: Ensure your remote workers are not made to feel too remote, says BILL MAGEE
Company bosses desperate to streamline work practices to offset the economic impact of COVID-19 and now the global energy spike caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine should take note of a new study from Gartner, the technology research and consulting firm. It reveals that seven-out-of-ten of the “global knowledge workforce” will be operating from home, all or some of the time, by 2022.
However, firms thinking about implementing what is still a novel networking work practice, should not pay lip service to how it’s employed, or inadvertently treat remote colleagues as second hand employees, thereby giving rise to more damaging office politics. Nor should they add to mental health costs, already said to be costing employers up to £42 billion a year, according to the Hubble website.
Whether staff members are office-bound or in a part-telecommuting role, treating everyone equally will reap dividends in the long term. Yet, conflicting surveys hitting my mailbox are confusing the issue. It’s clear there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
One piece of research is full of handy tips on how to redesign the office to ensure a happy staff during work hours and simultaneously boost productivity. Another study quotes Google Search data pointing to an “explosion” in jobseekers who favour telecommuting. Yet another claims hybrid work is the future, enabling more people to retain flexibility between home and office.
Sacha Conhor, chief executive of “Virtual Work Insider” who helps train business leaders at Vanguard Investment Management Cisco and Toyota, says: “You have to design everything with a virtual-first mentality”.
A company should now always assume somebody’s not going to attend a meeting in person, or there will be a video or some sort of call-in facility. Whatever the case, everybody needs equal access to all materials and be able to fully participate.
This is easier said than accomplished. There is a danger that those individuals who, for one reason or another, are unable to attend a key meeting in person are treated…well, remotely.. as if they’re in the back of beyond and, because they are away from the action, not really participating in the next office big idea. There’s even a term for this: “distance bias”.
Organisations, often unconsciously, favour in-house employees, according to global leadership specialists Toptal Insights, leading to serious consequences for employee engagement and productivity. Such unequal treatment of co-workers can also lead to higher salaries, bigger bonuses and more promotion opportunities for on-site staff compared to their offsite peers.
There are also growing concerns over security, with a cyber-attack kit apparently available on the dark web for the price of a half-decent meal. The Techopedia website stresses companies should be proactive about employee monitoring and protecting data.
Venture capital and private equity brand specialist Lauren Drell says treat all meetings “virtual friendly”. An outfit then stands more chance of having a more engaged, higher performing hybrid workforce.
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