Virtually Absent

I was completely remote for 2 years during COVID. A familiar story for our generation. I then managed an office with a mix of remote, hybrid, and fully in-person employees. Here’s what I learned.

Being fully remote really does feel like you live at the office sometimes. It is difficult to stop working at 5. Your computer is right there and you know when the emails are coming in. I got to know why coworkers pretty well but it all felt pretty formal. There was very little chit-chat between workers. To add to this odd environment, my manager would call long Zoom meetings several times a day because it was the only way he knew how to manage remotely. As a mother though, it had its perks. I would be able to say goodbye every morning and be home when my kids got home. My kids were a little older but it did save us a lot of after school care costs when I knew that I could be home in case they started a fire. However, I was a good time-manager and always got my job done.

Fast-forward, I began helping manage an office that had a mix of employees. Some were fully remote and I never met them in-person. Some were in the office 9 hours a day. Some worked their own hybrid schedule. Everyone of them had their own little “deal” with the owners and there was very little oversight into who was where or when you could get ahold of them. I began to work on this chaos with a simple evaluation.

What in-person services does your business offer? I don’t mean, “a friendly face”. I mean this is a service where at least one human needs to interact with your client face-to-face in order to provide the service. Acceptable answers include– a server at a restaurant, a nail tech, a mechanic, a plumber… get the idea? Answering phones, setting appointments, chit-chatting with clients, and responding to emails do NOT count as in-person only activities. Please don’t misunderstand, a friendly face can make your business have a homey feel. It changes the client experience. It also changes the employee experience.

At this particular business, none of the employees needed to be at the office to complete their tasks, but clients expected a person. They had a good relationship with the front desk and did expect to be able to come in and get questions answered or have the workspace cared for. So, how to find the balance?

Do you want to be an employer that helps employees feel fulfilled? Have work-life balance? Recruit top talent? Come up with a remote plan. The tech-forward world expects some flexibility in the workplace. But before you take a page from Zuckerberg and replace all your employees with AI, think about your culture. Is teamwork important? Is in-person client interaction important? If so, include it in your plan.

When employees are making the commute, it should be for good reason. If your business has one or two employees that sit in an empty office all-day hoping someone walks in. That is not a good reason. 

If you are hesitant, ask yourself, do you trust your employees? If you don’t trust your employees, you are getting what you pay for. Low quality employees will take advantage of a remote environment. High quality employees will always get the job done.

In my office, it was a mix of productive employees and ones that needed to be let go. To make matters worse, some very productive employees were employed full-time but were allowed to “work from home” three days a week in which they were not available for phone calls, emails, or even a text message. Their job got done but 25 hours a week, no one could talked to them. Other employees only worked at the office but were so chatty, they spent at least half their day distracting others. I needed to find a balance so a reorg was in order. It wasn’t well received at first but switching around the office days and hybrid availability made the workplace more enjoyable and productive. A particularly annoyed employee chose to leave rather than be hybrid. However, hybrid was exactly what the top performer wanted that ended up replacing her.

Evaluate your needs, choose a remote/hybrid model, and implement it clearly. Hold employees accountable but allow them to take ownership of their schedule. As long as there is a clear policy, you can offer this benefit to your employees.

There is no secret formula for the perfect remote workplace. Velle Consulting helps you work through these steps and find the perfect formula for you. We give you the tools to evaluate and implement changes. It is why we are a preferred strategy partner. Give us a call today!