How to Run a Remote Organization

Transforming a traditional organization into a virtual business is no small feat, but with strong leadership and a sound plan, your company can flourish in a remote office environment. Follow these four steps to get started:

1. Take Stock: In order to lay a solid foundation for your remote business transformation plan, it’s important to first conduct a full audit of your organization’s routines, processes, and needs. You will likely find that some functions that were previously handled in the office can easily be tackled remotely, while others may require extensive change management assessments to determine the full impact to people, processes, and technology.
2. Invest in Tools and Equipment: Once you’ve conducted your audit, you may find gaps in the tools and equipment needed to ensure remote work success. Centralized systems and cloud-based software and services are essential for every organization, and you may find that your project management and remote conferencing software need an upgrade. When it comes to hardware, you may need to invest not only in laptops, printers, scanners, and mobile devices—but also in the IT resources required to ensure that you and your employees have the service level and support you can rely on.
3. Hire the Right Talent: It’s been said before, but it bears repeating—people are any organization’s most important asset. And when it comes to remote organizations, it’s important that your people are capable of performing in a “virtual” environment. Be sure to seek out self-starters who demonstrate high levels of autonomy and a proactive communication style, along with emotional intelligence and professional maturity.
4. Err on the Side of Over-Communication: When working remotely, staying connected is key. Encourage staff to enable their video cameras, instead of opting for audio-only, to help simulate in-person face-to-face communication. Also, create a clear communication plan that lays out a cadence for daily team and larger staff meetings. To ensure accountability in a remote work environment, be sure to communicate clear goals, expectations, roles, and responsibilities. Managers should also be cognizant of the emotional impacts of working remotely, scheduling regular check-ins during which employees can feel free to express their questions, challenges, and concerns.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of transitioning to a remote work environment is maintaining your organization’s culture. In the office, relationships and trust are often built around watercooler chats and connections that aren’t necessarily work related. And those relationships and trust are often the glue that breaks down silos and gets teams to collaborate.

To replicate those day-to-day interactions in a remote environment, be sure to create time for non-work conversations during calls and consider instant messaging tools so that staff can communicate casually with each other in real-time. In addition, regular updates from leadership, including Town Hall or Fireside Chat meetings, can be vital to maintaining a strong company culture, along with fun events, like virtual parties, happy hours, and team challenges.

Transitioning your business to remote work also potentially means finding new ways to serve your customers. Depending on your industry, this could require a dramatic shift in the way your business operates to maintain and forge new relationships. In all cases, though, it’s likely you’ll need to reach out to your customers more frequently and proactively if you won’t be meeting with them in person.

As with the communication within your company, be sure to take advantage of video-conferencing software to connect with your customers. You may want to consider finding out what their preferred platforms are and then adding those platforms to your arsenal of video-conferencing solutions. Another potential solution for connecting with clients are virtual coffee hours. Depending on your industry, other ways in which businesses are adapting to remote environments are no-contact delivery, curbside pickup, virtual product tours and trainings, live-streamed events, and expanded ecommerce capabilities.