Blog

Remote Working

In our technological lives, remote working increasingly appears to be the next step for those in the working world. Further to our earlier article, we have written this piece to build on our research and insights regarding remote working and how companies can successfully integrate it into their company Culture.

Due to video conferencing, online calls, share drives, email, etc we no longer need to be tethered to a desk from 9-5 in order to fulfil our job roles. And, moreover, the idea of working at a desk all day isn’t overly appealing to the growing job-seeker market – millennials, the digital natives. In fact, 68% of millennials said that an option to work remotely would greatly increase their interest in a role. But they aren’t alone, 6 in 10 employees want the option to work remotely, with hiring managers expecting 38% of their full-time staff to remotely work within the next decade. However, whilst remote working may be becoming increasingly popular and accessible, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t something to be cautious of. With every pro there often comes a con…

Inevitably, a lack of community and sense of office culture can arise from working at home. Even though the PJs and home comforts may be alluring, working from home may become an isolating experience. It is therefore important to make sure that you have the right technology in place to allow people to best feel a part of the office and its culture – ensure that regular video calls and meetings are offered, if a face-to-face meeting is not possible. Making use of a company intranet platform, create an online social space where employees can engage with each other and include themselves in the company Culture, both in and out of the office.

Productivity is perhaps the biggest concern. With all of the little homely distractions, pets, chores, snacks, Netflix, etc how can you guarantee that you or your employees that days aren’t spent distracted? There are, of course, apps to block distracting websites and play ambient, productivity inducing music. There are also apps and ways of tracking productivity online but how can you ensure that the information is honest? Ultimately it is down to the individual to stay on track and up to you to hire the right individuals who will get the work done whether in the office or remotely working.

Reliability and accountability can also be an issue for employers. If an employee isn’t in the office, how can you make sure that the work is being completed to a high standard? What if you pay a remote worker a retained wage and they never send you any work? Or worse, what happens if they simply disappear? Make sure that there is a two-way system of communication between your leaders and those working out of the office – schedule regular check ins, have an online share drive for the uploading and checking of work or ask them to complete a record of the work they have done in an online daily timesheet.

So, how can PCS help?

At the end of the day, communication is key, and this is where the Performance Climate System (PCS) tool can help you. PCS helps teams understand what is and isn’t working in promoting an optimal climate and identifies gaps in perception between leaders and employees. By completing the survey and acting upon the resulting data, teams can identify potential pain points and work to foster a productive and successful working mentality whether the team is collocated or virtual.

If you believe that your team consists of a mixture of on-site and remote workers, and you could benefit from the PCS tool, then get in touch – email: info@PerformanceClimateSystem.com

Zac's Challenges:

Zac’s tech business is growing rapidly. He’s gone from being a developer with a good idea to now overseeing an ever-expanding team. Zac knows that in order for the business to grow successfully, it needs to stay true to its founding values and his staff need to feel valued and engaged. Zac wants to understand if he and his team are on the same page and he needs to do it quickly and cost effectively.

Zac's PCS Solution

Zac decides to use PCS Lite to get a quick temperature check of how his team are performing and what they think about the business. The PCS Lite report quickly surfaces the fact that his team have lost sight of the organisation’s purpose and goals. Zac realises that he needs to improve his on-boarding processes and help orientate the new team members better in the company culture and vision. 6 months later, Zac uses PCS Lite to check his new onboarding process is working; concludes that the growing team are much better aligned to his vision and are generally operating in a more positive working environment.

Annabel's Challenges:

It’s Annabel’s job to help the Partners in the firm manage their clients and ensure they’re consistently adding value. Recently, Annabel has been asked by one of the Partners to find a tool or framework that the consultants can use to benchmark new clients looking for team and leadership improvement programmes. It needs to be cost-effective, established and reputable and able to be branded with the firm’s own logo.

Annabel's PCS Solution

Annabel recommends PCS Pro to the Senior Partners as it provides an objective measurement of team and leadership climate against which the consultants can build performance improvement programmes. PCS has a good track record, academic validation, excellent training and customer service, so she’s confident that it’s the right tool for the firm’s consultants to use.

Sarah's Challenges:

Sarah has to keep across the multiple training and development needs in the organisation and do it within a tight budget. Recently, Sarah’s been asked to design a L&D programme that improves the staff retention rate and helps staff feel more engaged with the changes happening in the organisation, not least the shift to more flexible working.

Sarah's PCS Solution

Sarah uses PCS to measure how different teams across the organisation are performing and look at any patterns which suggest the need for organisation-wide, leader or team training. Sarah notices that all teams and leaders have a low climate score in the Processes segment. Sarah knows that allocating budget in this area will improve performance. She works with the Senior Management Team to review the organisation’s processes as they transition to more flexible working and designs a training programme to support staff in the transition. She’s helped staff to feel supported, acknowledged and engaged which ultimately drives performance. 

Jim's Challenges:

Jim’s client has a team that’s not performing as well other teams in the organisation. The team has a high staff turnover, sickness and the lack of cohesion is impacting the team’s wellbeing and performance. Jim needs to get to the bottom of why this is happening and design effective coaching interventions which can generate tangible results for his client.

Jim's PCS Solution

Jim uses PCS Pro to measure / benchmark how the team and leader are performing across the 6 segments critical to team performance – Goals, Roles, Processes, Adaptability, Connection and Resilience. He can immediately see the disparity in Goals, Processes and Connection between the leader’s perception and those of her team. He uses this information to build a coaching programme designed align team and leader. After 6 months, the team seems to be more settled and productive. Jim remeasures using PCS Pro – the results show the client the effectiveness of his coaching intervention.