Remote work is becoming more commonplace, fueled by technology and driven, most recently, by Uber, Lyft, and other companies that have benefited from what is being called the “gig economy.” But, whether representing the new gig economy model or the established model of telecommuting, organizations and the managers within them still struggle with issues of trust when it comes to managing employees who are not physically present in the work environment.
That lack of trust defies logic to a large degree. After all, consider the situation in large, multinational organizations, or companies with branch offices, like banks. Chances are, there is a wide range of “traditional” circumstances where managers do not have visual line-of-sight over their workers. And yet, somehow, those workers manage to get work done.
According to a recent Gallup study, 37 percent of employees would change jobs just to have the flexibility of being able to work where they want to work for at least some of the time. In a labor market that is becoming increasingly tight, and increasingly competitive, organizations need to consider ways that they can make their workplaces as attractive as possible to current, and potential, employees. Offering the opportunity to telecommute—or work remotely, at least part of the time, may be one of those opportunities.
What that will require, though, says SHRM’s Aliah Wright, is trust. Wright reported on the TRaD Works Forum held in Washington, D.C., this year where panelists discussed how to build trust in these remote relationships. “It’s a myth that remote workers are playing with the dog and going to yoga lessons,” said Karen Sobel Lojeski, PhD, one of the panelists. This is a myth that training and development professionals can help bust.
While, as Wright reports, companies like IBM, Best Buy, Yahoo, and Bank of America have all reduced or eliminated their telework initiatives, for some companies this option is a must-do to retain key employees, or to attract new ones. How do you balance the trust/productivity equation? Here are some tips:
- Have a policy in place that identifies the types of positions that would—or would not—lend themselves to remote work arrangements.
- Work with managers to develop specific outcome objectives for employees who work from home; that’s how productivity is judged—not by face time.
- Open the channels of communication so that employees can freely express their concerns about those who work from home, and so senior leaders, HR staff, and management can address those concerns.
- Make sure that remote employees and those in-house are remaining in contact through e-mail, tools like Slack and, on occasion, in person.
- Evaluate the arrangements and outcomes, regularly, retaining the right to move a role back in-house if remote work has not been productive.
Like many sensitive workplace issues, lack of trust between remote workers, managers, and other employees can be addressed through awareness and conversation. Training and development can help to start that conversation.