Remote Work Webinar Series: Preparing for a Remote Workforce
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This document provides an overview and summary of a webinar on preparing for and leading a remote workforce. The webinar covers topics such as the benefits of remote work, challenges of transitioning to remote work quickly, best practices for organizational leaders, HR professionals, and remote team members and leaders. It also discusses types of virtual teams, challenges of leading virtual teams, strategies for effective virtual meetings and communications, and a leadership model for planning, preparing, producing results and reviewing performance in remote teams.
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Remote Work Webinar Series: Preparing for a Remote Workforce
- 1. Remote Work Webinar Series Brought to you by: Prositions, Inc. 1www.prositions.com 877-244-8848 info@prositions.com
- 2. Remote Work Webinar Series Preparing for a Remote Workforce 2
- 3. Welcome! 3 • Company • Topic • Webinar • Our Presenter
- 4. Author and Consultant Partners in Development American Management Association University of Wisconsin Prositions, Inc. EXPERIENCE Lee Johnsen CPT, CPLP, SPHR 4
- 5. TOPICS TO COVER Today’s Webinar • Top 5 tips for Organizational Leaders • Top 5 tips for HR Professionals • Top 5 tips for HRD Professionals • Top 5 tips for remote Team Leaders • Top 5 tips for remote Team Members 5
- 6. Why a Remote Workforce? • Speed of change • Access to information • Global markets • Technology • The nature of work • Social changes • Multi-cultural interactions 6
- 7. Current Drivers • COVID-19 Disease Pandemic • Economic effects and market psychology • Extended isolations and absences from groups • Illnesses of self and family members 7
- 8. What is a Virtual Team? A team whose members… • work remotely (home, car, plane) or even if in a similar vicinity • communicate largely via electronic means • never, or seldom meet face-to-face 8
- 9. Types of Virtual Staff • Virtual team member (domestic or international) • Hybrid team member (onsite) • Hybrid team member (remote) • Remote team member • Mobile team member 9
- 10. Top Challenges • Aligning members behind the team’s purpose and vision • Building trust from a distance • Balancing structure and empowerment • Creating and maintaining engagement • Leveraging communications technology • Underestimating cultural differences • Making the implicit, explicit 10
- 11. Let’s Just Say It… “Leading a virtual workforce is more complicated and more time consuming than co-located/onsite employees.” 11
- 12. 1. The greater the spans of time, distance, technology, and culture, the more complex it is for team members to work effectively together. Two Great Truths 2. The more that team members must rely on one another to achieve results, the greater the need for trust and alignment behind team purpose. 12
- 13. The Good News: Remote Working Successes 13
- 14. Benefits: • Employee safety • Improved productivity • Expanded flexibility and retention • Reduced real estate and fixed costs • Reduced transportation costs 14
- 15. Challenges of a Rapid Transition • Obsolete or lack of business continuation plans • Ability to obtain necessary technology and security • Periods of confusion and instability • Decreased engagement • Lack of consistent documentation15
- 16. Rapid Transition Best Practices 1. Review business continuation plans 2. Assess existing communication and collaboration technology 3. Establish technology infrastructures to support remote employees and others 4. Assess financial requirements 5. Establish a communications plan to inform key audiences 16
- 17. Rapid Transition Best Practices 1. Assist leaders in identifying specific jobs that can be done remotely 2. Create/review HR policies that support remote team members 3. Prepare leaders to inform key audiences regarding the remote workforce and impact 4. Forecast and allow for employee absences 5. Assess the impact on essential remaining onsite office staff and work environment requirements 17
- 18. Rapid Transition Best Practices 1. Train remote leaders on key differences between face-to-face and remote teams and best leadership practices 2. Train remote team members on best practices for working remotely 3. Ensure training staff members are skilled and confident in designing and delivering online learning experiences 4. Provide assistance to detect workplace performance gaps and offer solutions 5. Consult with HR and Team Leaders to identify and track performance indicators 18
- 19. Team Member Dashboard 19 Lead Indicators Lag Indicators Data Sources Individual Team Members Team Member Relationships Outputs/Results ● Leader Observations ● Project Plans ● Stakeholder & Member Feedback ● Meeting Behaviors ● Status Reports ● Team Assessments ● High engagement ● Active listening ● Supportive behaviors ● Empathetic responses ● Skills developed ● Flexible availability ● Quickly responds ● High trust with other members ● Willingness to help others ● Positive comments ● High trust ● Shares information with others ● Deadlines met ● Quality of work ● Productivity ● Amount of rework
- 20. Rapid Transition Best Practices 20 1. Establish a regular one-on-one coaching schedule 2. Engage members to focus on the team’s purpose, mission, and how their work contributes 3. Become savvy at leveraging communications technology 4. Create a Team Operating Agreement (TOA) 5. Plan and lead team meetings that engage, build trust, and problem solve common challenges
- 21. 21 Create Clear Agreements: Establish a Team Operating Agreement A TOA is a written document, created by team members, that defines the team’s purpose, goals, and results. It includes agreements for: • handling work procedures, time frames, and methodologies. • communications protocols and agreements to resolve conflicts. • Stakeholder Communications
- 22. 22 ESTABLISH A TEAM OPERATING AGREEMENT
- 24. Team Meetings 24 Meeting 80% Planning 10% Follow-up 10% Typical Meeting Face-to-Face Meeting 20% Planning 50% Follow-up 30% Effective Virtual Team Meeting
- 25. Rapid Transition Best Practices 25 1. Set up an organized, comfortable, quiet, dedicated workspace 2. Request and ensure you have the necessary equipment and resources 3. Establish a daily schedule of focused work time and availability 4. Proactively communicate and actively participate in team meetings 5. Reconsider work processes and procedures to streamline
- 26. Long Distance Leadership Model TM 26 PLAN • Articulate team purpose and vision • Determine skills needed for overall team PREPARE • Select and onboard team members • Create clear agreements PRODUCE • Ensure high quality leader and member communication • Maintain high productivity and engagement RESULTS • • Provide performance support • • Deliver timely results REVIEW, ADJUST, REDIRECT
- 27. 27 “We need to work together as if we were all in the same room, although we’re not.” Going Virtual, Grenienr & Meres
- 28. 28 Questions
- 29. Link to Webinar Video Remote Work MicroLearning Bundle (Over 50 Modules)29 Bonuses! 25% Off Book Discount Coupon Copy of the Presentation
Editor's Notes
- Prositions Info and our History with Remote Work Coronavirus Impact Remote Work Requirement Need Training, Information, and Encouragement Lee Johnsen and his work
- If they weren’t earlier, the reasons for a remote workforce are obvious. COIVID-19 will redefine our lives for generations It will change how we live, how we work, and how we interact with one another. Fortunately, today’s technology can assist us like no time before. It’s easier to reach across national and cultural boundaries to improve our work and home lives. But technology is only a part of will become our “new normal” and in future webinars of our series, we’ll look more deeply into the benefits and challenges of technology that support a remote workforce. Today’s session is about more urgent matters at hand—how organizations can successfully transition rapidly to engaging their remote workforce? This is the context in which we find ourselves as we do our best to accomplish the goals of our organizations and, in fact the goals of our personal lives.
- Indeed, there are many drivers leading to a remote workforce, not the least of which is COVID-19. What’s changed is the speed in which organizations need to make the transition.
- Today, you’ll hear me talk about virtual teams as part of the remote workforce. Virtual team members may include those who work remotely from their homes, other offices, in their vehicles even if they’re in a similar vicinity. They communicate largely via electronic means, and never, or seldom meet face-to-face.
- There are various types of remote workers, also known as virtual staff. They’re differentiated largely depending on the type of work and their interactions with others. Hybrid teams consist of teams where some members are located together at one site while other members are located remotely. Remote team members are typically located away from the onsite members. Mobile team members usually move around and work from various locations like salespeople who travel and work from anywhere. These folks are often referred to as road warriors. My guess is that you’ve been a leader or member of these various types of virtual teams and have faced some of the challenges that comes with working remotely. Let’s look at what research says are some of the top challenges.
- Here are some of the most common and daunting challenges supported by multiple research studies and my experience. From your group chat responses, many of you have experienced these, too.
- Note: Hit the audio box for drumroll. So, let’s just say it, leading a remote workforce is truly more complicated and more time consuming than teams whose members are in one location. Unless we accept that, we will continually be frustrated. Virtual teams require greater flexibility from leaders and members due to the complexity and reliance differences. The key is to identify which factors are most influential and then put in place explicit work processes that clarify team goals, team member accountabilities, and ways to engage team members so they’re focused on accomplishing their tasks despite the distractions of virtual work.
- When it comes to working remotely, particularly in globally dispersed teams, there are two great truths. First, the greater the spans of time, distance and culture, the more complex it is for remote team members to work together. Second, the more that team members must rely on one another to achieve results, the greater the need for trust and alignment behind team purpose. The first recognizes that leading is complex when the team members are separated by large spans of geographical distance, time zones and culture. This complexity challenges leaders to find different ways to build trust, communicate, and achieve results. I know a leader who, right now, has team members in 5 different U.S. time zones. His world is much more complex and time consuming than if everyone was in the same office. The second great truth is that remote team members have to develop the ability to create trusting relationships with one another, usually without the benefit of meeting face-to-face. And trust is critical when team members must rely on one another to complete their portions of a work product or deliver a service. It takes more time and effort to develop and maintain high levels of trust in the absence of face to face interactions. We have an assessment that enables leaders to assess the Complexity and Reliance for their team and identify key actions they can take to maintain team productivity.
- But there is some good news! Many organizations are finding that, when well managed, virtual teams can deliver high quality, innovative products and services that meet or exceed expectations. And this trend is expected to continue as more and more members gain experience operating in a virtual work environment.
- When managed well, there are lots of benefits of a remote workforce and they’ll only continue to grow. But there will also be challenges.
- Here are a few of the most important ones: Many organizations have not prepared or kept current business continuation plans. Technology may not yet be in place to fully support remote team members working remotely You can bet there will be confusion and instability. No matter how well planned, the unexpected will surface. Team members who work remotely 100% of the time are the most disengaged of any group. Organizations will need to figure out how to keep them engaged, especially during the anxiety of the pandemic. Document, document, document should be the mantra during this transition period to clarify and streamline work processes and procedures. Without it, many of the best practices will be lost. Let’s get into some of the best practices to help you and your workforce jump into the whitewater of remote work.
- Here are some best practices for organizational leaders to consider. Of course, you’ll have to adapt them to your unique organization, but every organization leader needs to prioritize these critical tasks: Review existing business continuation plans. Consider customer, financial, and operational impacts of transitioning to a (larger) remote workforce. It may feel a bit like triage to start with but having a business continuation plan for at least the next 12 months is critical. Assess current communication and collaboration technology and the impacts of transitioning to a (more) remote workforce e.g. cyber-security, bandwidth, hard and software requirements, collaboration software, etc. Chances are most organizations have more technology capabilities than they realize. Establish infrastructures to support remote employees’, customers’, suppliers’, and stakeholders’ access. Remote work isn’t just about how you manage your employees. Consider your other important stakeholders and how you manage those relationships in a virtual environment. Create communications plans to keep them informed consistently. Assess short-and long-term financial requirements for quickly transitioning to a (more) remote workforce. This may be part of your business continuation plan or part of your CFO’s responsibilities. Regardless, the sooner you can get a handle on the finances, the better you’ll be able to respond to fluctuations. Develop a communications plan to inform key audiences (employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders) regarding the transition to a (more) remote workforce and the impact on service. Include key contacts and processes for tracking and communicating business and employee status. In a nutshell, figure out your messaging and how it can be best delivered. If you don’t, your competition will and it likely won’t be in your favor.
- HR Professionals will play a critical role in the successful transition to a remote workforce. As a business partner, you have to step into the unknown and support executives who are focused on operations. Here are some of the best practices for those of you in an HR role. Assist leaders in identifying specific jobs that can be done remotely and help leaders prioritize and focus. You can be a voice of calm during periods of high anxiety. Create/review HR policies that support remote team members—e.g. job description adjustments, personal use of technology, access to assistance, employee relations, productivity measures and reporting etc. Help leaders inform key audiences (employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders) regarding the remote workforce transition and the impact on service. Include key contacts and processes for tracking and communicating business and employee status. Forecast and allow for employee absences due to extenuating factors such as personal or family member illness, community containment measures, quarantines, school and/or business closures, and public transportation closures. Assess the impact on critical remaining onsite office staff and work environment requirements—e.g. workspace, technology, security, etc. Not all work can be done remotely. If you have team members who need to maintain an office presence, figure out how they can do so safely and remain in contact with their remote co-workers. With these practices, you can demystify the transition and provide answers to team member and other stakeholder questions that will reassure them.
- Human Resource Development professionals who have training and workplace performance responsibilities can be a critical resource to their organizations as they make the transition to remote work arrangements. Not only can they be a training resource, they can also consult with their HR and leadership colleagues to maximize work performance during this time of uncertainty. Here are practices we recommend to help them focus their efforts. Train remote leaders on key differences between face-to-face and virtual teams. Some of the most important differences are how to communicate with remote team members through technology, make decisions, stay engaged, and manage conflicts. Train remote team members and provide additional resources on best practices for working remotely e.g. using business communication and collaboration technology, managing personal productivity and accountability, virtual communication skills, meeting management, and maintaining confidentiality. Ensure training staff are skilled and confident in designing and delivering online learning experiences. Assess current face-to-face training programs that could be redesigned to deliver virtually, and the resources required (to transition them). Provide assistance to detect workplace performance gaps and offer solutions to improve work processes, documentation, and service. Consult with HR and Team Leaders to identify and track lead and lag performance indicators. Identify any differences from onsite methods.
- One of the tools we suggest to track performance is a Team Member Dashboard. Here is a snippet of our Team Member Dashboard that helps leaders and team members track and assess Lead and Lag indicators of performance. The Lag indicators are under the column with the gold header. These are the quantitative results used to measure productivity, quality, etc. Most of us are already familiar with these. Lead indicators are highlighted in purple columns. These are the behaviors and relationships used to achieve the lag indicators. They’re the early indicators as to the likelihood that outputs and results will be accomplished as expected. Positive Lead Indicators lead to positive results. These should be watched carefully. If you notice negative behaviors under the Lead Indicators, the consequence is often missed deadlines, or quality and productivity problems. The far-left column lists possible data sources that can be used to provide information about Lead and Lag indicators. Of course, these can be customized based.
- As I’ve mentioned earlier, leading a group of remote team members is different. Here are some best practices team leaders can apply to help them successfully make the transition. Establish a regular one-on-one coaching schedule with each remote team member to problem solve, discuss concerns, and stay engaged. Informally check-in with team members to maintain trust by listening to their successes, concerns, frustrations, etc. Offer assistance and provide feedback. You may even want to set up a “watercooler” space, like a Slack channel for team members to have informal discussions. Remind team members to focus on the team’s purpose, mission, and how their work contributes to them. Clarify these when there are questions or confusion. Provide clear written performance expectations. And be sure to check for understanding, progress, and recognize milestones. Become savvy at leveraging technology such as document and screen sharing and other collaboration tools to enhance virtual communication. Ensure all team members are skilled and confident using it. Create a (Team) Operating Agreement with your members to establish policies and practices for collaboration, responsiveness to emails, decision making, accessibility, team meetings, etc. Plan and lead engaging team meetings to build trust and discuss common challenges. Use webcams and other tools such as polls, group chats, emojis, etc.to keep people engaged. Be prepared to address conflicts unique to remote work. (Such as lack of participation, availability, responsiveness to requests, etc.) I’d like to elaborate on practices 4 and 5.
- A Team Operating Agreement (TOA) is a written document, created by team members, that defines the team’s purpose, goals and results. It includes several agreements team members make as to how they will work together. This is especially important for teams whose work is highly interdependent such as customer service, or new product development.
- Here is an example of a template we use with remote teams to establish their TOA. You can see that it includes agreements on team values, participation and communication, use of technology, meeting management, decision making and conflict resolution. When teams make the time to create their TOA, they achieve common understandings of both how they work together and why. It also prevents problems.
- One of the things we all need to get comfortable with is virtual meetings. As the slide says, virtual meetings are now the new normal. Already, the information on this slide is a bit outdated knowing that every day more and more meetings are being conducted virtually than in person. It’s the meeting leader’s role to make sure their meetings are engaging, productive and lead to action. Productive virtual meetings are distinctly different from most in-person meetings. It’s been found that as many as 90% of people in virtual meetings are multitasking. On the next slide we’ll look at some of the key differences between a typical face-to-face meeting and an effective virtual meeting.
- Look at the differences between how time is spent in an effective virtual meeting versus a typical face-to-face meeting. Leaders of the most effective virtual meetings invest time up front not only planning the meeting agenda, they also consider what technology they will use to engage participants and facilitate decision making. They often use polls, chats, screen sharing, live webcam, and other tools to keep people engaged and providing input. This planning pays off in considerably less time spent during the meeting itself. Follow-up is also key to ensure that everyone has the same understandings and is clear about their responsibilities.
- Remote team members are the last group we’ll talk about today. For many people, this may be their first experience working remotely and there are likely to be lots of questions. Here are what we have found to be some of the best practices for remote team members. Set up an organized, comfortable, quiet, dedicated workspace to be most productive. That may be challenging if there are other family members also at home, but it is important. Working at the kitchen table is likely not to be very productive. Request and ensure you have the necessary equipment and resources to efficiently do your work. You can’t be productive if you don’t have the right tools. Work with your team leader to get what you need to be productive. Establish a daily schedule of focused work time and availability to respond to requests. This means a combination of uninterrupted time when you really need to concentrate on a work task along with time set aside to communicate with your team leader, customers, co-workers, etc. Be sure to let others know your schedule so they can expect when you’ll get back to them. This builds trust and maintains your credibility. Proactively communicate; actively participate in team meetings, and informally reach out to build positive relationships and address work issues. It’s easy to zone out during a virtual meeting. You have to focus, pay attention, and offer your input. We owe it to our leaders to make the most of those meetings. Reconsider work processes and procedures to find ways to be more efficient and boost productivity. Share suggestions with others and listen to theirs. Now is the time to pay attention to “how” work gets done. Look for ways to streamline and simplify work processes and how you could leverage technology. One of my colleagues was able to automate a process for completing a monthly report that saved his company hundreds of hours. It’s likely you have similar situations. Be proactive and offer up your suggestions.
- This is our Long-Distance Leadership Model that represents our approach to helping our clients successfully launch and maintain a high performing remote workforce and teams. The major phases are Plan, Prepare, Produce, and Results. Note the last phase which is Review, Adjust, and Redirect. Most of us will be doing a lot of that over the weeks and months to come. No matter how well-planned things are, we’ll have to adjust and redirect. But here’s the ultimate goal!
- In the remaining time we have, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.
- I hope you’ve found these best practices helpful. It’s been a pleasure spending time with you. As appreciation for your participation today, we’d like to offer the following 25% discount on my book, Literally Virtually: Making Virtual Teams Work which is packed with more practical tips for creating your high performing virtual teams. A pdf copy of the PPT slides from today as well as a link to the webinar video. In addition, we offer a Remote Work Microlearning Bundle of over 50 modules