04 Oct 🎙️ A team leader’s guide to building highly productive remote teams
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I’ve worked remotely for over 15 years, starting out as an IT & security consultant for small businesses clients worldwide, & later in a high-volume IT support role at a Managed Service Provider (MSP). I’ve gotten a 360-degree view of remote work from building my own remote operations, consulting with clients on running their remote organizations & teams, to sitting on the front lines of a large organization seeing day-to-day complexities (and waste) of a bustling help desk assisting thousands of first-time remote workers during a global emergency.Â
When I started working remotely Skype was the only video chat solution, 50mbps was considered great high-speed internet, & Microsoft Office was a multi disk installation. The stigma of working from home at the time was that you sat around all day playing video games. To have a “real” job meant going into an office. As more tools came about, along with faster home internet speeds, working from a home started becoming not just doable for the average person, but in many ways much more productive & efficient.
With this unique combination of experience, I’ve learned a few things that all new, existing, or transitioning remote organizations should keep in mind:Â Â
I. You can't put the remote work genie back in the bottle
Before 2020 it has always been mostly freelancers, small businesses & start ups who have led the way as remote companies. Many quietly thriving for years working with a global client base, & managing distributed teams. This was normal to us.Â
The 2020 shift to remote work was thrust upon millions out of necessity—an emergency response to a once in 100-year deadly, global pandemic. IT departments & organizations at large had to adapt rapidly, many in days. Despite some hiccups, worry, & initial skepticism, the experiment actually worked. We figured it out. Whereas before the office was the sole provider of essential services like high-speed internet, dedicated phone lines, & access to company assets, the pandemic made us realize that we didn’t need to be in a cubicle at a specific location to access those tools & services or to be productive.Â
Executives boasted increased productivity (and profits), & when surveyed many embraced the idea of continuing remote or hybrid work into the future. Employees celebrated the newfound flexibility, cost savings & improved morale. Unfortunately for many companies this enlightenment was short-lived, & many started reversing course & corralling workers back into their cubicles. Some even resorting to threats to scare people back into the office. Employees booed, & worker morale tanked again. We went from loving our employers & their embrace of the future, to confusion & anger as to why we couldn’t continue doing what was clearly working.
To be fair to many of the companies, they did say up front that it was temporary. I believe it’s fair to say most think the villains are those who jumped the gun, proclaimed remote work was the future, then changed their minds after workers had already adjusted their lives.Â
However, some companies have broken free & embraced the advantages of remote work—streamlined processes, reduced expenses, access to a broader talent pool & its potential to enhance productivity & reduce overhead. This “new” way of working has sparked the emergence of fast-moving start ups & new competitors in legacy industries. Workers have experienced its success & have proven that it many situations it works.
People have seen the light, & you can’t put that genie back into the bottle.
II. Remote work preparation is key
The 2020 remote work emergency wasn’t seamless for everyone, nor did everyone share in its success. Millions were laid off almost immediately, ushering in many months/years of struggle, evictions, & long lines at food banks. Many lost everything & still haven’t recovered. I don’t want anyone to think I’m romanticizing 2020 as some great technological advance that ushered in the age of remote work. These were not good times. We were doing what we could to survive the uncertainty, but many of our co-workers, friends, family & fellow human beings were left behind.
Also, while remote work is well suited for many, it does not necessarily align with every company, every role, or individual preference. Some genuinely prefer (or need) the office.
For organizations, trying to adapt in-office communication cultures, tools, processes & security to remote settings proved challenging for managers who were new to remote work themselves, let alone managing distributed teams.Â
For employees, unexpected issues such as feeling isolated, missing office socialization, the constant presence of kids & family, & distractions at home made for a miserable experience for many first-time remote workers.Â
The emergency experiment also exposed that we’ve done a terrible job of building a savvy tech populous. Many companies have done an even worse job educating workers on basic troubleshooting of the tools that they use making them dependent on the office & its infrastructure. The days when the office was the only place you had access to a computer, high speed internet, & your Rolodex of contacts next to the company desk phone are over.Â
Organizations who are new to or transitioning to a remote or hybrid work model need to be aware of the lessons learned. Now that we have time to fine tune it & address issues that we rushed through before, that also means we have time to make a plan. Remote work is more than just sending everyone home with a laptop, you need a comprehensive plan that addresses the issues specific to your organization to give you the best chance of success.Â
III. Remote work success means rethinking how we communicate
Before I transitioned into IT work, I was a (Las Vegas) bartender for many years. In that industry I learned the importance of effective communication in every well-oiled operation, whether it was a busy nightclub, casino, or managing a small staff at a local dive.
In hospitality verbal short codes & the immediacy of an acknowledgment keeps teams on the same page, & operations running smoothly. This principle of clear, immediate communication translated well into IT support, consulting, & managing projects where stake holders were distributed across time zones & even continents. I learned that setting clear expectations was crucial. Things such as ensuring that clients & project teams knew my guaranteed availability & promised a prompt acknowledgment of their messages during business hours. This set a standard for effective communication, efficient project management & a mutual respect of each other’s time.
This was in stark contrast with what I encountered with many newly remote business owners who had legacy corporate habits & processes. Many lacked any communications etiquette leading to miscommunication, uncertainty, & longer project times. Unlike in-person exchanges where style & tone can affect the meaning & a nod can suffice as an understanding, the tone in written messages can often be misunderstood. Messages that need a response so that workers can move quickly can often go without any acknowledgement by those legacy attitudes that see responding to emails as a chore. This all leads to a significant waste of time, makes projects take longer, which ultimate costs an organization more money.Â
Additionally, the commitment to legacy office-centric communication platforms & software posed a significant barrier to success. I’ve seen frustrated business owners committed to the wrong tool for YEARS because it was all they knew.Â
The good news is that today the landscape of collaboration & communications tools is vast & varied. Most offering functionalities that far surpass the conventional whiteboard & meeting-centric routines of office life. Modern & updated tools are built with the nuances of remote collaboration in mind, ensuring team members irrespective of their location, devices, or operating systems can work together seamlessly, & effectively. These new tools (& the improvement of older tools)Â promote a level speed & efficiency that legacy processes cannot match, giving workers the power to communicate & be productive in a way that was never possible before.
For organizations who are serious about embracing remote work the solution to communication issues isn’t to run back to the office, but to commit to an organization-wide dedication to clear, consistent, & respectful communication practices.
IV. Everyone won't thrive in a remote environment
The abrupt transition to remote work in 2020 illuminated some surprising technological shortcomings of our workforce. It’s pretty easy to get along in office – a controlled environment where the tools & infrastructure are set up & run for you. All you have to do is show up & log in. It’s quite another thing when the workers are responsible for their own tools & infrastructure & have no idea which dusty box behind the TV is the router.
Small business owners whose livelihoods hinge directly on their ability maximize productivity & overcome technological hurdles show a remarkable willingness to learn, & grasp new technologies. This contrasts sharply with the attitude of less than tech savvy workers who without the immediate pressure of productivity loss, or the out-of-pocket expense of having an on-call support team, often resort to leaning heavily on help desks for issues they could learn to solve much faster, perpetuating an expensive cycle of dependency & inefficiency.
The unnecessary waste I’ve witnessed where team members were incapacitated for hours, or even days because of a simple lack of knowledge about how their tools worked was extremely frustrating, yet completely avoidable.
This dependency not only inflates the company’s expenditure to support & wastes resources that could be better spent solving more complicated issues & with fewer people.
In 2020 there was no time to prepare. Today remote & hybrid work is a choice & we have the benefit of lessons learned along with experienced remote workers to guide us in getting it right.Â
The payoff of this modest addition to your existing training models is substantial—enhanced efficiency, increased productivity, minimized downtime, increased security, & a significant reduction in support costs.
I’m not suggesting that you run your entire company through a tech support class. I’m merely saying that everyone should know what their company issued tools are & have a basic understanding of how they work.  I’m not talking about adding a day to a training class. I’m talking about adding 15 minutes to one.
However, the blunt truth is not all workers will thrive in remote environments. They’ll be unable to adjust to the responsibility, being responsible for their own infrastructure, or simply don’t have the means or desire to create an environment in which to work. With modest training & support we can keep attrition numbers low, but there are still going to be some people left behind.Â
V. Remote savvy leaders build remote savvy teams
The competency of an organization in navigating remote work starts with its leadership. Management’s proficiency—or lack thereof—in utilizing remote tools & processes directly influences their hiring decisions & the operational dynamics of their teams.
Through my experiences in remote role interviews, it’s immediately apparent which recruiters & managers are seasoned remote professionals who work for remote savvy organizations, & which are novices thrust into the deep end without adequate preparation & a less than ideal understanding of how to use their own tools or how to communicate well in a remote environment.
This initial impression is a telling indicator of an organization’s potential to succeed in remote work arrangements.
While experienced remote workers may find opportunities to lead & innovate within these environments, the broader organizational struggle with the transition may lead to a premature retreat back to the office.
Training, therefore, is not an isolated task that should be only aimed at new or entry-level employees; it’s a strategic imperative that begins with knowledgeable & remote savvy leadership.
Conclusion: The continued future of remote work is brighter than ever
As I’ve reiterated throughout this article, remote work isn’t new; it’s an evolving landscape that has been part of the professional ecosystem since the late 1900’s (doesn’t it make you feel old when it’s put that way?).
For decades we have been enthralled with the origin stories of how some of our most beloved, & valuable companies started; 2 guys in a garage, in a dorm room, in a 1-bedroom apartment, from a co-working space, coffee shop & on & on. They didn’t work, collaborate, innovate & build their empires from an office cubicle. They were remote! They pulled it off so well that every kid has dreams of following in their footsteps.
With each passing day advancements in technology continue to enhance not only the ease of remote work, but also its efficiency & productivity. The application of those tools is nuanced. Success in this domain requires knowledgeable advisors who can craft a tailored approach, selecting the right tools, processes, & practices that align with unique organizational needs & goals. Above all a genuine desire to move forward & explore the vast possibilities & opportunities that remote work offers are essential.
Remote work has long been led by entrepreneurs & small businesses, & I suspect that they will continue to show how it’s done.
For larger companies, especially tech companies, their test is to see if they will ever get around to leading by example & actually embody the very essence of the future they’ve been predicting for the better part of the last 20 years.
One thing for sure, remote work was quietly thriving long before COVID forced everyone inside. It’s only going to grow. Going forward companies & workers alike will need to find a way to get in where they fit in & prepare for a future that is already here.
Are you an employer thinking about taking your organization remote?
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