5 Ways to Be a Successful Remote Organization

March 10, 2020, Written by 0 comment

The business world has been debating, discussing, implementing, and even just trolling the idea of adopting a remote workforce long before the coronavirus v2019 forced the conversation into the spotlight.

While Njevity, Inc. has an HQ with regular officemates, many team members only work remotely all over the country. The company also has an open policy when it comes to work-from-home requests. After all, PowerGP Online is designed to help our customers have the freedom to accomplish their work where they desire, so why shouldn’t we encourage our own team to live out what we promise to our customers?

Having lived the remote work life for so long, here are 5 ways to be a successful remote working organization:

1. Communication

Build a way to converse into your remote workforce’s fabric and then allow your culture to define the cadence and structure. For instance, you may already have established meetings that happen daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Keep your regular schedules by placing them in a virtual format. Video meetings can be very successful with small and large groups (though larger ones may require more structure or mediators).

Virtual chats help get quick questions and conversations done. And we are all well versed in the power of the email. Encourage dialogue and reiterate open-door policies.

Consider this – Many organizations have a hard time with healthy communication even when they have a structured office environment. So, keep your company’s culture in mind when establishing a virtual means of communication. The pressure is on the leadership teams to create additional touchpoints with their team members, so everyone still feels included and appreciated.

2. Procedures

Procedures can be obvious – like setting a meeting cadence and reporting structures. But don’t forget about having systems in place should members of your remote workforce need to drop offline for a week. Is there cross-training happening on your teams? Are team members’ and department’s documented processes available within the company?

Build these processes through agreements, so everyone knows their roles and expectations.

3. Trust

Trust seems to happen faster when it is necessary. Otherwise, more offices may have already adopted a remote workforce by now. Suppose isolation and working from home suddenly become mandated. In that case, you must instantly trust your team to be doing what they should be doing … So why not just go ahead and do that now?

Because guess what? You should be building a culture within your company that hires employees who love their job and want to do it. Then, it will not matter if they have someone standing over their shoulder. And guess what else? Even if you aren’t mindfully hiring this way, your employees are certainly applying with this in mind.

Also, inspect what you expect.

Suppose there is a real issue with trust. In that case, I encourage team leaders to evaluate the actual root causes of that mistrust and take appropriate action from there – whether that’s a conversation with the team member or evaluation of internal processes.

4. Organize

Makes sure files can be accessed remotely. Utilize tools universally across your entire organization to keep things simple. Numbers 1 through 3 do not happen if there isn’t a structure to place them on. And they absolutely WILL NOT happen if you cannot access data without having to be in the building (see below).

5. Be Flexible

You won’t account for everything, but that’s why you have tip number 1! If a part of your system seems to have a kink in it, re-evaluate. Imagine those few bumps in the road as an investment in the organization’s future health (and not just the health of your employees). Mental health and flexibility in the workforce have added a whole new layer to the remote work conversation. Soon, it won’t just be a perk you can use to attract the most unique and best talent – it’ll only become a basic requirement.

Allowing a remote workforce can happen overnight. The ever-evolving workforce has been forcing a slow evolution of remote working for some time now. Americans are notorious workaholics. Just think of the last time a parent called in with a sick kid and how many emails still were answered, issues discussed, and problems solved while they were at home.

Every organization might look a little different, but if you keep these 5 tips in mind, you’ll be ahead of the curve.

And suppose you want to ensure your business remains healthy through the people transition part. In that case, PowerGP Online allows the core of your business to keep moving – remotely! Use our cloud ERP to ensure your future.

  • Premium MFA Security
  • Approve and monitor processes like purchase orders on your phone
  • Get payroll done
  • Generate reports
  • Integrate with your other systems
  • Control, predict and monitor your cash flow
  • And so much more

Have this part down and ready to prepare your team? Read and share 5 Ways to Be a Successful Remote Team Lead.

Want to prep your team in an age of added fear and stress? Read and share 5 Ways to Be a Successful (Stressed) Remote Worker.

PowerGP Online Staff

The SMART Path to the Cloud. The curators of PowerGP Online created an easy button accounting software that just works. Whether you are new to the Dynamics GP experience or already have Dynamics GP licenses, the PowerGP Online Editions are scalable and ready to take you farther while giving you the most exclusive, modern user experience.