The Covid-19 crisis has made telecommuting a permanent fixture. What if companies were to move up a gear and start organizing themselves in full remote (or distributed teams)? This type of organization, where 100% of the employees work remotely, is still not very present in Europe, but in the United States it is becoming more and more popular. To the point that it could become one of the dominant models of tomorrow. Continuation and end of our article dedicated to the fully distributed company’s model.
Productivity, a must
Yes, the remote employee is more productive than his office colleague. According to a Gallup study ("State of Global Workplace") published in 2017, they are more productive by 20 to 25%. To keep this advantage, or even increase it, there are several ways to boost the productivity of a full remote employee.
Communicate constantly
Here again, communication plays an essential role. It is one of the key factors that contribute to the productivity and overall success of a remote team. This is why it is imperative to hold regular team meetings that foster an environment of open communication.
Use the best collaboration tools
Many companies still rely on old technologies, such as email, as the primary means of sharing information and communicating. Workers in small and medium-size companies spend half their time on email and 14% of their day is spent duplicating information via email (i.e., forwarding emails or confirming receipt of a file).
To increase employee productivity and avoid the pitfalls of email, equip your teams with collaboration tools. Chat applications like Slack or Google Chat make text-based conversations much more agile and understandable. Another example, the use of video conferencing gives organizations the ability to communicate face-to-face, even when you are hundreds of kilometers (or more) away.
Set clear goals and deadlines
Objectives must be clear and well defined because team members can spend a lot of time working alone. On the other hand, project management softwares like Basecamp help make the process more fluid. These tools provide a visual project board that allows you to quickly see what everyone is working on, the due dates for each task and the next priorities to address.
Schedule debriefing meetings
Scheduled at regular dates, these debriefings will allow you to talk about possible mistakes made by the employees, help detect oversights, and encourage reflection on the processes in place and promote a sense of pride in a work well done. There is no hope of boosting an employee's efficiency and productivity if they are not shown opportunities for improvement. The dialogue must be open both ways.
Jobgether, a fully distributed company from the start
An internet recruitment platform, Jobgether is a natively fully distributed company. Its employees are on three continents. Juan Bourgois, CEO of the structure, explains.
How was Jobgether born?
We created Jobgether with three partners of completely different nationalities, skills, generations and professional backgrounds (entrepreneurs and senior managers). The start-up's international team is now composed of about 15 people, most of them freelancers.
What are your operating rules?
The leadership style is both democratic and laissez-faire. There is one leader per subject, but listening is privileged. In general, the majority prevails in case of disagreement. Each meeting has a note of humor and fun.
At Jobgether, the basic principle is: "full accountability" each one of us is responsible for their own subject (no endless discussions...). Of course, trust and transparency are essential. All documents are available to everyone. There is nothing to hide. As a result, we all know each other very well, even though most of us have never physically seen each other. Friendships have even been born, despite the distance!
How do you work on a daily basis?
We work in two different time zones with 50% of the team in Latin America and the other half in Europe and the Middle East. We are all based in Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Lima, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Bogota, Caracas and Buenos Aires. At Jobgether, we share the same passion for this project and the belief that the recruitment market needs to be fundamentally transformed. Jobgether's project and vision give meaning to our work. It is also useful to the society in which we live. We are convinced that distributed company is indeed the model of tomorrow.