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Navigating the switch to remote-first


Johannesburg, 11 May 2020
Dave Hewett, engagement lead and partner at Equal Experts.
Dave Hewett, engagement lead and partner at Equal Experts.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have forced many organisations to move their staff off-site, which positions them to start evolving into modern, remote-first organisations, says Equal Experts, a remote-first international consultancy now operating in South Africa.

Dave Hewett, Engagement Lead and Partner and Equal Experts' resident expert on remote working, says remote-first organisations differ from those thrust into remote working in that they approach remote work strategically and deliberately, as opposed to in an ad-hoc way.

He expects to see more organisations becoming remote-first companies as remote working during lockdown overcomes concerns about productivity. “The lockdown will open a lot of people up to the idea that this is an acceptable way of working. Many are discovering that remote working is having limited or no impact on productivity; and we can expect many organisations to review their need for offices post lockdown,” Hewett says. “Teams will have to get together from time to time, and they will still need social contact occasionally, but organisations need co-located minds more than they need people to be co-located.”

To effectively evolve into remote-first businesses, organisations need to review the technology tools they use, as well as company culture and traditional workflows, he says.

“Tools that worked when everyone was co-located may not work in the virtual world. Organisations need to assess the collaborative and video conferencing tools they use, and find those that work best in their context. They also need to determine what tools staff need to collaborate effectively – down to tools like virtual whiteboards, task tracking and instant messaging.”

In a remote-first environment, organisations need to be deliberate about communication and etiquette, says Hewett. “It helps to create a remote working team charter – sit with the team, discuss working practices, preferred channels and what annoys them about remote work engagements, and adapt accordingly. Establish remote work etiquette around video conferencing preferences and work start and end times, and remove ambiguity when communicating – be deliberate about how you communicate. One challenge in remote working is information flows around the team – for example, two colleagues chatting offline need to be disciplined about sharing the necessary information with the rest of the team.”

Possibly the biggest challenge in remote-first organisations is building and maintaining social connections, and understanding the emotional state of co-workers, partners and clients, he says. “You need to make an extra effort to have those 'coffee moments’ you might have in an office, creating social connections and allowing conversation to flow,” he says.

To help South African businesses transition to effective remote-first organisations, Equal Experts has released a free Remote-First Playbook and a series of Webinars on remote work best practice. Brian Blignaut, Equal Experts’ South African business unit lead, notes the company has built its successful remote-first model based on years of successful remote collaboration with its teams around the world, as well as consulting for global customers. “Equal Experts has extensive experience in managing remote workforces and helping our customers pivot and adapt to changing markets. Our playbook and Webinars are now available in South Africa, to help local enterprises adapt to the new normal,” he says.

To access the Equal Experts Remote-First Playbook, CLICK HERE.