One recent story that has a lot of people talking is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s ruling to no longer allow staff to work from home starting in June. A company memo was leaked outlining the decision, which was attributed to encouraging regular interaction with other Yahoo team members.
Reuters recently reported that the Yahoo memo has sparked debate over the pros and cons of working from home, and the news source shared some of the notable responses to the decision, including that of Richard Branson, the head of Virgin Group. Branson indicated that this sort of policy undermined the trust that staff is able to get work done without proper supervision.
“This seems a backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever,” Branson wrote in a blog post on Virgin’s website.
Goldsmith cited data from a recent CareerBuilder survey, which indicated that enabling remote workers is one of the most highly demanded components when it comes to job satisfaction and employee retention. In addition, Jaleh Bisharat, vice president of marketing at oDesk, recently wrote an article for The Huffington Post explaining how flexible working can revolutionize a company.
Bisharat outlined some of her favorite tips for managing non-traditional teams, including to think expansively about talent to get more of workers, develop clear objectives and milestones and check in frequently. It is necessary to have the right equipment and collaboration technologies in order to effectively manage teams remotely. It can also be good to develop a work culture that allows all team members to feel valued, regardless of whether or not they are a virtual team member.
With the right communication tools and technology, remote workers can easily collaborate and innovate at the same level possible from traditional office interactions. For example, AccessDirect’s virtual PBX for business provides the optimal technology that is needed to properly enable a remote staff.
