As I write this blog from 39,000 feet enroute to Montreal, Canada, I’m taking a sidestep from analyzing the data gathered through our remote workers interviews and survey. Join me in taking a look at the topic from a different perspective…perhaps more of a 39,000 foot view.
Choosing the when and where of getting our work done, smart working, is something I highly value. I was privileged to be a stay at home mom when our kids were small, something that lined up with our family values. When I was approached to take on a part time job I accepted only on the condition that I be afforded the freedom to be home for our kids before and after school, attend any and all school field trips, and volunteer in the classroom. It’s important to note that I wasn’t asking for less responsibilities or duties, but rather asking the organization to trust that I would get the work done, on time and with excellence, AND support a volunteer workforce of 200 people. They agreed. I didn’t realize at the time that what I was proposing was a flexible work schedule that allowed me to choose when and where I did my work, in concert with the needs of the organization. I have continued to work for organizations in various sectors that have offered the same flexibility.
As I continue to research and entrench myself in the world of remote work, I truly agree that the future of work will indeed embrace a more globally focus, and that distributed teams and remote workers are, and will continue to be, a growing reality (a positive one).
However, the questions I am still pondering are:
• Is a distributed workforce a one size fits all for organizations big and small?
• Can an organization considering such a transition expect that all of their existing employees would succeed as remote workers?
• Should finances be the compelling argument for an organization to go fully distributed? (true, you save on the overhead, but success outcomes will ask you to strategically direct that money towards excellent technology and support for your new virtual work force).
Back to my reason for being 39,000 feet in the air heading to Montreal. For the next 2 days I will be attending a Service Design Thinking Conference. I love design thinking! Why? Because it takes a human based perspective on making decisions around the who, what, where, when and how of remote work…after all Human Resources are the most valuable resources any organization has.
So, what if we reframed the above questions from a design thinking perspective…
• How might we determine the best configuration for an organization that will honour their mission, vision, and values?
• How might we train and support all employees, remote and co-located, to such a degree that where they actually ‘do’ their work sets them up for success while increasing organizational productivity?
• How might we create a strategically viable budget that reduces the organizational footprint, provides for employee flexibility, and results in growth in the triple bottom line?
Change is a certainty in life. However, what changes and how those changes impact the people involved (on all levels) must be forefront in our change management processes.
“The value of design thinking is neither in its artistic appeal nor its unorthodoxy, but in thinking differently about how to solve business and organizational challenges.”
Design thinking takes time to clearly identify what the real issue to be addressed is and collaborates with all the stakeholders to come up with a solution that genuinely addresses that issue.
As a person passionate about helping others realize the very best of who they can be, I’m committed to being a thinking partner who comes alongside and facilitates a decision making frame work, a way of thinking, that guides organizations and their teams to what is the best, strategic direction for them to take…whether distributed, semi-distributed, co-located…or whatever creative configuration they come up with.
Probe and Ponder…learning from life & travels with Roberta Sawatzky 