Part Two of a Series
In my previous post, I introduced the topic of managing in a Work From Anywhere model - specifically how WFA affects the leader/employee relationships and how to deal with challenges such as: problem-solving; knowledge sharing; socialization; camaraderie; and performance evaluation and compensation.
Knowledge sharing.
Real-time, hallway meetings don’t exist in a WFA environment. And I read about a company called GitLab in Forbes magazine.
Because employees can’t simply tap senior colleagues on their shoulders to ask questions or get help, GitLab created a ‘working handbook’ “which some describe as ‘the central repository for how we run the company.”
They add links to the relevant sections of the handbook to provide background for younger employees, record additional sessions on YouTube if it’s a critical process or company procedure that everyone should know. And any new findings are updated in the handbook.
Senior managers must set an example on these fronts, and explain why all of this added sharing is necessary and part of the trade-offs to allow for geographic flexibility.
Socialization, camaraderie, and mentoring.
Let’s talk about isolation and feeling professionally disconnected from colleagues and the company itself.
One solution I’ve encountered is at a tech organization I coached. They relied on chat rooms and other platforms to help facilitate virtual watercooler sessions and planned, randomized interactions - whereby someone in the company schedules groups of employees to chat online.
Another company instituted a Q+A process whereby workers posed questions to senior management through an anonymous survey and leaders either recorded or wrote out their answers - posting them on an interoffice chat platform.
For those managers who were not as comfortable in front of a camera, the company implemented coaching sessions to make those executives more comfortable on video platforms.
With the money that is saved by downsizing physical real estate and office spaces, companies should also implement ‘temporary colocation events’. Colleagues spend a few days with their peers and immediate managers, mixing meetings with social events to get to know each other better.
Steal this idea: Sharing a ‘virtual meal’. Tap your HR department to order the same pizza for delivery to the homes of all remote team members to share during a weekly company call.
A small effort that creates a surprisingly strong sense of belonging and camaraderie.
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