A Remote Work Policy Is Crucial—Here's What You Need to Know

Maybe you’re interested in a remote work program to attract and retain employees who value a flexible working environment. Perhaps unforeseen circumstances have forced your employees into working from home.

Whatever your reason for adopting remote work, it’s time to develop a formal remote work policy—something far too many businesses overlook.

GetApp’s recent survey of American workers found that while 78% of companies allow some form of remote work, only 20% of survey respondents work at a company with a formal remote work policy.* These numbers suggest that most companies practicing remote work are doing so without the proper direction and support offered by a remote work policy.

Remote work represents a fundamental change in the ways teams function. This requires a shift in philosophy, and the genuine belief that remote work can benefit an organization.

Once you’ve decided a remote work program is right for your company, consider the following before crafting your policy:

1. Technology

To be productive, remote employees must be equipped with appropriate hardware and software. You must design a solution that configures laptops or personal computers with a secure VPN and cloud-based software that allows every employee equal access to company tools and data.

Collaboration tools are also essential. Remote employees must be able to communicate effectively with others. Email and basic chat apps are useful, but investing in a comprehensive communication tool can ease collaboration and level the playing field for remote workers. These tools often integrate with other business systems and allow users to set status updates, manage projects, and create specific/dedicated channels.

Collaboration software Slack

2. Suitability

Consider which roles are suitable for remote work and can be performed effectively from outside the office. If goals can be achieved and workflows maintained or adapted, the role is probably a good candidate. Once a role has been deemed suitable, your business must determine how much remote work is appropriate. Some jobs function perfectly well working from home full time, while others might require going to the office a few days a week.

3. Motivation

Just because a job can be performed remotely doesn’t mean all employees want to work remotely, or have the discipline to do so. These employees might consider working from a co-working space, coffee shop, or library. When creating a remote work program, consider options for employees who either don’t want to participate or find that it doesn't work for them.

4. Trust

Trust is the most important factor in whether your remote work program will be a success. Management must clearly convey that employees are trusted to do their work whether in or out of the office. Likewise, remote employees must remain accountable to their tasks or face the consequences just as if they were office-based.

Once you’ve decided remote work is a good fit for your business, it’s time to develop the policy. When drafting your remote work policy, be sure to establish guidelines and expectations for eligibility, productivity, availability, and security.

Eligibility

Some roles are more conducive to remote work than others, and there will be some positions that do not qualify (such as those requiring onsite physical activity). Eligibility for remote work should be based on role, rather than employee.

Productivity

Many businesses are hesitant to allow remote work due to fears that employees will be less productive when out of view or will treat working from home as a holiday.

GetApp’s survey found that, of those respondents who don’t work remotely, 29% don’t do so because management doesn’t see the value. But studies have shown that working from home actually boosts overall productivity.

Remember that remote work is enabled by trust and measured by outcome. Resist any urge to excessively monitor or track remote employees. Instead, establish outcome-based metrics, set goals, and check progress through regularly scheduled video conferences and your project management software.

Availability

A key challenge when managing remote workers is knowing where everyone is at any given time. Some remote work policies are structured so that business hours are the same whether in the office or out. This is a hedge that betrays a lack of commitment to the remote work philosophy.

Employees must be empowered to make their own decisions about when and where they work. This doesn’t mean that employees are free to disappear until the next meeting, but rather that remote employees must have the means to alert others to their availability or lack thereof.

This could be a shared calendar application or simply setting an out-of-office email indicator. They must also show accountability by maintaining commitments to meetings and responding to messages within a reasonable time frame.

Security

Remote work adds an additional layer of security concern. All data transactions now transmit over Wi-Fi, and conversations that would usually take place in a secure office environment take place online or in public places. This makes data security even more important.

Employees working outside of the office are more likely to use a variety of personal devices for work, which increases the chance of data breaches resulting from lost or compromised devices. Adopting cloud-based business applications makes remote work more secure because company data is stored in the cloud rather than on a device.

Remote work policies must:

• Set requirements for automatic device locking

• Insist on two-factor authentication (2FA) when available

• Require the use of a VPN when connecting to Wi-Fi

When working in public, business data must also be protected from low-tech methods (such as eavesdropping, or watching users log in to an application in public) used by fraudsters or those engaged in corporate espionage. In our high-tech world, these low-tech methods are often overlooked, but they are highly effective and remain in use.

Stay in regular contact

Establish a weekly video chat between managers and their direct reports to ensure regular contact and a dependable time when information can be shared face-to-face. Some news will always be best delivered “in person” rather than via email or messaging, and employees may be more likely to ask questions or voice concerns during a video call than via other means.

In addition to one-on-ones, hold weekly or biweekly video conferences including all team members. Encourage remote workers to engage in their own informal video calls with one another to catch up on projects or simply stay in touch.

Ensure work-life balance doesn’t become work-life blur

Maintaining a sense of separation between life and work is a critical factor in preventing overwork or burnout. This means that remote workers need to take their scheduling game up a notch.

It’s easy to get in the zone while working on a project at home and suddenly realize it’s late in the evening, or—on the flip side—be distracted by laundry that needs folding and dishes that need washing. 

Encourage employees to schedule their time and keep up with hours worked. Seek ongoing feedback from remote workers, and consider using an anonymous survey to identify pain points.