Is Remote the Answer?
All based on real conversations with recruiters and hiring managers over the last 2 years.
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"We use Slack and Zoom all day, even though we're in the same building."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We want people in the same place so they can collaborate."
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"We make a product that allows teams to collaborate remotely."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We want people in the same place so they can collaborate."
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"Our users are all over the globe. We have customers on 5 continents!"
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We all need to be in one building, far away from most of our customers."
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"In this position, you will be travelling a lot to interview customers where they work."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We need you based in the Bay Area."
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"This position is in Boston, but your entire team is in New York."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! You need to be in Boston."
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"We've been trying to fill this position for over a year now. It's hard to get people to move Seattle because it's so expensive."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We need you in our office."
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"We have an open office set up. It can get loud, but most people wear headphones."
Do you allow remote employees?
"Definitely not! We need you here to collaborate!"
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“With COVID-19, we are revising our work-from-home policy.”
So, you could have been building remote-work capability at your own pace, but now you’re in panic-mode?
“Definitely … yes.”
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Remote isn't the answer to solve everything for all companies.
But it is an answer ... for many more companies than currently allow for it. Especially if that req has been open so long you've reposted it 12 times to job sites. And especially if there’s a threat to the stability of our economy and public health.
It's definitely not, "Definitely not!"
If you are trying to figure out how to make remote work work, here's a couple of things to read:
Those are a good start as they also link to other good resources.
Finally, some good, classic remote working advice:
Everyone remote is the best way to do it, but it can be done with a co-location/non-co-located setup.
Get comfortable with asynchronous communication. A lot of companies (if they rely on things like Slack, Whatsapp, texting, MS Teams) are already on-track to being decent with remote work because they already communicate asynchronously.
Yeah, but...
Likely many who read this will say, "yeah, but..." and I'll say it now, you may be right. Your reason for not doing it could be good. But I'd challenge you to really look at your motivation for making all your employees be co-located.
It's likely you're missing out on a lot of opportunities.
Speaking of which...
If you want help with this, particularly around building design teams and process, reach out! I'd be happy to work remotely with you.
