By Danny Harris, Ph.D., PMP                                                               Co- Author, Dimitri Dizna 

Former CIO, U.S. Department of Education                                                     CEO, BINARC                                                         

Senior Strategic Advisor, BINARC                                                                       Senior Solutions Architect

Long before the Pandemic struck in 2019, the world’s talented workforce was opting for jobs that provided more flexibility. The concept of “flexibility” is defined in many ways. Some employees want more choices in when they actually worked, while others are more interested in controlling where they did their work. Still, others wanted more variability in who they worked with or how that work was performed.

Historically, employers had few options in terms of giving employees flexibility. The technology, laws, regulations, and culture simply would not permit it.

Finally, the data is in.

Research clearly demonstrates that in most occupations, employees are happier, healthier, and more productive when they have options on when, where, and how they perform their duties.

The concept of working 40 or more hours a week no longer equates to a measurable level of productivity.

Obviously, the manufacturing industry may be an exception, given it's easier to measure how many widgets can be made in a certain amount of time. Most other professions, however, have recorded an uptick in productivity when various flexibilities are infused into the work environment and culture.

While this is not a call for executives and business owners to run out and open the floodgates of flexibility, allowing employees to be in charge of how and when they work. Doing so could have disastrous consequences, far worse than sticking to the more traditional “nose to the grindstone” approach. Before taking the plunge, business leaders are urged to consider two major areas: the culture surrounding the work environment and the technology to support those changes.

An Examination of Culture

The concept of culture can be described as the rules, policies, laws, standard operating procedures, and norms currently in play in a specific working environment.

Often, when flexibility is provided to staff, HR must revisit all the rules, laws, policies, and operating procedures that govern work hours, locations, and work activities.

Not doing so could result in confusion at best and lawsuits at worst.

At minimum, leadership should assess the following:

• How will productivity and accountability be measured?
• Will employees have all the equipment and tools they need in a remote setting?
• How will the organization foster teamwork when employees are remote?
• How do you make the remote workforce invisible to the company’s customers?
• What legal steps need to be taken to ensure both employers and employees are protected?
• What internal policies need to be drafted or updated to accommodate a new work environment?  

While this is only an example of a brief list of issues to consider, few are costly or time-consuming to execute. In fact, apart from the equipment/tools issue, most others are paper and documentation tasks. Organizations, however, are urged to be thorough in executing these assessments before implementing an enterprise-wide remote work environment. Reversing such a decision can in fact be more problematic than the move itself.

An Examination of Technology

From a technology perspective, there has been no better time in history to allow skilled workers to determine when, where and how they work. The following points represent just a short list of tools and technologies that allow for these desired flexibilities but also give employers data with which to measure productivity and accountability.

• BINARC’s customers use Exchange Online Email to connect to their mailboxes securely from any location using a plethora of devices.
• We have implemented Microsoft 365 Business Voice for many of our clients. This brings regular phone calls into Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Intune and Endpoint Manager allows administrators to deliver configuration settings and security updates to remote users’ machines regardless of location
• Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint allow users to productively collaborate on organizational tasks.
• Microsoft Power Platform helps users automate many of the repetitive tasks for increased productivity.

Make your business or organization resilient against whatever comes next!

Conclusions

Business leaders have clearly been warned that if the discussed flexibilities are not considered, they will likely lose incredibly talented workers to employers who are willing to extend those benefits.

Taking the leap, however, should not be done in a hasty manner. Instead, carefully reviewing the culture and investigating the total cost of ownership in the necessary technology first is critical. The good news, however, is that data shows the move to greater flexibility more-than-pays for the effort and cost of making these changes.

As a Certified Microsoft Partner, BINARC has assisted many of its clients perform these assessments and implement best-of-breed technologies that support a remote workforce.

BINARC utilizes an Agile and full-lifecycle methodology that includes Proofs of Concept (POC), Install, Testing, Training, Measurement, and Maintenance. This approach ensures that the new remote workforce is fully trained and comfortable with their new tools. Additionally, BINARC can provide a helpdesk that provides one-on-one user support.

Ask us how!