Melissa Kruminas

Disruptive innovations have a way of changing the way that we spend our personal and professional time. In 2020, Covid-19 changed the way that we spend our time, and the virus may have transformed the way that we work indefinitely. Employees who may have never worked from home prior to Covid-19 have found themselves not only working from home but doing so in less than ideal circumstances.

Revenue-generating projects have the potential to be delayed or cancelled if they can not be implemented remotely. As employers seek to develop resources on how to support newly remote employees, they may be wondering what to include in a program or enablement campaign to develop a program to support the needs of these newly remote teams.

Earlier this year, I was charged with developing resources for my colleagues and customers to help them transition to the remote workforce. Today, I’m sharing some of my results and lessons learned in this program development process.

Determining Context, Purpose, and Objectives

It is important to understand the contextual factors at play in the development of this or any program. Contextual factors that should be taken into consideration include the human element, the organization, and the wider environment. Input from the parties heavily influences and determines the purpose and scope leading to additional levels of complexity which occurs when the number of stakeholders increases.

The wider environment considerations include largely the Covid-19 pandemic and its implications on how to carry out a program on how to work remotely as a remote program for those individuals who have never worked remotely before. Self-regulation skills needed for remote work differ than those in a collocated worker.

It is necessary to determine what are the major issues and opportunities facing individuals working remotely for the first time, particularly during Covid-19 and to develop content to help address these needs.  The objective for such a program should be to empower customer employees working remotely and build a system of support to enable future positive working relationships that will continue moving projects forward.    

Determine Logistics and Techniques

The logistics for the program will be determined largely by the constraints provided by Covid-19 and as directed by the stakeholders. Five criteria for determining the type of technique to use include target group characteristics, reasonable level of involvement, time and cost restraints, data requirements, and feasibility of technique for the planners.

A review of literature and research on the topic should also be completed. In addition to data collected for this project specifically, additional information and guidance could be gathered from team members or organizations whose employees have previously transitioned to a WFH model.  For an international company, this may include leaning on counterparts in APAC to share their successes and failures.

 Analyzing the Data

The results of interviews and research revealed multiple areas of need with regard to enabling customers and employees to work remotely. The following sub-sections organize the patterns that consistently appeared in both literature and interview results. 

Individuals 

First, individual contributors who have never worked from home before are not only working form home, but they were doing so surrounded by spouses, children, and pets. Major repeating themes included time management, home office logistics, self-care, and collaboration with others.  

Managers

Most managers would like guidance in relationship-building with direct reports in a remote environment as well as how to motivate remote team members whose life priorities have suddenly shifted. There may also be interest in teaching soft skills in addition to hard skills in dealing with the people side of change management. Managers wanted to know what to expect and to have guidance from leadership in how to support remote teams.

Projects

Project management emerged as a theme in both literature and survey results. Concerns seemed divided as to whether it was more important to train customers on how to manage projects remotely or how to use project managers effectively.

Communication

Communication emerged from each group involved in literature review and interviews. This broad theme came as a concern from individuals, managers, project management, conference planning, system deployment and system updates. 

Change

Perhaps the most pervasive element of note is the focus on not only how to work remotely, but how to help transition to remote work. It should be noted that this transition must be intentional. Preparing someone to work remotely in a new environment, such as a new job, is entirely different than transitioning an entire organization to a remote work model when little to no work was done that way previously. The training should take into consideration the logistics, but it must also consider how to help move from one model to another while keeping in mind the effect on employees. 

Development and Delivery

Ideally, such a program would occur in person with a series of professional development opportunities and corresponding opportunities for real-world implementation and reflection. In reality, you are likely charged with developing something quickly that could be accessed in multiple formats. Offering content in digestible nuggets of wisdom will make it more accessible to your learners, particularly when they are remote with all the distractions that come with that during Covid-19. Consider an instructor-led version of the program for live delivery and secondly, a videocast or podcast version for learners to listen to at their leisure. Regardless of the format, your program will make a very real impact on the success of your learners and your organization.

References

Arruda, W. (2020, May 12). 6 Ways COVID-19 Will Change The Workplace Forever. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2020/05/07/6-ways-covid-19-will-change-the-workplace-forever/

Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Graham, C. (2016). Strategic management and leadership for systems development in virtual spaces. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.