Rise of the Remote Nation – Are You Ready?
Given that it’s July and many around the world celebrate revolutions and freedom, we invite you to join us on our freedom journey – freedom from your typical work environment.
Our CEO, Amy Pritchard, recognized the importance of setting up a virtual and flexible work force from the early days. We have the unique blend of having offices and operation centers in key areas of the world, but our workforce is primarily remote, working in the comfort of their home offices.
We are part of a movement of people who began revolutionizing this type of work – and the trend is on its way up. In Mary Meeker’s 2015 Kleiner Perkins Internet Trends Report, flexible working hours was the second benefit listed as a sought-after employer benefit. This benefit beat out cash bonuses as well. Looking deeper into this trend, Millennials expect to be mobile and work from various places, including their homes. With something as simple as a mobile device and secure tethering, work can happen anywhere.
Jason Fried has run his successful company, Basecamp, in this fashion for years.* Before joining Metaverse, I read Jason’s book, Remote: Office Not Required. This guidebook should be on the shelves of every HR person, across all types of industries. Remote includes a series of easy ideas and tips for implementing a remote workforce, along with a bird’s-eye view of how Basecamp functions across time zones and virtual desks. Hint: Video chat and other tools put the experience of “IRL” within two clicks of a mouse.
I guarantee that many of you are hesitant to incorporate remote workers into your infrastructure. I, too, didn’t know if I would be as productive as I’ve been in a remote set up. I spent years in the corporate setting. I also ran my own startups and tested the water with remote working. Now more than ever, I am convinced that the future of work must change.
Here are my top takeaways:
- Less office overhead = putting more money into training, talent and efficient pricing for clients.
- A global workforce accommodates multiple time zones, which many of our clients fall into.
- Less chatter around the water cooler. I’ve found that working remote enables me to focus on the task at hand. On the flip side, we have opportunities for colleagues to chat about news, ideas, etc. via group chat. This chat is active all day and night.
- The amount of stress that dissipates when working remote was tremendous for me. Knowing I could be working immediately and not worrying about a long commute, traffic delays, etc. completely changed the way I approach the job.
- When it’s 10 am and I have a key project finished, I can go for a walk. I can stretch my legs, get some fresh air and ponder a work challenge in a very organic way. I am not stuck in a large corporate office building, having to walk down long corridors just to get out into natural light – it’s outside my front door.
*Metaverse Mod Squad is a Basecamp subscriber
Blagica Bottigliero
VP of Digital Media