The Shift to Full Remote Work: A Bold Move for SMEs (Case Study: Get Consulting)

Written by: Celestyn Karuppiah, ASME Secretariat

Original Article was published on ASME newsroom

Dolly Parton’s catchy song? suggested the norm of work was ‘9 to 5’. This was the ideal Work-Life Balance Benchmark for many years since the days of Ford. But as the world shrinks with the rise of technology—from slow-mail to emails to smartphone notifications— the boundaries between work and rest has begun to blur. The ‘9 to 5’ concept has mostly changed to ‘9 to 6’, the mandate of 40 hours doesn’t quite hold for certain professions and positions. In China there is mention of 996 (9am to 9pm, 6 days a weeks),? in Japan there is a term for overworking yourself to death - “karoshi”.?

?“I personally think that 996 is a huge blessing… How do you achieve the success you want without paying extra effort and time?” - Jack Ma, Alibaba

In a world where balance is quite the elusive concept, the Tripartite Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) took effect on 1 December 2024. Does it solve all businesses’ and employees’ woes, no. But it provides a possibility of improved performance and happier employees.?

It is recognised that FWAs are not one-size-fits-all. It comes in many forms such as adjusting work hours, work from home (WFH) arrangements, setting flexible start times or compressing workweeks (4-day work week). Which works best, depends on the unique context of the company.?

One company, GET Strategy Consulting , a strategy management consulting firm serving SMEs, decided that the complete work-from-home (WFH) arrangement was the perfect fit post-COVID. While unconventional for many, this decision proved instrumental in addressing key challenges such as talent attraction, retention and productivity.

The Impetus: A Struggle for Talent

In its formative years, GET Consulting grappled with a challenge familiar to SME professional service firms—attracting and retaining top-tier talent. Competing against MNCs with deeper pockets and more extensive resources, the odds were stacked against them.

Adding to the challenge is the generational shifts and evolving workplace expectations. Employees now value flexibility as much as compensation. The COVID era brought this issue to the forefront, proving the feasibility of remote work and embedding it as a key expectation for the workforce.?

Despite the strategy consulting industry’s ability to attract Ivy League graduates, rigid office-bound structures deterred many promising candidates from committing long-term.

Building Trust in a Remote Model

For employees accustomed to WFH during the pandemic, the absence of such options signals a trust deficit which naturally inhibits staff retention while also impacting morale. From an employer’s perspective, a central barrier to WFH adoption is the perceived difficulty in monitoring performance—a classic chicken-and-egg problem. Trust must be earned, but how can either side demonstrate trustworthiness without opportunities to do so?

GET Consulting tackled this dilemma head-on. They implemented a Talent Strategy designed to foster trust by treating employees as business partners from the outset:

• Flexible HR policies tied to variable rewards, rather than rigid structures.
• A culture where employees are viewed as stakeholders, taking ownership of both their work and the company’s success.

“The new generation of talent wants to know what it takes to be an owner even as employees. For us, trust begets trust,” - John Lin, GET Consulting Managing Partner

This trust-first approach has led to higher engagement, improved retention, and enhanced productivity.

Curating a Dream Team

GET Consulting recognised that building a lean, high-performing team necessitated a selective hiring process. With limited resources for extensive on-the-job training, they modelled their recruitment approach after McKinsey & Co.’s rigorous process. This ensured that only self-driven, highly skilled individuals joined their ranks.

New hires are expected to hit the ground running, requiring minimal training and contributing immediately as full-fledged stakeholders.?

?“If they don’t see themselves as stakeholders, they won’t work here. That’s how we maintain our culture,” - Ming Sheng, GET Consulting Partner

Such high expectations are only sustainable when employees feel recognised and fairly compensated. Prior to the remote model, many interns hesitated to transition to full-time roles. However, the adoption of employee-centric policies aligned with the expectations of top talent, resulting in smoother transitions and longer tenures.

Dream Teams Aren’t Perfect, But Close to It

No implementation is without its challenges. Granting trust does not equate to overlooking accountability. During the transition to remote work, GET Consulting encountered a moonlighting incident with an intern—a rare occurrence but a reminder that reality often diverges from policy. Despite this, GET Consulting remained true to their core values, handling the situation with empathy and perspective. Leadership chose to prioritise mentoring and values over punishment. “Flexibility doesn’t mean overlooking accountability, but it does mean handling issues with empathy and perspective”

Such an approach enabled not only for the intern to exit gracefully but also ensured that the intern’s performance remained strong throughout the incident.?

The Gains: Beyond Work-Life Balance

The rhetoric of work-life balance is far from new, and many argue that it remains elusive in today’s fast-paced world. Yet, for GET Consulting, the shift to FWAs has delivered tangible, quantifiable benefits. As founder, John Lin shared, “Without a WFH arrangement, we wouldn’t have grown organically in-house to the size we are today.” Through flexible arrangements, the company has observed increased productivity driven by improved rest and focus, enhanced morale as employees willingly go above and beyond, and an expanded business scope. Remote work has enabled employees to actively participate in business development, grooming younger staff for client-facing roles and leadership opportunities which constitutes the “end game” in professional service firms.

A Model for Tailored Flexibility

FWA is not a one-size-fits-all solution. For GET Consulting, complete WFH worked because it aligned with their unique structure, culture, and employee profile. Their experience demonstrates that SMEs can thrive with innovative work arrangements, provided they align with the right talent, trust, and strategic vision.