Working Hard or Hardly Working (From Home)? Finding a win-win for employers and #RemoteWorkers.

The benefits and drawbacks of #RemoteWorkers have been debated for years.

On the one hand, embracing remote workers expands our pool of available talent and provides a level of flexibility for employees that allows for a more autonomous work-life balance. I have even heard many workers say that if they really want to be productive, they have to stay home, away from all the interruptions and distractions (read meetings and door knocks) of the office.

Sounds great, but as employers, don't we fear this:

(You're welcome). Although this was directed to small business owners, you get the point.

Is there a middle ground?

As Peter Melby, CEO of Greystone Technology in Denver discussed in a recent talk at Continuum Managed Services #Nav17 event, the more we babysit our employees, the more oppressed they feel, and the more we train them to need us in order to be productive. They don't own problems (because they don't have to) and always have to rely on employers or SoPs. Common sense goes out the door and work satisfaction plummets. And we all know where that leads.

So is the answer some kind of hybrid model that allows for working from home while also requiring some in-office time every week or month? I believe this question misses the point.

I believe the key is not the work setting. The key is the kind of behavior we are incentivizing.

The key is to incentivize productivity and outcomes that matter to the business. If we do this, we can put employers and employees on the same team, creating win-win relationships. 

What does this look like, practically? Well, just look at what we've been doing with our sales people since forever. We provide a base salary and benefits to meet basic needs (but not enough to live on), plus a merit-based component that drives employees to make the company goals, their goals. For sales people this is commission.

But is merit-based pay only for sales?

In The Great Game of Business, Jack Stack tells the story of how he turned around his company (and his leadership style) by gamifying and monetizing his company's key performance indicators (KPIs), so that his employees now had a personal, financial stake in the company's productivity and success. And it wasn't just sales people; it was factory workers, operations, finance ... everyone. By doing this, Stack was able to reinvigorate and reengage his employees, recruiting them to adopt company goals as their own. Whip-cracking and whining was out. Win-win was in.

Employee Ownership

In my own experience as an employee, I saw the power of merit-based incentives first hand. At one employer, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) gave the employees one-third ownership of the company in the form of a retirement plan, and provided a tax benefit for the company. Although a bit more abstract than Stack's system, the connection between our daily performance and our own financial benefit was clear, which it only increased as we vested over seven years. We began to think and behave like owners, because we were.

Sadly, through a merger and painful leadership changes, the ESOP plan was dissolved. As we were paid out in cash or converted to a 401K, employee moral and engagement plummeted, due in part to this change. It was more than a change in compensation; the employer-employee relationship devolved from win-win to means-to-an-end. The message was clear: you are a resource, not a team member. Scores of employees found another home, and about a year after, average employee retention sunk below one year.

Dial It In

I don't believe there is a one-size-fits-all approach to the remote worker conundrum. Whether you require employees to be in the office 40 hours a week, let them work from home, or allow a hybrid model, it's up to every employer to determine the best way to get the best from their people. At the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about?

Let's make sure we're incentivizing the right behavior, not fixating on the location of it.

What do you think? Where has your company landed on the #RemoteWorkers issue? Has your company used gamification, ESOP, or some other mechanism to incentivize behavior? What's worked or hasn't worked? Share your stories in the comments.

About the Author

Kevin Krusiewicz is Founder and Producer at TELL and TRAiN where he helps brands tell their stories and train their people through captivating websites, videos, collateral, and other marketing and training vehicles.

More info at https://TELLandTRAiN.com