Under New Management

We have the technology to make remote work productive, but it takes a new type of leadership

- Written by: Do

The days of everyone working from home seem like a fever dream. The list of companies that have mandated a return to the office for employees reads like a who's who of the Fortune 100. There are conflicting data about whether remote and hybrid workers truly are more productive or less productive. Unsurprisingly, employees tend to consider themselves more productive with a flexible schedule, while their managers are more skeptical. One certainty is that current technology makes productive remote work possible for almost any industry. Suites like Zoom Workplace and Webex have the tools to power productivity.

As Zoom CIO advisor Ted Brodheim put it, “Hire the best people you can find. Distance is no longer a limiting factor.”

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

The trick to successful remote and hybrid work is making the best use of that technology, with leaders who know how to do just that, says O'Connor Company president and CEO Clark Lowe. It's about managers and employees finding ways to speak each other's language and to understand each other's worlds.

“A lot of how we communicate, we focus on like how people digest information now, which is Snapchat, text message, Pinterest,” Lowe, whose forthcoming book covers how history and technology have brought us to the era of remote work, told Reboot. “So, all of our communications, even around leadership, our corporate communications are all focused and being delivered in ways that people are used to receiving information.”

Lowe sends out a monthly CEO update in the form of a 9- to 12-minute YouTube-style video to O'Connor employees, who mostly travel or work remotely. Consultants send out 30-second videos or brief articles. Sometimes, communication comes in the form of a meme asking a question.