In this episode, Kate Maddison- Greenwell, the CEO of People Efficient talks about how companies can help motivate remote workers and boost their productivity. She highlights the potential benefits of remote and hybrid work environments, including improved productivity, well-being, and inclusivity. Kate stressed the importance of strong leadership, effective communication, and the provision of the right systems and structures for the success of remote jobs.
In addition to the mental health benefits, remote work enhances the inclusivity and diversity such arrangements can bring as it provides businesses with the option to broaden their workforce.
Remote work success with effective leadership
Kate discussed how leaders can empower their remote teams. She emphasised that the approach might differ based on the unique characteristics of each business, such as its structure, product, culture, and mission. She explained further the importance of considering these factors to find the right solution.
“I am not saying remote is the only way, something magical happens when people get together… but there are really fantastic ways of doing that online too,” she explained.
“One of the biggest ways that leaders can become really empowering is to think of a framework of connection, collaboration, and communication,” she added.
The benefits of remote work extend to improving productivity, well-being, and high performance if implemented with good leadership and frameworks. She suggests having leaders facilitate alignment, communication, and collaboration through practices like regular standups, retrospectives, and transparent tracking tools.
“One of the ways that is done is that you have a structure, a timeline suitable for the business about two weeks,” she adds. Through this framework, teams can make plans and pull tasks together depending on their specialism, their experience, and their capacity.
She explains further that leaders should understand each team member’s needs, provide autonomy and flexibility, and create an environment for them to thrive through their online jobs.
“I am a big fan of goals and KPIs because it allows you to see what works, it also encourages joint accountability because people are saying this is what we can commit within boundaries,” Kate said.
She argues that an organisation’s goal should cascade up from these teams rather than down from the leadership. Explaining further that while individual drive matters, companies must provide the right structure, systems, and leadership for remote success.