Finishing in the Age of the Remote Workforce

Remember when managing the concept of remote work was easy?  Back when there was no such thing? Everyone came to the plant or office, every day, no matter what, and put in a full day’s work. No longer, there seem to be as many models to remote work as there are companies trying to find their way in the new reality that is the American worker. 

Employers are struggling to find the right model. One need look no further than some of the largest investment banks and traditional banking organizations in New York City who have drastically different approaches to remote work, with some creating progressive work-from-anywhere employment models, others insisting team members return to the bricks and mortar five days a week and still others finding hybrid arrangements can work. Same types of companies, with business models that are otherwise nearly identical, employing wholly different strategies when it comes to where their team members do their work.

If the reality of remote work, accelerated exponentially by the COVID-19 era, is tough to navigate for organizations such as financial institutions, it’s even more so for manufacturers, where some jobs can be performed remotely or at least semi-remotely (sales, accounting, human resources), and others absolutely cannot (machine operators, rackers, material handlers, plant floor supervisors, maintenance technicians). The natural tension that always seems to exist between the office and operations can become all-out toxic as team members who must report physically to work each resent those that do not. 

While there’s no perfect answer, there are risks and landmines to avoid and opportunities and benefits to consider. Most of the companies I now own accommodate a flexible work environment, and for more than half a decade most have permitted and even encouraged remote work. My line is “Work from wherever you can be most productive, just be fair to the company”.  While a handful of team members have abused this freedom to their own detriment, most embrace it and likely work even harder and add more value to the company than if their presence in a physical space was required daily.

The remote work model functions best when employers avoid the temptation to obsess about what team members are doing every moment of the day and instead set clear and measurable outcomes and expectations. Millennials and younger workers tend to prefer this model anyway, as many are more than willing to put in the hours if they see value in the work they’re doing.  Employees working remotely need to know that the benefit of doing so brings with it a corresponding obligation not to abuse the related freedom.

Companies that adopt a remote-working culture may find that team members actually work more, not less, and are more likely to perform work and respond to emails and text messages after hours and on weekends. Another benefit of the remote work environment is the opportunity to source talent from anywhere. If employees no longer need to reside within close proximity to the workplace, a finishing operation in a high cost-of-living region like Chicago may be able to employ a less expensive employee in rural Minnesota, for instance. Finally on the list of benefits, morale among employees offered more freedom as to where, when and how to do their work is often better than for those who are not provided these benefits.

As for the risks of remote work, resentment on the part of those whose jobs don’t accommodate this model is at the top of the list. Equally concerning, the collaboration, impromptu discussions, hysterical laughter at an inside joke, relationships forged over lunches or around the water cooler and just the sixth sense of knowing whose day may need a little brightening based on their body language at work all go away. It’s for these reasons, I believe, that our companies’ millennials, almost all of whom have the option of working from home, were the first to come back to the office when we eased our COVID restrictions.

Especially in manufacturing, navigating the changing world of work and evolving expectations of employees will not be easy. The best approach is to be intentional and decide early what the future will be; remote, on-site or hybrid work – and the answer may differ by department and position. Devise the best plan in light of the benefits and risks noted above and communicate the logic for the model and related expectations to the entire team, including those affected directly and the team members whose roles will not accommodate remote work.