Businesses can empower efficient remote models by focusing on functionality and transparency.
By Aaron Cirksena, Founder & CEO – MDRN Capital
“Is it possible?” is not the question most businesses ask as they consider whether or not to go all in with remote work models. Our experience during the COVID-19 pandemic proved we can make remote models work. Not only do we have the technology, but we also have employees who are willing to fill remote positions.
“Is it profitable?” is the question, and research indicates it is. However, achieving a productive and profitable remote environment in which employees thrive and clients are satisfied requires a new approach to several work processes.
Overall, businesses that want to succeed with a fully remote work and service model must rethink what is needed to build customer and employee relationships. Without a brick-and-mortar office space where employees can connect with both their coworkers and their clients, relationship building involves a new set of challenges. The following are some steps businesses can take to establish and sustain healthy remote relationships.
Optimize Remote Technology
When the pandemic pushed businesses into remote models, most of the technology tools being used were sufficient, which was good enough for a crisis. Today, the crisis has passed, and both workers and clients need technology solutions that are more than sufficient. They need tools that deliver an optimal experience.
To support healthy relationships, businesses must invest in tools that empower effective communication, collaboration, and organization. Communication tools should support video conferencing as well as chats and file exchanges. Collaboration tools must intelligently provide real-time updates on progress and intuitive tools for sharing a wide variety of file types.
Ideally, communication and collaboration tools allow for seamless integration. A tool like Slack maximizes productivity by empowering automated communication when information is updated. This enables you to build customer and employee relationships and provides clients and employees a central hub for keeping current on active projects.
Providing adequate training is another important step in optimizing technology. Purchasing the tool alone is not enough. Companies must ensure that both employees and clients are comfortable with it and capable of utilizing all of its key features.
Establish an Accepted Communications Protocol
When you are sitting across the desk from a client, communication is intuitive. The same is not true with remote communication. Establishing a protocol ensures everyone understands what is expected of them and what they can expect.
Identifying the best communication channels is one step in establishing an effective protocol. In this area, erring on the side of flexibility is recommended. Certain clients or employees may prefer a certain mode of communication — text, email, phone call, etc. — to another. Granting them their preference, especially for standard communication, can streamline the process.
Establishing a mutually acceptable response time is also essential. Managers should define how quickly they expect their team to respond to an email, and clients should understand how quickly they can expect a company representative to get back to them. In certain emergencies, such as a financial client responding to a significant market movement, companies should be willing to provide a faster response time.
Whatever the protocol, companies should seek to establish it as early as possible. New client and new employee onboarding should clearly communicate expectations and confirm they have been noted and accepted.
Prioritize Transparency
Several elements inherent to remote relationships make establishing trust more challenging. Less visibility is a key factor. The higher likelihood of miscommunication is another.
Transparency is critical to addressing those challenges. This can include providing regular updates on where projects stand that detail the next steps to be taken by both clients and employees. Recording video meetings and providing transcripts as a follow-up is another way to ensure everyone has access to all the information they need.
Pursuing a healthy level of transparency may start to feel like you are overcommunicating. If you feel that, you are in a good spot. Building remote relationships remotely requires more communication than conventional business relationships because it lacks physical cues and other features that flow from in-person communication.
Acknowledging context and focusing on details also helps with transparency. Don’t assume you got your point across or understood what a client or employee was trying to see. Ask for clarification and provide a summary that confirms everyone is on the same page.
Stay Focused on Your Goal
A remote model will work if it improves efficiency, convenience, and comfort. Consequently, you need to stay focused on those three goals. Never stop asking your clients and employees for feedback on your approach. If they have frustrations, fix them. If it requires new tools, invest in them.
Working through these steps will get your business well on the road to build customer and employee relationships that are productive and profitable. However, remember that this is a new and evolving framework for businesses. To fully realize the benefits of remote connections, commit to staying engaged and flexible and making the changes needed to optimize your connections.
