Thank-you Simon for collating .
Thank-you for your questions , I have answered below , Mandy
- perhaps it depends if all the other workers are remote from each other?
Anecdotally and from the some of the survey monkey questionnaire there is a difference in responses between those who are remote workers . This group appear to be more aware of communication issues and also want to resolve this – as the literature suggests feeling isolated , . This is one of the reasons why in the pilot workshop I opened out the discussion to focus on the pros and cons of each group. The danger is it could become two factions so hence why trying to create a community of practice to share and learn with and from each other and move towards a new way ,
- My work team all work in the office, but our group WhatsApp is invaluable. You can guarantee than someone will be on leave when you urgently need a quick question answering.
I agree , the team I lead and the other international colleagues in other teams this our number one method – we can quickly utilise the chat function or do a call with or without video . This is very immediate and is useful for both formal and informal communication . We often set up mini groups for time specific projects or when we are at conferences to share meeting times or a social get together . Interestingly the whole team WhatsApp set up my line manager very minimal use and the last few postings have been made from remote workers.
- the feedback suggested some pre-workshop activity would be useful? have you considered any post-workshop activity? to steer participants into that community of practice?
To be honest I had not considered that – I think I was so focused on the here and now and so II will now add that to my planning – thank-you .
- When people work remotely is is more often their choice or an economy of the company?
Great question – I think it is a mixture of both when I started no UK office and so convenience . There was a move that folks when employed should move and we have seen folks relocate but the last few appointments at very senior levels e.g. Vice President remote working so II sense a shift . Most of the international teams are based remotely as if you work in X , why not live there or close by . HR have said that the costs of remote workers are like those at the office as you add in their costs , travel , internet , office ware – so maybe it is about serving the community you work with and for,
- sorry if I missed this - were the remote workers participating in this workshop remotely? did the remote and home office workers interact with the workshop in the same way?
Therefore, the pilot was so crucial – I assumed that those in the office would have joined remotely – they did not and were in a teaching room with the rest signed in individually so this was something that I will change . As a remote worker myself my assumption was they would sign in like me – so it shows how sometimes you have to pause and step back . .
- yes, they should all have sat at their desks to log in to the workshop
Agreed ….. reflection on action moment for me