Why We Joined The Global Work Remote Day

Why We Joined The Global Work Remote Day More than 20% of workers worldwide work remotely. There are 36% more coworking spaces around the world than last year. Remote working is green. My point is, the numbers around flexible and remote working are rising and it seems to be the wave of future. A better future with happier, more productive employees, and booming businesses.  At Enhancv, we also let our team work remotely. That’s why when our friends from Bynder (marketing software that allows brands to easily create, find, and use content) asked us to join their event â€" Global Work Remote Day, we didn’t hesitate for a moment.To give you a better idea of what remote work means for Bynder, we had a chat with Kristel Moedt, People Talent Director. Here’s why we joined the initiative and why you should too.1. Kristel, how did you come up with the idea for Global Work Remote Day?The idea was born when we were evaluating our unlimited holiday policy, and it appeared to be a success. Our employees really love it, as it’s all about flexibility and it also reflects the trust we have in them. Also, it’s the fact that we realize how important it is to have a balance between your work and private life. Working remotely gives our team members an opportunity to have that. It’s already quite common at Bynder, but with this initiative, we really wanted to show to our team that we support and trust them, that it’s OK to work remotely. We all know that it’s fine if we do it from time to time, one colleague at a time. What we want to prove is, that even if the whole company works remotely, it can still work. All you need is to have great tools and effective communication in place.2. What’s the main benefit for employees who’ve never worked remotely?Experiencing that to work in a different environment is great. It will enable them to think about new projects, initiatives and be surrounded by new people. Also, our international colleagues are booking flights home, so that they can work during the day and then spend extra time with their family.Related articles:How Hotjar built a 100% distributed company3. What can the Global Work Remote Day bring to companies?It can raise awareness amongst their employees about the fact that they trust them. It’s like saying: ‘’Hey, we trust you. It’s not only about being at the office, but about the output, and we trust you, we think it’s helpful for you to work from another location than just the office.’’ It’s a simple, but a good signal. It also reinforces companies’ company culture.4. How often should companies close their doors and have a whole company remote day?Working remotely is something that you can do any time as an individual (if your company offers that). But of course, it would be great if we can make this a yearly event for many companies out there and make it bigger every year. I think companies should do it when they feel they need it. 5. How often can your employees work remotely? Is working from home count ed as ‘’remote’’?We are very flexible with that. Base principle is employees can work from wherever they like, but they need to use their common sense and make sure their team knows whether they’ll be at the office or not. They can pick a location that suits their requirements at the moment. It can be home, cafe, or a coworking space. Also, it’s important that they are available to contact if they’re remote.6. What do we often get wrong about remote working?A lot of companies say that they give a lot of freedom to their employees and responsibility but they have thick handbooks with all kinds of rules and regulations on when you can take holidays and work remotely, etc. So really, companies should embrace that flexibility and show their employees trust. What works for one, might not work for the other. Sometimes it’s important to take your time to think about a more complicated task or new projects that you wanna start with, just recharge a bit, stay at home. For suc h situations, another environment can be very beneficial.7. What is the one challenge your company faced because of remote working and how did you deal with it?One is communication. The team has to know if you will be in the office or not and it’s important that they know how they can reach you.The other challenge is for the managers. They need to make sure they manage the output, not just an input. It’s not about the amount of hours one spends in the office. So it requires more of feedback and coaching skills.8. How can companies start focusing on the output?What is really important for us is setting up clear quarterly goals for the team. We don’t have formal performance appraisals, but we do have a 360 degrees feedback throughout the year. Team members receive feedback from their peers and managers, but they also give feedback to their managers. This supports an open conversation and honesty towards each other. We do this 3 times a year â€" Managers Team 3x per year;  Team Manager 2x per year.Also, we’re using the app Impraise for several things:â€" Asking and giving real time feedback (after e.g. a presentation, meeting, etc.)â€" Peer feedback and self evaluation 3x per yearâ€" Feedback from your manager 3x per yearâ€" Feedback from team to manager 2x per yearâ€" Quarterly goal settingâ€" Measuring Bynder happinessWe really believe that everybody who works at Bynder is doing their best and taking their responsibility to help us develop as a company, which secures our positive culture/attitude.Over to you!Remote working can bring a long list of benefits to your company and team. If you’ve been playing with the idea to start offering remote work to your employees, I hope this interview helped you with your decision. Remember that ‘’a little goes a long way’’. Go ahead and join the Global Work Remote Day with us on August 4th.Find more info here.