Remove silos with a properly implemented remote workforce

A pandemic-era study from Microsoft published in “Nature Human Behavior”, found people working remotely felt and acted more siloed from the company and peers. The study reviewed the communications and other actions taken by 61,000 Microsoft employees while they worked remotely during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveyed workers reported fewer dynamic interactions within their companies, compared to the dynamic they enjoyed pre-pandemic. The report’s authors stated, “We expect that the effects we observe on workers’ collaboration and communication patterns will impact productivity and, in the long-term, innovation.”

As working remotely becomes a standard offering, are companies putting themselves at risk with disconnected employees? Are silos developing that will inhibit communication and collaboration? Firms can remedy these issues by following several best practices for implementing a remote workforce.

Expand information sharing

Some workers hoard information. This occurred before COVID, where employees would consider them gatekeepers or invaluable, so they kept needed information to themselves. They might share data if pushed, but otherwise they would restrict or slow sharing to enhance their value. Less duplicitously, some employees might hoard information because they don’t understand the proper processes or channels. Maybe a marketing manager does not see the value in sharing product marketing insights with IT or the sales staff, so they keep it to themselves. For some firms, remote working accelerates both malicious and unintentional data hoarding.

In some instances, it’s a storage problem. Remote workers might store data on their own laptops instead of using the corporate cloud. This pressures IT to maintain compliance and removes information from BI platforms or AI-powered analytics services that need raw data to produce recommendations and insights. As workers shift towards remote working and usage of approved storage, there’s pressure on VPN networks as companies need more bandwidth to manage increased scale. IT and HR teams need to provide remote workers with expectations and instructions about information sharing, storage, and various procedures. HR can add context to this discussion by detailing how collaboration and removing silos results in greater productivity, promotions, and growth opportunities for everyone involved.

Improve security to promote collaboration

HR and IT also can develop formal guidelines for remote worker cybersecurity. With a potentially global workforce, companies need the right technology in place, and improve their communications strategies. When done correctly, these moves will further eliminate silos, as workers become more connected and data sharing improves. Remote staff need to feel confident they aren’t exposing the company to cyber risks before they engage in collaboration.

Here are some proven ways firms can reduce exposure and remove silos:

• IT needs to increase bandwidth strain and ensure data produced by remote workers is encrypted at rest and in transit
• HR and IT should create policies for strong passwords that include multi-factor authentication, password management tools, and access monitoring
• Enhanced security measures such as fingerprint biometrics and even voiceprint as a way to confirm identities can remove concerns about data sharing
• Firms should give employees corporate laptops and phones to prevent staff from hoarding information on their personal devices and to reduce a common access point for hackers

Add communication technology and perform audits

Department heads and IT can reduce work silos by improving the ways employees communicate, share, and work together. They accomplish these goals through technology implementations of platforms like Slack and other similar tools. It’s a cost-effective way to move a company past email communications to a collaborative workspace that encourages open dialogues.

The Microsoft employee study says companies and staff need to adjust their communication methods for remote work, “For example, previous research has shown that establishing a rapport, which is an important precursor to knowledge transfer, is impeded by email use, and that in-person and phone/video communication are more strongly associated with positive team performance than email and instant message (IM) communication.”

HR can play a role by encouraging staff to use video conferencing tools along with collaboration platforms. They can tie in simple gamification, and set up rewards for staff who repeatedly use the proper technology and serve as advocates for broader adoption amongst colleagues.

Human resources can use employee surveys and conduct audits to spot informational bottlenecks. Perhaps customer feedback into the user experience stays with marketing and sales and does not regularly reach the development and UI design team. Surveys can determine if workers know who to ask for necessary information. Do they have access to the right cloud storage? Do they understand how to use Slack properly? Are there differences in the ways in-office and remote workers collaborate, access information, and perform their daily duties? These survey answers can inform decisions about training sessions, new platform implementations, and related budgetary decisions.

Many firms went into “panic mode” in the early stages of the pandemic. They shifted to remote work out of necessity, and many were ill-prepared to manage the unintended results. As remote work becomes a standard and a determinant factor for someone looking for a job, firms need to step back. Remote work is here to stay, but it warrants a review of the ways workers communicate and share information across the company. Firms that cannot improve these processes and allow information silos will inhibit both innovation and growth.

Scott Turner is product marketing director with Equus Software.