On Virtual Offices
It is indeed possible for people to be productive in a work context using new technologies that enable them to work remotely. However, while virtuality is often touted as a factor that improves and enables quality communication, I believe that the gains from using communications technology are primarily cost reductions.
What types of work can be done virtually? Professional journalists can now easily freelance for multiple newspapers, using technology to complete and submit their tasks in a proficient and professional manner. Other sorts of IT, design, technical and artistic tasks can also be done virtually. The key work is ‘tasks’—transactional tasks are the type of work best done virtually, and when travel is no longer necessary for these, costs are reduced.
When more strategic, transformational issues need to be addressed, it can be very difficult to meet and build consensus virtually. It can be tough to get a shared view across over video conferencing—it just isn’t easy to get everyone on board. People aren’t motivated in the same way as face-to-face interactions in team groups. While information can be exchanged virtually, one can’t build consensus or value.
It’s interesting to note that, in spite of improved communications technologies, business executives are traveling on planes, trains and automobiles as much as ever to meet in person. They wouldn’t do this if they could accomplish their goals without traveling by meeting virtually, if only because there would be significant cost savings on travel.
In order to execute strategy and lead in a transformational way, executives don’t just need to be architects for the way forward, they also need to build consensus and get a commitment for the way forward. The issues executives face aren’t always clear-cut and could be contentious. In a global corporation, strategies for one region might not work for another; it’s necessary to have a strategic give-and-take (if one region has to give something up, for example) so that executives can find the right strategy that enables the best way forward for all stakeholders. This can only be done in person, where a team ethos can be developed; it can’t be done over video conference. Holding these sorts of strategic meetings remotely runs the risk of people agreeing to do things that they won’t subsequently do. In a virtual, transactional context, people given transformational tasks may ignore them (or tell others to ignore them because consensus hasn’t been built and they aren’t seen to align with the team’s goals or responsibilities).
Developing and executing strategy requires intensive personal interaction, and I cannot see how virtuality can overcome the need to be together personally. I believe we’ll even see an increase in business-related air and train travel. In mature markets where companies are doing everything they can to reduce costs and improve quality, face-to-face meetings (for strategic issues) are more necessary than before. People are more emotionally tested; when they ask themselves: “I’ve done everything—what else can I do?”—the answer is found through people sharing experiences, and this can only be done in the same room. With that extra stimulus, people will be better able to face up to challenges. And if they don’t have that stimulus, desperation could set in.
People are sensual beings—they use their five senses to make sense of the world. With only vision and hearing, people can have difficulty making sense; they need touch (and to a lesser extent smell and taste) to properly decode a business situation.
Again, not every meeting needs to be face-to-face—when tasks can be clearly defined, they can be performed virtually. Many jobs have components that can be done from anywhere, and many employees appreciate flexible working hours and working locations. The type of person matters as well regarding suitability for remote working—some introverted people might prefer to work remotely, needing less interaction than most (but still needing some). People with children often prefer the flexibility of working virtually, however it again comes down to the person. For example, studies of new mothers who begin working remotely have shown that those whose jobs already involved transactional tasks did not have a problem working remotely, whereas executive females who were used to driving forward a team, having interactions and running meetings did have difficulty working remotely and were anxious to return to work.
Working remotely suits some people who have clear, transactional tasks to complete. But companies should be wary of having people only work remotely—these companies will miss out on that extra edge that comes from colleagues working together in the same place sharing expertise and experience.
