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Deep dive into Remote Work with Hiten Shah

Below the Line with James Beshara

Deep dive into Remote Work with Hiten Shah

"The most exciting new podcast in the startup world.” - Eric Ries, Founder and NYTimes bestselling author Today's episode is a deep dive — Something we're trying out where we go deep into certain topics that people have been asking about, and today is with an expert (maybe the expert?) on the subject of remote work (work that is distributed by many…

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Notes

  1. What Is the Remote Work Report at 3:30

    While remote work has been around for a long time, and many people have been working in distributed and remote teams for decades, it has been growing in… Full answer

  2. What Is the History of Remote Work at 7:26

    Hiten says that work from home had already been popular in 1980s and 90s, when cost cutting pushed companies to hire contract employees working from home. Full answer

  3. What Is the Difference Between Remote Work and Distributed Work at 10:36

    Distributed workforce means a company has employees located around the world, but those are all offices belonging of the company. Full answer

  4. What Is Making Remote Work Popular Today at 13:14

    Communication and accountability tools have improved dramatically over the last few decades. 30 years ago physical messages had to be delivered to your desk. Full answer

  5. How Prevalent Is Remote Work Today at 15:23

    Many organization are struggling with remote work because we still generally don't know how to manage a remote workforce. Full answer

  6. What Percent of Remote Work Report People Work Fully Remote? at 23:43

    60% said of the Remote Work Report aid they work remote 100% of the time, of which 70% have been doing it for 3 or more years. Full answer

  7. Do Employees Actually Enjoy Working Remotely at 25:55

    Out of the 60% of participants in the Remote Work Report who said that they work remotely 100% of the time, 91 % said they prefer it. Full answer

  8. What Are the Top Challenges With Remote Work at 26:51

    Despite the fact that 91% of the participants said that remote work is a good fit, and 95% of them would recommend remote work to a friend, top challenges… Full answer

  9. Why Do So Many People Love Remote Work at 29:17

    Remote work provides people with freedom, and freedom is happiness. Full answer

  10. What Are the Costs and Benefits of Remote Work to a Company at 30:51

    While employees gain flexibility and freedom to work from anywhere, organizations lose the perceived control of employee's time. Full answer

  11. How Can Any Company Improve Employee Productivity at 35:37

    Hiten Shah has a theory that if visibility into everyone's progress is improved, productivity will improve with it. Full answer

  12. What Happens When a Remote Team Doesn’t Document Their Past Work at 36:49

    Even with a small group with five or 10 people, their process isn’t solid. Full answer

  13. How Do You Solve a Workflow Problem When Adding Members to a Team at 37:32

    Hiten says that some companies will record every meeting — ones with more than two people — to share with the team. Full answer

  14. How Does Having a Master Document Benefit a Company at 42:45

    If you are building a product the right way, you are learning from customers. Full answer

  15. How Does a Company Reconcile Productivity Drop at 48:45

    To decide based on the number of people a company has, can they continue to do what they're doing and want to do with less people? Full answer

  16. Despite How Many Tools and Features Are Available for Companies, What Is More Important at 57:06

    As a flaw, Hiten feels like people get tool centric. Full answer

  17. Which Simple Tools Does Hiten Shah Use for Remote Work? at 58:35

    As Hiten puts it, the tools his companies use are simple and the processes they use are thorough. Full answer

  18. What Is a Disadvantage of Working in an Office Setting at 1:05:33

    James states that whenever individuals are working in an office with other people, they tend to feel like there’s a weight of having to work constantly, which… Full answer

  19. What Should Company Retreats Be Used for at 1:14:37

    Both James and Hiten agree that company retreats should not be used for strategy meetings. Rather, it’s a company crutch that’s used to get people together. Full answer

  20. What Are Costs of Being Remote at 1:20:48

    Communication, socializing, loneliness, and boundaries are costs when it comes to working remotely. Isolation is heavily mentioned for remote workers. Full answer

  21. Why Are Compromised Versions Created in a Company at 1:27:58

    It is due to the heavy emphasis of collaborative work to get something done. Full answer

  22. What Are Tips for Overcoming Remote Costs at 1:39:10

    When it comes to getting out of the house, getting a co-working space, work with other remote workers, Hiten says that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Full answer

  23. What Happens When a Company Does Not Have a Remote Process at 1:46:55

    According to Hiten, it would be difficult for companies to train millennials to work remotely if they don’t have their process written down. Full answer

  24. Is There a Curved Opinion When It Comes to Remote Work at 1:51:41

    Hiten believes there is. Three or six months in, people will love it less because they are still figuring it out. Full answer

  25. Where Will Remote Work Stand in Five Years at 1:52:58

    Hiten believes that all organizations have to adapt to the way that their employees want to work. Full answer

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