Smash Notes

Back to Deep dive into Remote Work with Hiten Shah, with Hiten Shah.

What Should Company Retreats Be Used for

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. Hiten points out that if you’re a remote company, it’s questionable to why a retreat, which requires having to be in the same place, should be used to get something that’s critical for the organization done.

Transcript

Deep dive into Remote Work with Hiten Shah ·

Below the Line with James Beshara

More from this episode

  1. What Is the Remote Work ReportWhile 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…
  2. What Is the History of Remote WorkHiten 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.
  3. What Is the Difference Between Remote Work and Distributed WorkDistributed workforce means a company has employees located around the world, but those are all offices belonging of the company.
  4. What Is Making Remote Work Popular TodayCommunication and accountability tools have improved dramatically over the last few decades. 30 years ago physical messages had to be delivered to your desk.
  5. How Prevalent Is Remote Work TodayMany organization are struggling with remote work because we still generally don't know how to manage a remote workforce.
  6. What Percent of Remote Work Report People Work Fully Remote?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.
  7. Do Employees Actually Enjoy Working RemotelyOut 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.
  8. What Are the Top Challenges With Remote WorkDespite 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…
  9. Why Do So Many People Love Remote WorkRemote work provides people with freedom, and freedom is happiness.
  10. What Are the Costs and Benefits of Remote Work to a CompanyWhile employees gain flexibility and freedom to work from anywhere, organizations lose the perceived control of employee's time.
  11. How Can Any Company Improve Employee ProductivityHiten Shah has a theory that if visibility into everyone's progress is improved, productivity will improve with it.
  12. What Happens When a Remote Team Doesn’t Document Their Past WorkEven with a small group with five or 10 people, their process isn’t solid.
  13. How Do You Solve a Workflow Problem When Adding Members to a TeamHiten says that some companies will record every meeting — ones with more than two people — to share with the team.
  14. How Does Having a Master Document Benefit a CompanyIf you are building a product the right way, you are learning from customers.
  15. How Does a Company Reconcile Productivity DropTo 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?
  16. Despite How Many Tools and Features Are Available for Companies, What Is More ImportantAs a flaw, Hiten feels like people get tool centric.
  17. Which Simple Tools Does Hiten Shah Use for Remote Work?As Hiten puts it, the tools his companies use are simple and the processes they use are thorough.
  18. What Is a Disadvantage of Working in an Office SettingJames 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…
  19. What Are Costs of Being RemoteCommunication, socializing, loneliness, and boundaries are costs when it comes to working remotely. Isolation is heavily mentioned for remote workers.
  20. Why Are Compromised Versions Created in a CompanyIt is due to the heavy emphasis of collaborative work to get something done.
  21. What Are Tips for Overcoming Remote CostsWhen 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.
  22. What Happens When a Company Does Not Have a Remote ProcessAccording to Hiten, it would be difficult for companies to train millennials to work remotely if they don’t have their process written down.
  23. Is There a Curved Opinion When It Comes to Remote WorkHiten believes there is. Three or six months in, people will love it less because they are still figuring it out.
  24. Where Will Remote Work Stand in Five YearsHiten believes that all organizations have to adapt to the way that their employees want to work.

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