As non-profit organizations explore ways to enhance productivity, promote work-life balance, and foster trust in the workplace, the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) presents an innovative solution. In this sixth installment of our ROWE series, we’ll walk you through the process of transitioning to a ROWE model, from assessing your organization’s readiness to devising a comprehensive implementation plan.
Understanding ROWE and Its Advantages
ROWE is a management strategy that prioritizes results over the traditional focus on work hours and physical presence in the office. Grounded in performance-based evaluation, flexible work arrangements, and trust, ROWE offers various benefits to both employees and employers:
Increased Productivity: By allowing employees to work when they’re most effective, ROWE can significantly boost productivity and efficiency.
Enhanced Work-Life Balance: ROWE’s adaptable work arrangements enable employees to manage their personal commitments, resulting in reduced stress, higher job satisfaction, and increased loyalty.
Strengthened Trust and Communication: A trust-based work environment nurtures open communication, collaboration, and mutual support, leading to stronger teams and better decision-making.
Evaluating Organizational Readiness for ROWE
Before embarking on the ROWE transition journey, it’s essential to evaluate your organization’s preparedness. Consider these key factors:
Culture and Values: Assess your organization’s existing culture and values. A successful ROWE implementation requires a solid foundation of trust, open communication, and commitment to change.
Leadership Support: Ensure that your leadership team fully supports the transition to ROWE and is willing to lead by example, embodying the model’s core principles.
Employee Needs and Concerns: Survey your employees to gauge their needs, preferences, and apprehensions regarding ROWE, ensuring that the transition process addresses their feedback.
Technological Infrastructure: Evaluate your organization’s existing technology and tools. A thriving ROWE environment relies on dependable communication platforms, collaboration tools, and remote work capabilities.
Crafting a Strategic Plan for ROWE Implementation
Once you’ve assessed your organization’s readiness, follow these steps to create a plan for transitioning to ROWE:
Set Goals and Objectives: Define clear goals and objectives for your ROWE transition, aligning them with your organization’s mission and strategic priorities.
Develop a Communication Strategy: Design a comprehensive communication plan to inform employees, stakeholders, and partners about the transition, addressing any questions or concerns they may have.
Establish a Pilot Program: Test ROWE within a smaller team or department, identifying challenges and refining processes before scaling the model organization-wide.
Develop Guidelines and Policies: Create clear guidelines and policies for your ROWE environment, outlining performance expectations, work arrangements, communication protocols, and accountability measures.
Provide Training and Support: Offer training and support to equip employees with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in a ROWE environment, focusing on goal setting, time management, and effective communication.
Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed: Regularly monitor progress, gather feedback from employees, and make necessary adjustments to ensure a successful transition.
Overcoming Challenges During ROWE Transition
While embracing the ROWE model can yield numerous benefits, the transition process may present some challenges:
Change Resistance: Some employees may be hesitant to adopt ROWE due to concerns about change and job security. Address these fears by providing clear information, offering support, and emphasizing the model’s advantages.
Communication Barriers: As teams adapt to new work arrangements, communication can become more complex. Invest in communication tools and platforms that facilitate open and efficient interaction among team members.
Performance Management: In a ROWE environment, measuring performance based on results rather than work hours requires new approaches. Develop performance metrics that effectively gauge employee contributions and achievements.
Navigating the path to a Results-Only Work Environment can be a game-changing step for non-profit organizations striving to foster innovation, flexibility, and trust in the workplace. By thoughtfully evaluating your organization’s readiness, devising a strategic plan, and offering comprehensive support, you can successfully chart a course to ROWE and unlock a wealth of possibilities for your team.
One of the key questions that a remote business employer receives from clients, or those thinking of starting their own virtual business is, “How do you know your employees are getting anything done? I mean, you are paying them but, what are you getting in return?” The easy answer is ‘Outcomes and Results’, as noted in our last blog post Managing a Changing Environment.
On the flip side, this article tackles some of the big questions asked by some of our remote employees:
How do I know if I am doing a good job?
Is there more I could be doing? Am I just one software program away from being able to obtain more work?
What are other employees for the company doing and how do we all fit together?
How do I work collaboratively with other employees to share ideas?
What is the big picture for the company and how is my work a part of this?
The ability to answer your remote employees’ questions helps them know where they stand in the big picture of your organization and can increase productivity.
Although much of a remote employee’s work is done using technology, clear communication goes a long way, even in these days of remote ‘everything’. Whether through email, a phone call or an in-person meeting, remote employees can accomplish a great deal by using all forms of communication and answers the questions above.
How do I know if I am doing a good job?
Employees should simply ask the question to their employer and be prepared for potential constructive criticism. Employers should be monitoring the progress of the employee’s deliverables and be ready to provide this feedback, whether positive or constructive. Consider the setting to provide this feedback. An in-person meeting may be warranted, as an email may not provide the sentiment and feeling behind such a conversation.
Is there more I could be doing? Am I just one software program away from being able to obtain more work?
Again, employees should ask the employer if there is any available work, followed up by asking what tools and experience are required to do this work. Employers should check in with their employees to see if they have an interest in taking on other work and checking to see if there has been any change in their available tools to help you with your business.
What are other employees for the company doing and how do we all fit together?
Employers may want to consider planning opportunities for all employees to get to together to share work ideas and get to know who is playing what role in the business. Additionally, employers may want to create an employee list with contact emails and identification of who is working on what files, if it is secure to do so.
How do I work collaboratively with other employees to share ideas?
Following on the last point, employees may want to take advantage of opportunities to meet with others in the organization and share ideas with the entire team. Perhaps send an email to keep in contact and consider asking your colleagues if you have a question or need help, if your employer is ok with that.
What is the big picture for the company and how is my work a part of this?
Employees should have this discussion with their employer not just at the time of hire, but every once and a while to check in. The organization may have changed or new projects started and it is important for one to know where their efforts in an organization have an impact.
These questions are just the tip of the iceberg; making communication with and between employees integral in a remote business is an important component to the relationship. So, if you’re feeling stuck, remember to just ask!
Remote support was pretty much non-existent 25 years ago. Facebook didn’t exist 20 years ago. Times, they are a’changing…
Remote work has grown in popularity over the last 5-10 years and more so with the pandemic we’ve been dealing with the past 2+ years, it’s become a necessity. The Internet and evolving technology drive the ability for remote support workers to be just that: “remote”. That can mean being remote locally or remote internationally; it can mean telecommuting for employees or freelancing as a contractor from anywhere on the planet for clients anywhere on the planet. The world has become larger and smaller at the same time: larger because remote working can easily tap into new markets around the world and increase competition (which can be a good thing); smaller because it takes less time and cost to do so.
It wasn’t too long ago that the average person didn’t know too much about video meetings or needed an international calling plan. Today, companies are expanding their enterprises globally without ever leaving their hometown; hiring remote employees who are local to new markets gives enterprise an edge. While this can be a very cost-effective way to conduct business, it takes more than just hiring people to work for you; it takes a thorough review of all factors that come into play for all stakeholders. It’s important to know the legal and accounting aspects of these relationships as well as being mindful of language barriers of both employees and clients.
Even in spite of the pandemic, the world is open for new opportunities. With ever-evolving technology and lower costs to connect, open your mind to the endless possibilities that are happening around the world and around the clock.
These are unprecedented times we’re living in and with that comes uncertainty. With what has been coined “the new normal”, more people have found themselves working from home, and some are finding it increasingly challenging. Non-profits and associations are finding this new way of working challenging also because when you’re ‘being virtual’ it’s difficult to be in front of your donors and members with why they should contribute or why they need to continue to be a member.
In my 17 years of providing remote support to non-profits and associations, I’ve seen many changes and upheavals in the past year because of the pandemic. For me and my team, not much has changed operationally and because we operate the way we do, we were able to provide advice to our clients to help them change and adapt their operations helped them work remotely. The interesting thing is that because they were up and running again quickly, they were able to focus on new ways to stay in front of their donors and members. I have stepped back from time to time amid all the ‘chaos’ and thought, ‘aren’t we lucky that we have the technology to manage everything we need to manage? ‘
There is always a human side to that ‘remoteness’ regardless of what sector your organization is in. In my view, we really do need to take care of ourselves in these times of upheaval and uncertainty. We need to stay in top form so that we can help others around us but also to be more resilient to change. Take care of you. You’re important.
As non-profit organizations explore ways to enhance productivity, promote work-life balance, and foster trust in the workplace, the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) presents an innovative solution. In this sixth installment of our ROWE series, we’ll walk you through the process of transitioning to a ROWE model, from assessing your organization’s readiness to devising a comprehensive implementation plan.
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