Remote: Office Not Required

This book, "Remote," argues that telecommuting – as working away from the office has become known – is the key to success for businesses large and small. It allows companies to hire the best talent from anywhere in the world, cuts out commuting hours, can boost output, and lead to a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce. It can also save money and help the environment.

Drawing on these points, and many more, the authors build a powerful case for remote working, and address a series of excuses bosses use to keep their employees on a tight leash in communal offices.

They also look at the potential pitfalls of telecommuting – although perhaps not enough – and offer tips for CEOs, managers, and individuals who want to take the remote route.

So who's this book for? Well, if you're trying to convince your manager or CEO of the benefits of working away from the office, you'll want "Remote" in your armory. It's particularly relevant to people whose bosses are skeptical about remote working – who imagine employees sitting at home surfing the Web in their pajamas. You might even want to buy your manager a copy.

If you're a business or team leader, "Remote" is also for you. You'll get some great insight into how much money you could save, and how much more productive your employees could be if you free them up to work elsewhere.

But if you're an established remote worker and are looking for strategies to improve your work life, this book might be a disappointment. There are some good tips on how to keep everything running smoothly when working across time zones, and on how to avoid feeling lost and lonely when working on your own. But if you're a paid-up member of the remote club, you'll know a lot of these already, so parts of the book won't be relevant.

The book's authors have solid credentials when it comes to working remotely. Fried and Heinemeier Hansson founded 37signals, a software company that's known for creating the project management tool Basecamp. They've built up a successful business based on the concepts in "Remote," so they know what they're talking about – 37signals has 36 employees spread around the globe.

So, keep listening to hear how to give your remote workers a taste of office life, how to hire employees you can trust to work away from HQ, and how to stay sane when you're working from home.

Remote working has been increasing for years, but it hit the headlines for different reasons in February 2013, when Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer announced an end to telecommuting at the company. The policy shift sparked a global debate around the pros and cons of remote working – from the benefits of face-to-face brainstorming sessions, to the nuisance of spending hours in traffic, to the difficulties of meeting family commitments when you're at your desk ‘til six.

If you've followed that debate, some of the authors' points will sound familiar, but they also expand on the arguments. And they put their case across in a concise, straightforward, and no-nonsense package. Remote's tight structure and punchy, easy-to-read style are perhaps its top selling points. The book reads like a manifesto for remote working, brought to life by clever illustrations that'll catch your eye and make you smile.

So, let's start by looking at some of the authors' tips for managing remote workers in a way that makes them feel part of a team and keeps the business running smoothly.

One of the most rehearsed arguments against working from home is that face-to-face meetings are vital for bonding and brainstorming. And one of the most frequent complaints of remote workers is the lack of opportunity to shoot the breeze with colleagues over morning coffee or at the water cooler. Working away from the office can be an isolating experience and dialing in to rambling conference calls on a bad phone line can be really frustrating.

It's important to keep your remote employees engaged, focused, and plugged in to the bigger picture. To achieve this, the authors have got some ideas your organization might want to take on board.

The starting point for any company that adopts remote working is sound technology. Videoconferencing platforms and tools like WebEx and GoToMeeting allow employees to see each other and share screens. This makes collaboration much easier and helps create some of the magic you get from sitting in the same room. It's great for productivity, but it also helps everyone feel connected and involved. It's not the same as sitting around a conference table or sharing lunch, but, with the latest software, you can get close.

At 37signals, the authors' company, they go further, by giving employees a virtual water cooler in the shape of a chat program called Campfire. This is a space where people can share photos of children, pets, and vacations or discuss the latest headlines.

Now, you might be thinking this is an open invitation for employees to spend valuable company hours avoiding work. But the authors say we all need to waste some time with our colleagues during the day – it helps us bond and feel like a team.

But how do you get things done and create a sense of cohesion when you've got employees in Houston and others in Hong Kong? Working across time zones can be tricky, and some scheduling is required to get this right. We liked the authors' idea of creating overlap between distant workers. At 37signals, they make sure there are four hours of overlap across time zones. This may require some employees starting early and others finishing late, but without these compromises, things won't get done and your business could unravel.

It might be obvious by now, but remote working is all about trust. Too many organizations and managers need to see their employees sitting at their desks to believe they're doing their jobs. But "Remote" advocates treating staff as adults. Employees are responsible for getting their jobs done, for balancing their work and home lives, and for staying healthy and happy.
This means getting the hiring decisions right in the first place, and keeping good people on board by giving them the flexibility they need.

Of course, the great thing about hiring remote workers is that you have a bigger pool of talent to choose from. You don't have to limit your search to a geographical area. This means you can hire the best person for the job, even if they live 10,000 miles away.

But how do you know if an applicant will make a good remote worker? First, bear in mind that effective communication is going to be a big part of their job, particularly written communication like emails. So look for people with good writing ability on top of the skills required to do the job.

You'll also want to assess whether the applicant has the right personality for remote working: they need to be self-motivated, responsible, committed to the company's success, and easy to get along with. You don't want to hire people who need constant supervision.

The best way to make sure you've got the right person is to hire someone on a trial basis. Give them a project with a deadline and ask them to work on it remotely. This will allow you to assess how they balance their workload, how they communicate with colleagues, and whether they can meet deadlines without a manager peering over their shoulder.

The authors also have some great tips on retaining valuable employees, although there's nothing new here. It's clear that allowing people extra time to pursue hobbies, providing gym membership, and awarding additional vacation days is good for morale – and for business. A lot of organizations already do this.

Let's now look at the authors' advice on staying sane when working away from the office.

If you're used to remote work, you've likely found a rhythm that suits you. But if you're new to it, this book can help you find your groove.

If your chosen workspace is your home, it's important to try to separate your personal from your professional life – or you might end up spilling dinner on important documents, or watching daytime TV instead of calling a client.

Putting walls between your home and office space is the most effective way to split the two, but not everyone is lucky enough to have a designated workroom. If you have to work at your kitchen table, try separating your work life in other ways. Start with the way you dress. Working in pajamas or baggy sweatpants may be comfortable in the short term, but it might get you down after a while.

You don't have to put on a power suit, but it's good to wear something that reminds you you're at work – it's all about your state of mind. One employee at 37signals has a pair of work slippers and a pair of home slippers, to help make the mental leap.

Another way to focus is to use different computers or mobile devices for work and play. This isn't just about staying focused and making sure your employer gets the most out of you – it's also a way to ensure you get down time. One of the biggest problems of remote working isn't slacking off; it's working too many hours, the authors say.

If you're someone who needs some background buzz, try working at a local coffee shop, in a hotel lobby, or sign up to one of the many communal work hubs that have sprouted up in the world's major cities. Hub spaces give you some of the benefits of an office environment – people to chat to on your lunch break and a sense of community – without the downsides of endless meetings or being under a manager's thumb.

You can also ease yourself gently into the remote lifestyle by taking a hybrid approach. Try working at home in the morning and going to the office in the afternoon. Or vice versa. You can get creative work done in peace and then join your colleagues for meetings. This can give you the best of both worlds – provided you don't have a long commute.

Finally, spare a thought for ergonomics. There's a reason companies invest in good chairs and desks so employees sit correctly. If you're working in a regular spot, make sure you're sitting in a way that's not going to affect your health.

We particularly liked the authors' suggestion that managers try remote working before asking their employees to do it. Bosses need to get a sense of what it feels like to be away from the office. And it allows them to check that the technology and equipment are up to scratch.

Remote working has clearly worked well for 37signals, allowing it to hire talented people from around the world and to retain them when they want to move states or continents. This way of working is a great fit for the industry 37signals is in, software development. But we do think the authors could have done a better job of profiling companies in different industries that have remote workers.

Granted, they list various sectors that have adopted remote working – from accounting to film production to insurance. They also give names of companies of different sizes that have large numbers of remote workers, from AT&T to Virgin Atlantic to Unilever. And they note that IBM has saved billions of dollars on office space through remote working. But we'd have liked more detailed case studies of these or other organizations.

"Remote" is an upbeat, manifesto-style book written by two huge cheerleaders for remote working. The authors' positivity is infectious. But what about the businesses that have struggled to make remote working pay, or have rejected it outright, like Yahoo!? We'd have liked more discussion of the downsides to provide more balance.

Those things aside, "Remote" reads like a breath of fresh air for anyone struggling with a long commute, feeling overwhelmed by endless meetings, or failing to get any work done in a noisy office environment. It's packed with information on the benefits of remote working, from cost savings to healthier staff, which should silence the skeptics who think "working from home" is a euphemism for watching daytime TV.

The authors quote the entrepreneur Richard Branson, a master of remote working, who said the importance of the office has peaked. If he's right and telecommuting is on the way up, this book is a great tool for any organization that wants to join the remote working revolution. Yahoo! may not be among their number, but plenty of others are.

Remote by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson is published by Vermilion.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.