Meet Elsa Jacob!

 

Transcript

I read the book Remote Work: Redesign Processes, Practices and Strategies to Engage a Remote Workforce by Chris Dyer and Kim Shepherd. This book is designed to give CEO’s advice and information on how to transition to a remote company structure. However, I found that it also offered great insight into how I, as a future member of the work force, can better succeed in the new world of work.

The authors stress the importance of creating a people first business model. That is the approach they have both taken in their own businesses and attribute a lot of their success to that principle. Culture and people emphasis is even more important during virtual work. They have found that when you hire passionate people they will be driven by the common mission, and you won’t need to micromanage them. People who do well in remote model approach their career as if it were a company and they were the CEO. They are motivated to excel and ongoingly develop their skills. In fact, the authors believe that when designing a new virtual business model, the sequence should be people, process, tools and technology. They argue that when the people and processes are not set, the tools and technology can make the existing problems worse.

To plan the optimal remote model for your company, the authors say that you should think of it as a process of visualizing your optimal organization and then painting it on a virtual canvas. They emphasize that the design stage should be very deliberate, their maxim being design what you want or deal with what you get. When transitioning, you need to identify and bring the strengths you have in person into the virtual model. It is very important that the brick-and-mortar strengths are translated into the virtual layout. The authors also emphasize that a remote model is much more malleable and agile than most brick-and-mortar models and allows for constant revision. This can be very useful for company leaders who are trying to optimize how their organizations’ function.

The authors championed an idea called the Swiss Cheese Model, which emphasizes the need to look at the holes in the organization. This means looking at what is missing from staff, finances, operations, projects, culture and then figuring out how to fill in the gaps. COVID made seeing these gaps and cracks a lot easier. The authors recommend making data collection and analysis an integral part of the operational framework by using short weekly surveys or a project management system. The authors described the system they use, PDW, Performance Driven Workforce, which created an index score out of performance metrics and employees projects and pay were impacted by their score. These metrics are important because while brick-and-mortar companies focus on the inputs, virtual work companies focus on output. This is useful to CEO’s who are concerned they will no longer be able to monitor productivity when they go virtual.

Studies have shown that employees invest more time in work when they work from home. Away from the office, there is less noise and fewer politics. It makes it easier for people to think, “Sure, why not?”. This frees up employee’s time to focus on core work. Jory MacKay (2020) found that remote workers spend 4% more time on core work and 18% less time on communication than office workers. This translates to 58 more hours on core work and 256 fewer hours on communication. A lot of this is due to less time and energy spent making many mundane decisions. At your home office, you can go on autopilot, diminish decision fatigue, and save the gas for the big decisions. Determining what makes people the most productive is a difficult task, but a Google study which investigated team effectiveness found that it mainly depends on team members taking risks, the personal importance of the work to the team members, and the belief that the work will make an impact.

The authors believe that remote work compels us to focus on human nature, as well as group and individual strengths, and while it may be a complicated transition, for many companies it is well worth it. They emphasize the importance of having a people first business model, designing deliberately, and translating your strengths.

The most important key takeaways for me, as someone who will be entering the workforce soon, was to approach my potentially remote/hybrid career as if I am the CEO of my work. This will empower me to take responsibility for my own results as well as continually develop my skills and abilities. It will also be important for me to focus on my outputs as that is what is more effectively measured in hybrid work environments. I will work on focusing on and making time for core work, that is important to the company’s overall mission, rather than on day-to-day routine tasks. Overall, this book gave me some great perspective into the world of virtual work and how I may succeed in it.

Bio

I am from Dublin, Ohio and attended Dublin Coffman High School. I decided on chemical engineering as my major due to my interest in chemistry in high school as well as my family’s encouragement to pursue a STEM major. I knew I wanted to major in a subject that was challenging and impactful.

I joined the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute to further develop myself professionally and to gain important Leadership skills. I wanted to learn ways to improve my emotional intelligence and gain insight into how to best interact with those around me on teams and projects. I am grateful for having these opportunities to grow and to take myself to the next level.

On campus I am involved in various clubs and activities. I am a member of Theta Tau and served as the Fundraising chair and on the Professional Development Committee. I have also worked on multiple grants for Engineers Without Borders. I am a member of Tau Beta Pi and work as Undergraduate Research Assistant on campus. Additionally, I have performed with the University Orchestra as a flutist.