The past few weeks have seen a lot of employers shift to Work From Home (WFH) arrangements for the first time, whether eagerly or reluctantly. For some, this arrangement came as second nature, like those in the tech sector. For others, it may have meant a steep learning curve and adjustment pains. Whatever your own company’s experience, the truth is a new reality is emerging. This “forced” experiment into WFH made companies and employees realize that many roles can work effectively under WFH schemes and that business does carry on. 

There is a lot of talk of the ‘new normal’ and at BLANKSLATE Partners we believe part of the ‘new normal’ will be that many employees will not necessarily need to share a physical space, in order to be part of the company. At the same time, embracing the idea of WFH will eventually open the door to another work arrangement. Which, even though is nothing new, it is not commonplace… yet! We are talking about Work From Anywhere. (WFA)

Work From Anywhere:

But, what is WFA anyway? Well, glad you asked! It is not merely a matter of giving flexibility regarding the physical place where work is carried out. It goes beyond that to also include when and how such work is carried out. Therefore, WFA could perhaps be working from home, from a coffee shop, from another province or country, after kids’ bedtime… you get it, the possibilities are endless. 

So how do you balance giving such a level of flexibility with making sure business goals are met? Well, that’s where the art and science of your people strategy comes into place. Careful thought must be placed on areas such as: building up the right culture which enables these work arrangements; being able to select employees with the right skillsets who would thrive in this environment; having crystal clear OKRs or KPIs regarding performance expectations; putting in the place the right communication tools and processes to enable team collaboration; upping the game of your managers to keep these employees engaged; clarifying your strategy on how these roles will be compensated in order to keep internal equity and external competitiveness; among many other fun HR pieces. 

In addition to your people strategy, there also needs to be careful thought on the legal and tax implications when deciding to hire people from outside the country. No, you can’t just add anyone in the world straight into your payroll… it takes a few steps in between. 

The thing is, with the increase of WFH, we’ve opened the door wider into WFA. Even as we head into a recession, being able to attract, retain and motivate top talent will continue to be of paramount importance and a key differentiator. 

 

At BLANKSLATE Partners we’ve helped multiple clients set up these kinds of arrangements with the necessary support programs and tools to setup remote employees for success. 

 

So, if you are thinking of expanding your fishing net to a wider pool, give us call! We’ll be happy to help.