Like any other worker, remote workers too must make their careers more productive and progressive. Discussions about increasing work productivity, career progression, and growth opportunities must happen and be acted upon so you can improve your performance, acquire more skills and knowledge, and develop your remote career. 

Having a remote job is only winning half the battle. Your work performance must render increasing productivity and add to your expertise. Also, your remote career shouldn’t be stagnant; neither should you be complacent with your current remote position. As workplaces become remote-friendly, careers from anywhere require more support and resources for effective task execution and the right career motives’ fulfillment. You must always endeavor for more productivity and progression with your remote-first/remote-friendly company aiding you accordingly. 

91 percent of employees feel they get more work done at home. Feelings are intangible so remote employees must cultivate measurable organizational habits that go hand in hand with their remote organization’s culture. Productive remote work environments must be set up and remote workers should have the vision and focus to move their careers forward. 

What are the things necessary for organic remote work productivity? 

• A time management system 

Self-discipline can be difficult – yet, it’s arguably the most important part of remote work. Remote work involves distractions from home comforts to social media – that’s why you must organize your time to keep distractions under control. 

A time management system can help you manage workflows. It can be a personal tool like an Apple watch which helps with voice commands and quick reminders. Or your remote employer can use time and productivity tracking software systems like Time Doctor to observe your screen time and activities. 

• Responsiveness 

Remote work communication and collaboration rely on over-communication through the means of synchronous and asynchronous communication.  

Synchronous communication when working remotely is where you respond to your co-workers in real-time. Virtual meetings require synchronous communication. 

Asynchronous communication in remote work is where you give delayed responses to your colleagues and usually involves thoroughly researched/thought out and relevant/required information being relayed later on your end. The response to your reply may also take a few moments to come. Back-and-forth responses will have time gaps in between and can range from hours to days.  Emails and remote work communication applications like MS Teams require asynchronous communication. 

The most widely used form of communication when you work remotely is asynchronous communication and it requires adaptability in the workplace. Synchronous communication is often pre-planned and organized rather than impromptu.  

When you communicate asynchronously, you have the advantage of taking your time to reply and conduct encompassing research and information gathering before responding. However, the advantage is a double-edged sword. If you take too much time to respond, the stretch of silence doesn’t bode well as does ill-researched information and misinformation in a drop-of-a-hat response. The shorter the time you take to respond, the more you create a vibrant and productive presence at your remote workplace. The more compact, accurate, and helpful your responses are, the more effective your work is. The key is to strike a balance between being quick and informative. If you need more time to respond or are busy at the moment, apply the professional courtesy of dropping a message conveying your situation.  

You must also cultivate heightened alertness and dedicate a few minutes to check all the messages in your email and text message work applications. Ensure that you don’t overlook anything and that every message to you is honored with a time-sensitive, correct, and pertinent response. 

Punctuality and full attention are vital in synchronous communication in the remote workplace. Different time zones can be difficult to pool together so that everyone can attend a meeting – this is where you should make some adjustments to accommodate your work. Always be on time. If you cannot make it to a virtual meeting or will join later, inform your team leader or manager – keeping your colleagues waiting for you is disrespectful. You must value the time others have and avoid affecting your colleagues’ productivity. Pay complete attention when you attend virtual meetings. Avoid multitasking when you’re in a meeting and curb social loafing by being completely present and participative.  

• Technology 

Technology creates new possibilities; one of the possibilities is remote work. For a productive remote career, you must always be ready to handle technological attributes and familiarize yourself with new technology.  

Virtual meetings, time-tracking software, leave application software, collaboration tools, and online document storage are significant parts of remote work. The people behind these technologies are always innovating to create ways that will make remote work more efficient. Hence, you must know how to properly use technology and pick up the necessary technological skills related to your remote job. 

Technology has inevitable pitfalls so you must also equip yourself with the requirements to anticipate and navigate these glitches and mishaps while working on the job. 

How can you take your remote career to the next level? 
 

• Social networking  

According to a Gallup research study, those who work from home are 30 percent less likely to discuss their career progression with their manager. As a remote employee, it’s high time you get creative with networking to have a progressive career. 

You must be more intentional in establishing connections to further your remote career goals. The lack of physical presence does make connecting with others challenging but you can endeavor prompts to branch out in an open social network.  

Open social network connections work better when you’re a remote worker. You get a lot more exposure that leads to extensive and wide-ranging opportunities. It’s also easier to connect to an open network online than in flesh. You can bridge the structural holes in your open network and manage brokerage so that it favors you. You can also filter the information that isn’t useful for you and only consider those contacts and opportunities with potential. 

This is not to say closed social network connections are disposable; your former colleague can introduce a remote job that is closer to your professional goals. The information you get from closed social networks would also be more trustworthy – you can also get back to the person for more details and nuances. 

Leverage your open and closed social networks so that the resources for your remote career development align with your career targets. 

Your company can also help by setting up networking resources and events to connect you to other remote workers and in-office employees. 

• Company-funded training 

Remote companies must also fund their employees’ skills development. The perception that remote employees’ skills enhancement is not worth it due to the likelihood of them moving to other companies must be jettisoned. When remote employees’ workplace skills are reinforced, they contribute to the remote company while developing professionally. 

Genashtim Pte Ltd is a 100% remote company that employs people from marginalized communities, particularly people with disabilities (PWDs). Many of the PWD employees at Genashtim have self-taught skills as opportunities for PWDs to develop work skills are limited. Genashtim took it upon itself to elevate the skills of its PWD employees so that they can enjoy career growth. 

Ryan Allegado, the Chief Technical Officer for Abled Online in Genashtim’s IT department started as the company’s Executive Assistant to the Founder and CEO, Thomas Ng. He is affected by childhood polio, hence, a wheelchair user, and is also blind in one eye. After three months of working as an Executive Assistant,  Allegado was promoted to be a part of the Business Development Team and then led the company’s new business venture, Abled Online as its General Manager.  

Before joining Genashtim, Allegado used his heuristic skills to freelance as a web content writer. His income was insufficient and he had to work long hours. There were next-to-nothing opportunities for his career development. He has come a long way since then and working at Genashtim transformed his life and career. Genashtim recognizes the potential of PWDs like Allegado and pushes the envelope for their career development despite their physical limitations and movement restrictions. 

Allegado opines that Genashtim is an enterprise in its own league as it provides equal employment opportunities for PWDs, supports their career growth through company-funded training, and places PWD employees in key positions in the company. He also said that it is rare to find a company that develops and maximizes the skills of PWDs for its own business advantage and provides a decent income in return for good service.  

• Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) and Corporate Massive Open Online Courses (CMOOCs)  

SPOCs best suit the training and development of remote employees according to business needs. Remote employers can use SPOCs when their organization is undergoing a fundamental shift, embarking on a new program, or is planning to move to a more robust level of digitalization. 

SPOCs are easily disseminated to a global remote workforce, with each training and development area being organizationally specific. SPOCs provide skills training with a micro-level goal to achieve real results, whereby the insights and methods taught allow immediate implementation, being incredibly utilitarian. 

Organizational learning through CMOOCs is another  good option for remote employees’ professional development. A remote organization’s HR department can set up training courses that are internally or externally sourced. Remote HR leaders can leverage the paradigms of CMOOCs as they seek out professional development while aligning internal training to the principles of CMOOCs. 

• Self-initiative for professional development 

You can take Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that provide self-study options online. Startups like Coursera, edX, and Udacity offer classes from education giants like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. 

The MOOCs generally have flexible schedules and bite-sized educational videos supported by transcripts, note options, quizzes, and affirming activities like polls and discussion boards. The instructions to navigate the lessons are straightforward and the flow of the courses is seamless. Usually, you would be able to finish a course within the recommended time of two to six weeks. If you are unable to complete all the lessons in the recommended time, the course is usually extended to accommodate your professional and personal schedules. 

You can also read self-help articles that are designed to be epistemic. This way, you can enrich your hard and soft skills. It’s also advisable for you to have a workplace skills plan and accomplish the milestones you set for yourself.  

When you apply what you have learned on your own in your remote workplace, your newfound knowledge and skills are bound to be noticed and rewarded by career development opportunities. 

Final words… 

Your peak productivity as a remote worker boosts your KPI and ensures your remote company’s progression.  

Being a remote worker can make you feel distant and complacent, considering the benefits you enjoy through telework. It’s important that you don’t fall into this “distant and self-satisfaction trap” and do everything in your power to grow in your career. 

Remote companies have the responsibility to assess their employees’ performance, broaden their skill sets, and provide ascendancy to the employees who display abilities to take on more challenging roles. 

As it is with conventional workplaces, remote workplaces can only develop if they prioritize the growth of the employees through consistent training and appropriate career development opportunities. 

Your productivity and progression as a remote worker go hand in hand. Ascertain that you give your best at work, enhance your skills, and cultivate a progressive remote career.