Remote agile teams: Strategies for success in the digital age.

It seems that the pendulum effect is beginning to be felt in the workplace debate about productivity in both face-to-face and remote modalities. In the pandemic, the remote model was established, which gave way to a hybrid format; however more and more organizations are returning to give preference to face-to-face, considering that the performance is higher.

 From the Business Agility perspective, such disputes seem useless. Under our approach, teams work towards clear objectives, outlined by OKRs, with their own initiatives that allow them to evaluate progress in a concrete way. No matter where you are, the objective must be met, and progress will be measured whether you are wearing slippers or loafers at work.

Face-to-face or Remote: Where More Work Gets Done.

The old metric that confused hours in the office with performance is being replaced by a more effective approach. In the past, leaders measured efficiency by the amount of time an employee spent in the office, without considering the quality of the work performed. In contrast, Agile Methodologies, with tools such as OKRs and Gembas, focus on measurable results and progress, not the clock.

In an environment where teams are empowered and have the autonomy to define their goals aligned with those of the business, the debate over the physical location of work becomes irrelevant. The key lies in tangible progress toward concrete goals, not where they are achieved.

Lack of Human Contact and Distractions, the Great "Enemies" of Remote Work.

Some of the arguments that critics of teleworking use the most are:  the lack of contact with colleagues, the need to socialize and the distractions that pop up at home.

Let's take one thing at a time:  nowadays we carry distractions in our pockets, because most of them are on our cell phones, from which we do not separate, no matter where we are. What robs our time the most are dynamics that have more to do with the way we work than with the place where we develop our activity:  meetings that are too long, constantly looking at social networks, not setting clear goals, multitasking, etc. It is not where, but how you work that most affects performance, as we anticipated in this article on time wasters.

Regarding contact with co-workers, in our methodology there are daily meetings, in addition to other meetings, where the progress of the objectives is reviewed and new initiatives are proposed in order to achieve them. Whether we like it or not, there are more and more freelancers and professionals who don’t live in the same city as the rest of the company’s team, so many of these meetings end up being held virtually even when several of the members are in the same office.

Pressure for a Return to Face-to-Face Work.

Despite the apparent dichotomy between on-site and remote work, each team is unique in its characteristics and needs. More effective than the debate on the work mode is to grant autonomy to the Squads to decide their own dynamics.

The dispute over face-to-face or remote work fades away when teams have the ability to adapt according to the demands of the work and their specific objectives. In a goal-based system, the measure of productivity translates into value generated, not hours or days invested.

In this transition scenario, some teams face pressure to return to face-to-face, often without considering the particularities of each group. If we understand that effectiveness is not tied to physical location, but to the ability of Squads to achieve specific goals, pressure without clear reasoning can affect people's trust and reduce the flexibility that Agile methodologies seek to foster.

In short, in the digital age, the key to success lies in adopting an agile approach that prioritizes measurable objectives over the physical location of work. Autonomy and flexibility are the key to adapting to specific needs, allowing for a smooth transition between on-site and remote depending on the context of each job.

Do you want us to assess your case?  Call us, we can work together without geographical limits!