2021 has seen businesses start to shift their approach to remote work to focus on more targeted solutions. The feasibility of having 100% of your company’s workforce work from home is often not possible – many businesses and industries have roles that cannot be done remotely. McKinsey did an analysis of 2,000 tasks and 800 jobs in nine countries and found some interesting trends and applications. Let’s talk about some collaboration opportunities and activities that are remote work compatible.
These insights may be able to help you better decide which roles are best suited for remote workers and why they should or shouldn’t be done remotely.
Activities with the Highest Potential for Remote Work: Updating Knowledge and Learning
In Exhibit 1 of the McKinsey study, they break down the “potential share of time spent working remotely for select activity categories in the United States” by measuring the effective potential (with no productivity loss} and the theoretical maximum percentage of that activity, and they identify one task that can successfully be done, and one that can’t.
Coming in at the top of that list of activities is “updating knowledge and learning.”
This should come as no surprise – online learning has been a part of academic and professional education for decades, though it was ramped up considerably in the last few years. By allowing your employees who need to either lead or complete online educational offerings to do so remotely, you have an 82% probability of doing so with no productivity lost.
The task associated with this activity set that cannot be done remotely includes skills courses that have hands-on components. The study cites surgical skills courses, but it could also encompass areas like trade skills, equipment operation, and other in-house or tool-based learning.
Computer-Based Activities
The McKinsey study shows “interacting with computers” is the activity with the second-highest potential for remote work. The numbers are a little lower – there’s about a 70% effective potential.
Some of the top duties that can be done remotely include: content editing, data entry and organization, project management, graphic and web design, content marketing, social media marketing and management, sales, account management, teacher/instructor, and customer service.
Some of these roles may require updating or adding new online tools to your employee’s devices, such as collaboration tools or suites. This excludes, of course, any computer work that needs to be done to physical components, like the hard drive.
Creative Work
Some of the creative work that can be done remotely includes a few things we just mentioned like graphic design and content creation. Brainstorming and group creative work can easily be done through collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, for example. Your teams can hold video conferences and access shared files unencumbered.
The shortfall here is once again coming from physical components. For example, if your creative team needs to build or assemble prototypes, a hybrid work approach may be better for your team.
Remote Work Compatible Training and Event Assist
Some industries lend themselves almost perfectly to remote pivots. Industries like insurance, accounting and finance, management, as well as professional, scientific, and technical services companies can adapt the bulk of their business practices to accommodate remote setups. Meet Me In The Cloud wants to help you make those moves, from event assist to technology adoption services and training.
Contact us today with any questions.
