There are obvious benefits to the employee of working from home.
However the negatives to the company are too significant to ignore.
In every turnaround of a distressed company I have fixed, the absence of face-to-face cross-functional communication was glaringly absent.
Cross-functional communication is defined as employees from every function meeting as a group on a regular basis to discuss anything affecting the company’s performance including: priorities, problems, issues, creating new opportunities, etc. These functions or departments include: sales, marketing, accounting, manufacturing, engineering and human resources.
Effective cross-functional communication starts at the top with the Chief Executive Officer. A successful CEO must meet regularly with direct reports, as well as with lower organizational levels. The organizational tiers below the CEO level must meet regularly. The meetings should include a mix of officers, managers and individual contributors. Depending on the issues and their severity, by meeting regularly I suggest weekly.
Cross-functional communication must be done face-to-face. In person communication simply provides the most honest, candid, productive exchange.
Whether problem solving or evaluation of a new opportunity some people will not express their opinions openly in a meeting. There are many factors for this hesitation to share thoughts, including basic modesty, shyness, uncomfortable speaking publicly, pecking order politics, etc. Successful managers must be able to read a team, recognize the body language and facial expressions of a person reluctant or shy to express themselves and have the skill to draw the person out – get them to open up.
This is very hard to do at a distance via conference calls and other contemporary technology. It simply cannot be done relying on Zoom calls.
A further complication of employees not working in the company’s offices is the elimination of informal communication. Employees frequently stop to chat informally in a hallway or someone’s office to further discuss an issue important to the company. Occasionally in these informal meetings a solution is formed.
The staff of any company working exclusively from home will negatively affect creativity, problem resolution and company performance.
Articles:
Goldman Sachs lifts all COVID protocols, orders staff to return to office full-time
