RWL064 Laurel Farrer Transformative Strategies for Remote Team Management with Laurel Farrer

Evolution of Remote Work Thought Leadership

Alex Wilson-Campbell
0:00

Hello

everybody
.

It's

Alex

at

the

Remote

Work

Alive

podcast
,

or

from

the

Remote

Work

Alive

podcast
.

You're

very

welcome
.

Thank

you

for

joining

me

today
.

And

yet

another

special

guest

with

me

today
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
0:12

I've

got

Laurel

Farrer

with

me

today

and

I've

been

following

Laurel

for

a

little

while

now
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
0:20

She's

one

of

the

very

first

people

that

I

started

to

follow

when

I

was

considering

remote

work

myself

some

10

years

ago
,

and

I

just

really

feel

privileged

to

have

the

opportunity

to

have

Laurel

on

the

podcast

today
,

because

when

it

comes

to

knowledge

and

insight

on

remote

work
,

there

are

people

who

are

experts

and

then

there

are

thought

leaders
,

and

Laurel

is

really

up

there

in

terms

of

her

thought

leadership
.

She

she's

a

distributed

operations

consultant

and

she

collaborates

with

some

of

the

the

world's

top

remote

friendly

companies

to

strengthen
,

you

know
,

virtual

operations
,

digital

processes
,

develop

long

distance

management

strategies
.

She

writes

for

some

of

the

top

magazines

in

the

world

or

top

online

publications

about

remote

work
,

forbes

being

one

of

those

publications
.

So

you

can

imagine

that

Laurel

really

knows

her

stuff
.

And

in

terms

of

her

clients
,

I

mean

a

client

is

a

list

of

the

who's

who

in

the

world

of

companies
,

let

alone

remote

companies

New

York

Times
,

logitech
,

upwork
,

fast

Company
,

microsoft

Gallup
.

You

know

all

of

those

names
.

So
,

laurel
,

thank

you

so

much

for

taking

the

time

to

join

me

today
.

Laurel Farrer
1:39

My

pleasure
,

my

goodness
,

I'm

going

to

blush

with

an

introduction

like

that
.

I

appreciate

it
.

Well
,

you

know
,

I'm

going

to

blush

with

an

introduction

like

that
,

I

appreciate

it
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
1:45

Well
,

you

know
,

I'm

going

to

tell

you

as

it

is
,

and

we

only

have

the

very
,

very

best

on

the

Remote

Work

Life

podcast
,

and

you

certainly

are

one

of

those
.

So

thanks

so

much

for

taking

the

time

to

join

me
.

I

know

you're

so

busy
.

You're

appearing

on

podcasts

here
,

there

and

everywhere
,

so

how

is

that

all

going
?

I'm

sure

you're

pretty

busy

at

the

moment

going
.

Laurel Farrer
2:03

I'm

sure

you're

pretty

busy

at

the

moment
.

Yeah
,

it's

been

a

memorable

month

and

a

half
,

that's

for

sure
,

but

it's

starting

to

slow

down
,

or

at

least

stabilize
,

now

that

the

shock

factor

has

passed

us
,

and

so

now

it's

just

a

matter

of

switching

the

conversation

from

shock

to

sustainability
.

How

do

we

implement

remote

work

on

a

long-term

scale
?

And

that's

a

better

and

more

comfortable

topic

to

be

discussing
,

oh

yeah
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
2:32

Hang

around
,

because

that

is

essentially

what

we're

going

to

be

discussing

today
,

because
,

as

Laurel

said
,

the

shock

factor

I

hope

for

you

has

worn

off

as

a

manager

of

a

remote

team
,

whether

that's

because

you've

you've

been

forced

into

remote

work

or

because

you're

all

of

a

sudden

having

to

really

just

sort

of
,

I

suppose
,

amp

things

up

a

bit

or

at

least

get

things

streamlined

and

steady
.

So

we're

going

to

be

speaking

really

to

you
,

managers

of

remote

teams
,

today

to

really

help

you

to
,

I

guess
,

take

things

to

the

next

level
,

now

that

you've

started

to

get

your

feet

under

the

table

in

terms

of

remote

work

and

you're

trying

to

make

it

work

for

you
,

for

your

team
.

So
,

yeah
,

please

do

stick

around
.

So
,

laurel
,

I'm

really

intrigued
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
3:21

I

mean

I've

looked
,

I've

done

lots

of

research

on

you
.

I'm

really

intrigued
.

I

mean

I've

looked
,

I've

done

lots

of

research

on

you
,

but

I'm

really

intrigued
,

from

your

own

standpoint
,

to

know

how

you

got

to

this

point
.

I

mean
,

you've

been

in

remote

work

for

a

number

of

years
,

been

doing

remote

work

and

advising

on

remote

work

for

a

number

of

years
,

but

from

what

I

can

see
,

you

were

in

events

at

one

point
.

How

did

that

all

transition

into

where

you

are

now
?

Laurel Farrer
3:45

yes
,

I'm

the

black

sheep

of

the

remote

work

world
,

that

I

do

not

come

from

tech

and

that's

actually

part

of

my

my

origin

story
,

I

guess
,

if

you

will
,

because

I

was

in

in

services
.

I

was

in

the

events

industry

for

the

first

decade

of

my

career

and

so

I

was

running

fully

distributed

teams

in

that

industry

and

didn't

get

connected

with

the

terminology

and

the

community

of

remote

work

until

just

a

few

years

ago
.

And

when

I

did

get

connected

with

them
,

it

was

just

this

huge

epiphany

and

revelation

and

relief
,

because

they

had

so

much

structure

and

terminology

around

things

that

I

had

been

doing

for

so

long
.

And

so

it

was

this

great

moment

of

knowledge

sharing

because

I

said
,

oh
,

I'm

so

excited

to

learn

from

all

of

you

guys
,

these

other

distributed

companies

and

virtual

leaders
.

I

said
,

oh
,

I'm

so

excited
,

I've

only

been

doing

this

for

10

years
.

And

they

said

10

years
.

We

were

in

middle

school

and

I

said
,

oh

yeah
,

I

know

you

were
.

Laurel Farrer
4:53

So

that's

when

we

had

this

back

and

forth

right

that

I

said
,

you

know
,

this

is

a

best

practice

that

I

found

in

the

different

companies

that

I've

worked

with
.

And

they

said
,

oh
,

yeah
,

we

have

a

word

for

that
.

It's

a

standup

right
.

Or
,

oh
,

we

have

a

word

for

that

Like

it's

distributed

or

you

know

things

like

that
.

And

I

was

like
,

oh

well
,

you

guys

really

have

a

lot

of

information

to

share
.

It

could

do

with

a

bit

more

polishing

based

on

on

longevity
,

but

you

really

should

get

this

out

of

the

tech

world
.

You

really

need

to

share

this

with

other

industries

and

larger

companies
.

And

so

that's

what

put

me

into

the

position

that

I'm

in
,

and

it's

like
,

yeah
,

let's

talk

to

healthcare

and

see

what

they're

doing
.

Let's

talk

to

engineering

and

see

what

they're

doing
.

And

so

it

wasn't

necessarily

that

I

was

the

best

or

the

brightest

expert

that

put

me

into

a

thought

leader

position
.

It

was

that

I

was

willing

to

expand

out

of

the

silos

that

previously

existed

and

I

think
,

yeah
,

those

silos
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
5:56

I

suppose

that's

um

characteristics

of

the

of

many

of

the

people

within

the

remote

world
,

not

just

just

yourself
,

but

it's

about
,

I

think

lots

of

people

think

about

remote

work

and

remote

workers

as

being

quite

closed

off

and

quite

retreating

into

their

bedroom

or

wherever

it

may

be
.

But

it

requires

so

much

more
.

It

requires

a

lot

of

um

communication
.

It

requires

a

lot

of

getting

out

there

and

seeing

what

people

are

doing

in

a

deliberate

way
,

doesn't

it
?

Um
?

It

looks

like

that's

what

you've

really

been

doing

I

love

that
.

Laurel Farrer
6:30

I've

never

thought

about

that

as

a

symbolic

macro

representation

of

what

we

really

epitomize

as

remote

workers
.

But
,

yes
,

you're

absolutely

right

that

you

need

to

be

much

more

transparent
,

much

more

proactive

and

much

more

consistent

and

open

in

your

communication

style
.

That

doesn't

necessarily

mean

that

you

need

to

be
,

you

know
,

extroverted

or

aggressive

or

any

of

those

negative

words
,

but

just

more

open
.

And

so
,

yeah
,

I've

never

thought

of

myself

as

an

exemplification

of

that
,

but

I

guess

I

am
.

That's

a

fun

thing

to

think

about
,

definitely
,

definitely
.

Not

to

mention
,

you're

appearing

on

another

two

podcasts

today

as

an

exemplification

of

that
,

but

I

guess

I

am
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
7:04

That's

that's

a

fun

thing

to

think

about

definitely
,

definitely
,

not

to

mention

you're

appearing

on

another

two

podcasts

today
,

I

think
.

So

that

does

require

itself

a

lot

of

uh
,

a

lot

of

networking
,

a

lot

of

speaking
.

So
,

yeah
,

um
,

just

keep

doing

what

you're

doing
.

I

love

it
.

I

really

do

love

what

you're

doing
,

um

in

terms

of

okay
,

so

for

you

then

I

mean
,

you're

at

distributed

you
,

you

you

run
,

you're

a

CEO

of

distributed

um

at

the

moment
.

Um
,

but

where

does

so

your
,

I

suppose
,

happily

appears

as

your

main

100

distributed

role
?

Could

you

take

me

forward

from

there

then

in

terms

of
,

uh
,

how

you

sort

of

evolved

into

then

becoming

the

consultant

that

you

are

today

as

well
?

Laurel Farrer
7:46

Yeah
,

I

think

I

was

the

largest

distributed

team

that

I

managed
.

But

how

I

actually

got

started

in

remote

work

was

almost

a

decade

before

that
.

It

was

when

I

took

my

own

team

remote

as

again
,

I

was

operations

management
.

That's

been

my

career

until

I

founded

Distribute

Consulting
.

Laurel Farrer
8:06

And

back

in

the

very

beginning

it

was

me

and

the

CEO

of

a

small

events

firm

in

Colorado

and

we

were

in

a

critical

stage

of

growth

that

we

were

looking

to

save

costs

on

real

estate
.

We

were

just

at

that

stage

that

we

needed

to

get

the

big

downtown

office

to

impress

all

of

the

clients
,

and

so

we

were

getting

ready

to

make

that

jump
.

But

the

irony

of

the

events

industry

is

that

you

get

an

office

but

during

the

busy

season

you're

never

in

it

because

you're

always

on

site

at

the

event
.

And

so

we

were

getting

ready

for

that

busy

season
.

We

were

scaling

up
,

hiring

people

and

we

said

you

know

what

if

we

just

pushed

pause

just

for

a

few

months

just

to

save

on

those

real

estate

costs
,

and

at

the

end

of

the

season

we'll

get

the

office

space
?

And

so

that's

what

we

did
,

and

we

never

got

the

office
.

We

were

just

so

impressed

with

the

employee

retention

and

the

recruiting

benefits

with

the

saved

costs
.

I

mean
,

we

were

a

small

business

and

that

really

made

or

broke

our

bottom

line

and

we

were

just

thrilled

with

the

results

that

we

saw
.

Laurel Farrer
9:21

But

at

the

time
,

I

mean
,

this

was

what

2006
.

So

this

was
,

it

was

not

cool

then
.

It

was

not
,

um
,

you

know
,

trendy

to

be

a

distributed

company
.

You

could

not

tell

anybody

that

you

were
,

that

you

didn't

have

an

office

space
.

There's

no

way

that

we

would

have

been

taken

seriously

as

a

woman

owned

small

business

without

an

office
.

Like

no

way
.

Um
.

And

so

that's

when

we

had

to

play

it

off

as

good

customer

service
,

like
,

oh
,

we'll

meet

you

at

the

event

site

or

we'll

come

to

you
,

or

let's

meet

for

coffee

or

something

like

that
.

Laurel Farrer
9:53

So

we

had

to

cover

it

up
.

But

it

was

just

made

so

much

sense

as

a

business

strategy
.

And

so

through

the

years

I

consulted

on

the

side

as

technology

continued

to

develop
.

I

would

just

answer

questions

for

people

in

my

network

about

how

to

operate

this

way

to

save

on

real

estate

costs
,

and

so

it

was

fantastic
.

We

watched

the

evolution

of

video

conferencing

becoming

accessible

and

cloud

collaboration

with

Google

Suite

and

stuff
,

and

it

was

a

really

great

process

to

be

a

part

of

and

to

grow

and

build
,

and

so

that's

what

gave

me

that

consulting

experience
.

Laurel Farrer
10:35

So
,

yeah
,

after

I

worked

with

those

larger

companies

and

realized

that

there

was

a

right

way

and

a

wrong

way

to

do

remote

work

and

that

there

really

was

some

a

need

for

consulting

in

that

space
,

then

that's

when

I

just

took

my

you

know
,

on

the

side

consulting

hobby

and

turned

it

into

distribute

consulting
.

And

so

now

we
,

we

advise

on

all

things

remote

work
.

Sometimes

it's

change

management

consulting
,

sometimes

it's

just

subject

matter

expertise

and

we

advise

on

products

or

market

research
.

Um
,

we

host

events
,

we

write

content
,

like

all

things

remote

work
.

We

really

help

people

understand

it

and

leverage

it

on

it

and

in

a

in

the

best

way

possible

and

would

you

say
?

Alex Wilson-Campbell
11:17

I

mean

you

mentioned

that

uh
,

almost

like

a

credibility

issue

that

you

had

with

trying

to

convince

people

that

you

were

I

don't

know

what

the

word

is
,

but

I

mean

I

had

that

myself
,

not

not

in

the

same

way

that

you

did

it
,

but

did

but
,

um
,

when

I

was

consulting

in

terms

of

my

career

consulting

I

chose

to
,

um
,

I

chose

to

be

fully

remote

as

well
,

but

everybody

always

used

to

ask

me

um
,

can

we
,

can

I

meet

you

at

the

office
,

or

where's
,

where's

your

office
,

sort

of

thing
.

And

that
,

for

me
,

was

a

big

challenge
,

a

big

hurdle

for

me

to

overcome
.

Was

that

probably

your

biggest

hurdle

in

terms

of

that

factor

that

you

mentioned
?

Laurel Farrer
11:53

Oh

yeah
,

I

mean

we

still

see

this

now
,

right
?

I

mean

this

is

why

remote

work

is

such

a

big

topic

right

now

during

the

coronavirus

Contingency

plans

is

because

people

think

is

this

sustainable
?

Like

would

we

lose

any

credibility
?

Would

I

lose

any

credibility

if

I

weren't

in

the

office

connecting

with

my

boss

every

day
?

Like

this

is

still

a

big

concern

for

everybody
,

and

justifiably

so
.

I

mean
,

this

is

a

big

transition

and

it's

part

of

an

entirely

new

industrial

revolution
.

And

it's

part

of

an

entirely

new

industrial

revolution

and

so

people

are
.

Laurel Farrer
12:26

There's

a

lot

of

uncertainty

and

it's

a

big

risk

to

take

in

your

career
.

Laurel Farrer
12:30

So

that's

exactly

why

we

exist

as

consultants

is

to

make

sure

that

people

understand

that

this

is

a

sustainable

strategy

and

how

they

can

position

themselves

as

a

business

or

as

a

worker

or

as

a

manager

to

be

more

visible

and

more

confident

in

their

career

development
,

and

just

making

sure

that

people

understand

that

this

is

really

a

benefit

and

reward

on

so

many

levels
.

And

I

think

that's

exactly

what

makes

distribute

consulting

unique

is

that

there

are

so

many

people

out

there

that

evangelize

remote

work
,

that

they

are

just

they

say
,

oh
,

this

is

so

great
,

everybody

should

do

this
.

Anybody

that's

not

doing

this

is

ridiculous

and

that's

ridiculous

and

that's

completely

unrealistic
.

And

so

we

do
.

We

pride

ourselves

in

being

that

credible
,

realistic

thought

leader

that

says

we

understand

that

this

is

complicated

and

we're

going

to

walk

you

through

this

process
.

We

understand

that

there's
,

you

know
,

unsexy

issues

to

talk

about
,

like

compliance

and

payroll

and

international

tourism

laws
.

Like

we

understand

that

and

so

we

talk

about

the

more

serious

side

of

remote

work
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
13:44

Understand

that
,

and

so

we

talk

about

the

more

serious

side

of

remote

work
.

And

again
,

you're

also

founder

of

the

Remote

Work

Association
.

Does

that

association

always

sorry
,

not

always

but

also

sort

of

underline

that

point

in

terms

of

getting

our

credibility

out

there
,

getting

our
,

you

know
,

having

a

credible

voice

for

people

within

remote

work
?

Is

that

what

that's

all

about
?

Yeah
,

Absolutely
.

Laurel Farrer
14:05

This

is

all

about

building

community
,

and

when

I

started

the

Remote

Work

Association
,

it

was

never

intended

to

be

a

large

community

like

it

is

now
,

and

so

I

didn't

even

know

the

term

remote

work

until

I

was

a

remote

work

thought

leader
.

Global Remote Work Association Growth

Laurel Farrer
14:33

The

first

time

I

heard

the

word

agile

was

when

I

spoke

at

an

international

agile

conference
.

You

know
,

like

it

just

so

much

was

siloed
,

and

so

I

wanted

to

help

that

and

say

let's

all

unify
,

not

just

from

the

tech

industry
,

but

from

all

of

these

different

industries
,

different

countries
,

different

levels

of

roles
,

like

whoever

you

are
,

if

you're

a

freelancer

or

a

C-level

executive
,

if

you're

a

remote

work

advocate

and

you

want

to

talk

about

this

at

a

deeper
,

meaty

level
,

let's

meet

here

in

the

Remote

Work

Association
.

And

it

just

started

as

a

very

small

informal

invitation

that

I

sent

to

about

30

friends

that

I

had

spoken

at

conferences

with
,

and
,

and

then

now

it's

several

hundred

members

strong
,

with

members

all

over

the

world

and

and

companies
,

um
,

that

are

some

of

the

most

reputable

and

and

impressive

brands

in

the

world
.

So

it's

it's

an

honor

to

be

a

member

of

that

community
,

let

alone

the

founder

of

it

tell

us

the

url

for

that
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
15:30

I

want

to

share

that

out

as

well
.

I'll

put

it

in

the

show

notes

too
,

obviously
,

because

I

think

that's

really

important
,

because

I

mean

it

feels

like

remote

work

is

a

movement
,

but

it

really
.

I

mean

it

shouldn't

necessarily

I

don't

think

necessarily

should

be

a

movement

in

a

sense
,

but

it's

good

that

there

is

some

sort

of

movement
,

if

you

see

what

I

mean

that

there

is

some

sort

of

movement
,

if

you

see

what

I

mean
.

Laurel Farrer
15:52

So

what's

the

URL
?

Where

can

we

find

that
?

Yeah
,

that's

the

remoteworkassociationcom
,

and

it's

where

thought

leaders

connect

and

can

really

ask

each

other

questions

and

share

their

expertise

with

newcomers
.

And

so

we

have

a

great

campaign

that's

really

taken

hold

during

the

coronavirus

contingency

plan

wave

of

keep

the

world

working
,

and

so

it's

all

about

economic

impact

and

business

continuity

during

this

time

of

transition
,

and

it's

where

a

lot

of

our

members

are

offering

free

consultations

to

new

leaders

that

have

a

lot

of

questions

about

remote

work

but

maybe

don't

necessarily

need

or

can't

afford

full

level

consulting
.

That's

what

they're

providing

through

that

association

and
,

yeah
,

it's

people

that

are

actually

credible

experts
,

as

opposed

to
,

let's

say
,

marketing

capitalists

that

are

taking

advantage

of

good

SEO

and

a

strong

news

cycle
.

That's

something

that

we

really

saw

a

lot

of

during

March

2020
,

right
,

a

lot

of

businesses
,

a

lot

of

companies

that

said
,

oh
,

we're

work-from-home

experts
.

And

we

said
,

oh
,

okay

you

have

experience

with

this
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
17:08

Yeah
,

exactly
.

Laurel Farrer
17:09

Because

I

remember

two

months

ago

asking

you

if

you

worked

remotely

and

you

said

no
.

So

yeah
,

it

was

a
.

It

was

a

tricky

time

to

navigate
,

but

and

it

still

is
.

So

we

want

to

make

sure

that

people

have

access

to

true

authorities

and

not

just

enthusiasts

and

not

just

experienced

workers
,

but

true
,

comprehensive
,

diverse

uh

thought

leaders

and

experts

that

can

help

them

through

through

this

transition

make

sure
,

guys
,

you

check

out

the

show

notes
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
17:38

The

link

to

the

association

will

be

in

there

and

have

a

look
.

And

yeah
,

it

was

really

disappointing

in

some

ways

to

see

you

call

them

um
.

What

did

you

call

them

marketing
?

He

was

very

polite

in

what

you

said
.

You

called

them

marketing

capitalists

I

like

that
,

I

like

that
,

yeah
,

opportunistic

people

who

are

just

jumping

on

the

bandwagon

of

oh
,

we

can

do

this

for

your
,

your

tech
,

we

could

do

this

for

your

team
,

we're

remote
,

this

remote

that

it

was
.

Laurel Farrer
18:05

Yeah
,

yeah
,

I

know

exactly

what

you

mean
,

yeah
,

it's

been
,

uh
,

Navigating the Remote Work Landscape

Laurel Farrer
18:09

it's

been

tricky
,

I

don't
.

I

mean
,

I'm

I'm

happy

for

the

support

of

remote

work
.

You

know
,

as

advocates
.

This

has

been

something

that

we've

been

working

for

for

a

long

time
,

so

I'm

happy

to

see

that

people

are

are

supporting

and

understanding

remote

work

on

a

larger

scale
.

However
,

uh
,

as

you

mentioned
,

I'm

a

forbes

writer

and

so

there's

a

lot

of

press

releases

that

come

through

my

inbox

from

people

that

are

hoping

that

I'll

cover

it

through

Forbes
,

and

I

started

sharing

them

with

my

team

at

Distribute

just

so

we

can

get

a

laugh

together
,

because

some

of

the

capitalism

that

we've

seen
,

the

opportunistic

marketing

that

we've

seen
,

is

just

absolutely

hilarious
.

I've

seen

like

a

smoothie

shop

that

was

trying

to

capitalize

on

this
.

I've

seen

like

stuffed

animals
.

I've

seen

just

like

false

eyelashes
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
19:04

Really
,

how

is

that
?

I

know
?

Alex Wilson-Campbell
19:07

I'm

like
,

wow
,

okay
,

that's

my

market

and

my

competition

has

changed

a

little

bit

in

the

past

month
,

just

a

bit
,

and

it

just

I

mean

that's
,

in

a

way
,

while

I

started

a

remote

work
,

life

was

just

a

really

well
,

actually

not

this

wave

of

sort

of

opportunists
,

but

even

before

this

whole

wave
,

this
,

this

whole

thing

is

now
,

I

suppose
,

intensified

because

of

what

we're

going

through
,

but

just

wanted

to

to

be

able

to

have

some

place

where

people

can

come

and

really

see

people

like

yourself
,

who
,

who

know

what

they're

talking

about

and

they

can

be

sure

that

they're

talking
,

you

know

they're

listening

to

somebody

who's

an

expert
,

because

it's

it

becomes

information

overload
,

doesn't

it
?

If

everybody's

saying
,

yeah
,

I

can

do

this

for

you
,

I

can

do

that

for

you
,

I've

done

this

in

terms

of

the

remote

world
.

So

overload
,

doesn't

it
?

If

everybody's

saying
,

oh
,

I

can

do

this

for

you
,

I

can

do

that

for

you
,

I've

done

this

in

terms

of

the

remote

world
.

So
,

yeah
,

it

doesn't

make

it

easy

and

it

can

be

very

dangerous

as

well
.

Laurel Farrer
19:57

If

you're

listening

to

people

that

have

no

idea

what

they're

talking

about
,

you

can

put

your

company

in

a

lot

of

danger
.

That's

the

problem

with

change

management

towards

remote

work

in

general
.

The

problem

with

change

management

of

towards

remote

work

in

general

is

that

typically

it's

a

very

careful
,

meticulous
,

well-planned

strategic

process

that

takes

at

least

three

to

six

weeks

minimum
,

if

not

three

to

six

months
.

And

now

we

saw

the

entire

world

do

this

overnight
.

And

then

they

think
,

oh

well
,

now

I'm

a

distributed

company
.

Click
,

like

you

know
,

I'm

done
,

check

it
,

that

was

easy
.

And

I'm

done
,

check

it
,

that

was

easy
.

Laurel Farrer
20:31

And

that's

not

the

case

at

all
.

Laurel Farrer
20:33

It

is

not

just

a

matter

of

sending

your

workforce

home

with

a

laptop
.

Laurel Farrer
20:39

And

if

all

the

only

perspectives

that

they

see

is

this

noise

of

these

opportunistic

marketers

that

are

saying
,

yeah
,

like
,

it

is

that

simple
,

and

yes
,

this

is

so

great
,

and

if

you're

not

doing

this
,

you're

stupid
.

And

and

you

know
,

here

are

here's

a

comic

book

that

I

wrote

about

remote

work
.

You

know
,

like

all

of

these

ridiculous
,

ridiculous

messaging
,

yes
,

it's

beneficial

for

their

business
,

but

it

makes

it

harder

for

leaders

to

get

access

to

the

resources

that

they

actually

need

to

make

this

sustainably

and

successfully
.

And

so
,

yes
,

I

mean

I

highly

recommend

that

all

of

these

leaders

understand

that

allowing

remote

work

is

very
,

very

different

than

actually

adopting

remote

work
,

and

in

order

to

do

it

successfully
,

you

need

to

adopt
,

you

need

to

make

changes

to

your

learning

and

development

teams
,

your

onboarding

systems
,

your

talent

acquisition

funnels
,

your

policies
,

your

infrastructure

and

communication

channels
.

Your

org

chart
,

like

everything
,

needs

to

be

evaluated

on

a

very

serious

level
,

and

so

make

sure

that

you

screen

your

consultants

and

your

subject

matter

experts

very
,

very

carefully
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
21:50

Yeah
,

and

there's

going

to

be

a

lot

of

them

popping

up

in

your

inbox

or

on

your

LinkedIn

feed
.

So

yeah
,

you

do

have

to

really

scrutinize

them

In

a

way
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
22:00

It's

kind

of

on

the

other

side

of

things
.

It's

like

you

said
.

It's

quite

dangerous

because

I

get

a

lot

of

people
,

for

example
,

on

the

side

of

job

seekers

who

are

trying

to
,

you

know
,

get

into

remote

work
,

and

they're

faced

with

like

a

plethora

of

people

sort

of

claiming

to

offer

that

sort

of

facility

because

they're

using

it

as

a

means

of

marketing

their

business
,

as

opposed

to

you

know

what

the

business

is

about
.

They're

saying
,

oh
,

they're

using

that

as

their

main

banner

to

get

people

involved
,

and

that

in

itself

as

well

is

also

it's

pretty

dangerous

too
,

because

people

get

burned

from

those

sorts

of

experiences
.

Laurel Farrer
22:37

So

yeah
,

yeah
,

if

you

adopt

it

correctly
,

you

can

make

a

lot

of

money

from
,

or

I

should

say
,

save

a

lot

of

money

from
,

adopting

a

remote

work

model
.

I

mean
,

the

average

is

about

$11,000

to

$20,000

US

dollars

per

worker

per

year

if

you

adopt

it

correctly
.

However
,

if

you

don't
,

it

can

cost

you

that

much
,

if

not

more
.

So

yeah
,

it's
.

I

mean
,

you

really

put

your
,

you're

taking

a

risk

if

you

are

consulting

the

wrong

authority
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
23:11

Absolutely
.

And

on

that
,

I

mean
,

let's

talk

a

bit

about

them
,

because

we're

here

to

sort

of

really

help

managers

of

remote

teams

and

some

of

whom

have

been

put

in

a

situation

where

their

hand

has

been

forced

into

the

scenario

that

they're

in

Others
,

where

I

guess

remote

work

is

something

that

they've

been

doing

for

a

little

while
,

but

there's

still

areas

that

they

need

to

improve

within

their

team

as

well
.

I

mean
,

what

steps
,

laurel
,

can

managers

take

to

really

help

their

team

to

become

better

remote

workers
?

Laurel Farrer
23:53

Well
,

obviously
,

long-term
,

I

would

suggest

working

with

a

consultant

to

really

review

and

optimize

your

remote

work

model
,

but

in

the

short

term
,

we

all

just

need

a

bandaid

right

now
,

right
?

So
,

as

a

benchmark

for

an

emergency

contingency

plan
,

I

recommend

that

every

single

leader

do

a

minimum

of

three

things
.

The

first

thing

is

to

streamline

your

communication

channels
.

The

first

week

or

two

of

just

coronavirus

media

boom
,

everybody

was

talking

about

tools
.

What

tools

do

I

need
?

What

software

do

I

need
?

Laurel Farrer
24:28

That

was

the

only

conversation

happening
,

and

it's

really
,

really

critical

to

remember

that
,

as

managers
,

we

can

use

tools

to

do

our

job

better

and

to

be

more

efficient

with

our

results
,

but

we

cannot

depend

on

the

tool

to

do

the

job

for

us
.

So

it's

still

important

to

unify

your

team
,

to

motivate

your

team
,

to

inspire

results

and

innovation
.

You

know

all

of

those
,

all

of

those

factors
.

You

cannot

have

a

tool

do

for

you
,

and

so

don't

get

tempted

to

add

so

many

tools

to

your

software

stack

that

it

becomes

cluttered

and

disorganized

and

people

are

in

18

different

places

all

at

the

same

time
.

Really

streamline

your

software

stack

as

much

as

possible

and

just

build

a

toolkit

of

maybe

one

or

two

or

three

tools

and

keep

your

people

in

those

three

places

maximum
.

Laurel Farrer
25:24

That

way

you're

essentially

exactly
,

you're

just

in
.

That

gives

you

the

sense

of

being

in

the

same

place

at

the

same

time

and

people

have

much
,

much

more

accessibility

to

information

and

to

each

other
,

and

that

by

itself

helps

prevent

isolation
.

So

that's

the

first

one

is

to

simplify

your

communication

channels
.

The

second

one

is

to

upskill
,

so

get

some

specific

training

for

your

workforce
.

That

is

about

remote

work

specifically
.

Laurel Farrer
25:52

The

caveat

and

the

cruel

irony

of

remote

work

is

that

you

don't

know

what

you

don't

know
.

So

you

go

home

and

you're

sitting

here

with

your

laptop

and

you

think
,

well
,

I

think

we're

doing

okay
.

I

mean
,

it

seems

like

we're

doing

okay
.

Are

we

doing

okay
?

I

don't

know
,

and

you

just

have

no

benchmark
,

you

have

no

way

of

measuring
,

and

so

that's

another

reason

why

it's

critical

to

get

connected

with

a

consultant

or

an

expert

that

is

from

your

industry

that

can

say

this

is

where

you

need

to

be

as

a

benchmark
.

And

let

me

give

you

that

training

to

fill

the

gap

between

where

you

are

now

and

where

you

need

to

be
.

Laurel Farrer
26:34

And

so

that's

workforce

training

on

skills

like

self-management
,

that's

leadership

training

on

how

to

manage

and

supervise

productivity

without

sensory

supervision
,

like

there's

all

of

these

components

that

you

need

to

be

thinking

about
.

So

second

is

training

and

then

third

is

policy
.

So
,

as

a

consultant
,

the

number

one

reason

that

people

have

policy

retractions

or

concerns

with

their

remote

work

models

is

misaligned

expectations
.

Everybody

has

a

slightly

different

interpretation

of

what

remote

work

is

going

to

look

like

in

their

life
,

and

often

those

don't

match

up

with

a

manager's

perspective

and

a

worker's

perspective
.

And

so

there's

problems

like

oh
,

I

can't

get

a

hold

of

them

when

I

need

to
,

or

you

said

you

were

going

to

deliver

that
,

but

I

needed

it

last

week
,

and

like

there's

all

of

these

just

small

frustrations

that

add

up

and

accumulate

to

big

problems

and

big

frustration
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
27:34

And

so

developing

a

remote

work

policy

and

just

having

a

discussion

as

a

team

about

what

is

going

to

be

expected

of

us

to

make

this

work

is

absolutely

essential
,

not

only

as

a

legal

document

but

as

a

team

agreement

as

well
,

and

I
,

on

the

distribute

consulting

website
,

we

have

a

free

policy

download

for

everybody
,

because

we

do

feel

like

this

is

so

essential

for

everybody

to

to

know

about

and

to

have

yeah
,

and

I

think

we

should

link

to

that

as

well

in

the

show

notes
,

because
,

um
,

you
,

you

take

me

back

to

a

time

when

I

I

was

in

a

team

that

allowed

um
,

it

allowed

me

to

work

remotely
,

but

not

everybody

on

the

team

was

really

on

board

with

remote

working

and

it

caused

all

kinds

of

um
,

confusion

and

conflict

and

frustration

and

there

was

no
,

there's

no

policy

around

remote

work

for

everybody

just

to

sort

of

gravitate

towards

and

understand

that

this

is

how

we

you

know

how

we've

implemented

remote

work

within

our

team
,

so

I

think

that's

really

important
,

so

I'm

going

to

ask

for

the

link

to

that

so

I

can

put

that

in

the

show

notes
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
28:44

Um
,

yeah
,

definitely

okay
.

Laurel Farrer
28:46

yeah
,

distributeconsultingcom

and

and

it's

just

there

as

a

banner

on

the

top

of

the

screen
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
28:51

Oh
,

it's

at

the

top

of

the

screen

as

well
.

Okay
,

good
,

great
,

okay
.

So

those

are

great

steps

there
.

Thank

you
,

laurel
.

So

I

mean
,

in

this

scenario
,

in

the

scenario

that

we're

in
,

it's

very

unusual
.

As

I

mentioned

before
,

lots

of

people

managers
,

you

know

teams

have

been

forced

to

go

the

way

of

remote

work
,

unfortunately

for

them
,

and

they

may

have

a

mix

of

skill

levels
,

because
,

I

mean
,

one

of

the

things

that

you

associate

with

remote

workers

over

the

years

is

that

they

have

a

pretty

good

handle

on

technology

and

how

to

use

cloud

systems
,

email
,

you

know

you
,

you

name

it
.

But

if
,

if

your

team

has

a

mix

of

skill

levels

or

kind

of

job

functions
,

um
,

that

probably

aren't

that

acclimatized

to
,

um
,

working

with

the

technology
,

how

do

you

keep

them

on

board

and

avoid

that

sort

of

isolation
?

Laurel Farrer
29:54

Yeah
,

isolation

and

discrimination

too

right
.

We

see

this

a

lot

with

the

team

members

that

are

on

site

and

they

have

the

accessibility

to

each

other

that

they

need
.

They

have

more

visibility

for

job

promotions
.

And

then

the

remote

workers

are

kind

of

out

of

sight
,

out

of

mind
.

A

quote

that

I

refer

to

often

is

from

a

partner

of

ours

over

at

Work

Placeless

and

they

say

if

you

have

a

remote

team

member
,

you

have

a

remote

team
.

And

that

rings

true

for

every

company

that

I've

ever

consulted
.

Laurel Farrer
30:24

But

especially

right

now
,

as

we

consider

this

question
,

who

is

going

to

be

able

to

stay

working

remotely

permanently
?

Who

needs

to

go

back

to

an

office
?

You

know

what

does

that

all

look

like
?

And

so

that's

part

of

what

we

do

at

Distribute

is

that

we

evaluate

each

role

and

we

identify

how

much

do

they

need

to

be

on

site
,

how

much

can

they

be

off

site
?

How

does

that

impact

the

org

chart
?

How

much

can

they

be

off-site
?

How

does

that

impact

the

org

chart
?

You

know

all

of

those

questions
,

but

the

criteria

really

boils

down

to

if

your

job

primarily

uses

a

computer

as

its

equipment
,

then

it's

remote-friendly
,

and

so

we

encourage

as

many

people

to

work

remotely

as

possible

even

if

they're

not

necessarily

working

off-site
.

Laurel Farrer
31:12

So

what

this

means

is

that

all

of

your

team

members
,

regardless

of

if

they

are

in

the

office

or

if

they're

out

of

the

office
,

they're

all

meeting

in

a

remote

environment
.

So

they're

all

sitting

down

and

having

video

calls

from

their

computer

equally
,

and

that

helps

eliminate
,

like

those

awkward

situations

of

everyone

sitting

in

the

conference

room

and

here's

this

webcam

that's

like

way

in

the

corner

of

the

room

and

they

have
.

The

remote

workers

have

no

idea

what's

going

on
,

they

can't

hear

anybody
,

they

can't

see

anything
,

and

that's

what's

really

creating

those

discriminatory

factors
.

So
,

yeah
,

that's

what's

really

creating

those

discriminatory

factors
.

So
,

yeah
,

we

encourage

everybody

to

implement

the

same

workflows

and

collaborate

in

the

same

communication

channels
,

whether

they're

on-site

or

off-site

yeah
,

I

like

that

nice

and

simple
,

nice
,

simple

sort

of

a

way

of

doing

things

that

keep

things

simple

here
.

Virtual Management Challenges and Solutions

Alex Wilson-Campbell
32:08

That's
,

that's

good
.

So
,

um
,

what

should

managers

do

to

help

their

team
?

Because

I

mean

again
,

um
,

even

as

a
,

as

a
,

I

suppose
,

a

remote

worker

or

somebody

who's

working

in

a

distributed

team
,

there

are

challenges
,

and

one

of

those

challenges

is
,

you

know
,

keeping

the

whole

mindset

on

top

of

things

where

that's

concerned
.

What

should

managers

do

to

help

their

team

with

the

psychological

challenges

of

the

current

remote

work

situation
?

Laurel Farrer
32:41

Yeah
,

you

know
,

this

is

really

tough

because

this

is

not

what

businesses

have

have

just

converted

to
.

Is

not

a

work
,

remote

work

model
,

right
,

like

this

is

not

remote

work
.

I

want

to

be

very

clear

that

even

remote

work

experts

like

myself

are

overwhelmed

and

stressed

and

chaotic
.

Like

this

is

not

working

remotely
.

This

is

trying

to

work

remotely

amidst

a

global

pandemic

and

an

international

economic

crisis

and

meantime
,

trying

to

take

care

of

ourselves
,

take

care

of

our

family

members
,

our

loved

ones
,

combining

our

entire

lives

into

our

homes
.

So
,

all

within

the

same

several
,

you

know

hundreds

of

square

feet
,

we

are

working

from

home
,

learning

from

home
,

shopping

from

home
,

worshiping

from

home
,

cleaning

from

home
,

exactly

like

everything

in

the

same

space
,

and

it's

a

lot

and

it's

overwhelming

and

it's

completely

disrupting

both

our

personal

lives

and

our

professional

lives
.

So
,

um
,

so

I

think

right

now

not

I

think

two

months

ago
,

three

months

ago

the

advice

that

I

was

giving

to

leaders

about

how

to

best

support

their

workers

is

very

different

than

the

advice

that

I

give

right

now
.

Laurel Farrer
33:58

Right

now
,

we

just

need

patience
,

we

need

support
,

we

need

encouragement

and

we

need

we

need

encouragement

and

we

need

open

minds

because

our

work

and

our

lives

are

totally

blurred

and

you

know

typical

advice

like
,

yes
,

you

should

arrange

child

care

and

have

enforced

quiet

environments

and

things

like

that
.

That's

unrealistic
,

like

that's

not

going

to

happen

right

now
.

So

right

now
,

we

just

need

to

accept

that

work

and

life

are

the

same

thing

right

now
.

So

right

now
,

we

just

need

to

accept

that

work

and

life

are

the

same

thing

right

now

and

we

need

to

be

okay

with

that

and

encourage

and

allow

our

workers

to

be

their

whole

selves
.

And

that

might

be
,

you

know
,

taking

a

break

to

make

lunch

as

mom
,

or

it

might

be

mean

taking

a

break
,

or

taking

a

day

off

to

go

attend

to

a

sick

loved

one

or

something

like

that
.

Or

volunteer

work

in

an

emergency

crew

or

something
.

Laurel Farrer
34:58

But

our

personal

lives

are

flexible
,

our

work

lives

are

flexible
.

So

right

now
,

we

just

need

a

lot

more

patience

and

acceptance

from

everybody

as

a

temporary

solution
.

And

if

people

this

is

Maslow's

hierarchy

of

needs

and

action

right

If

people

feel

that

safety
,

they

feel

the

emotional

safety
,

they

feel

the

financial

safety

of

you

know
,

I'm

not

going

to

lose

my

job

if

I'm

not

perfectly

online

at

12.03

pm

If

they

feel

that

acceptance

as

a

whole

person
,

then

they

will

feel

more

relaxed

and

relieved

and

will

be

able

to

focus

on

productivity

and

output

more

than

if

you

were

just

enforcing

and

driving

results

the

results
,

and

it

requires

a

whole

different

um

as

a

manager
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
35:47

It

requires

a

whole

different

um
,

not

just

a

mindset

in

terms

of

your

managerial

skills
,

but

just

just

the

way

you

relate

to

to

people
,

because

you

can

imagine

a

manager

who's

perhaps

um

really

hands-on

and

looking

over

the

shoulder

of

their

employees

to

to

now

be

in

a

scenario

where

they're

having

to

just

completely
,

you

know
,

take

a

not

a

backseat
,

but

kind

of

just

completely

change

the

way

that

they

manage

people
.

It

must

be

a

challenge
.

Laurel Farrer
36:16

It

is

absolutely

so
.

Much

of

our

management

styles

as

office

leaders

are

sensory

and

totally

on

a

subconscious

level
,

we

don't

realize

this
,

are

sensory

and

totally

on

a

subconscious

level
.

We

don't

realize

this
.

Right

Like

this

is

a

derivative

of

historical

office

environments
.

Where

they

came

from
.

Laurel Farrer
36:33

This

all

came

from

the

industrial

revolution
,

where

we

had

physical

equipment

and

physical

products

and

physical

workflows

and

physical

supervision
.

We

can

see

work

happening
,

we

can

see

goods

being

produced
,

we

can

see

people

talking
,

we

can

hear

phones

ringing

Like

this

is

all
.

This

all

tells

us

that

the

day

is

being

productive
.

However
,

for

knowledge

workers

specifically
,

our

products

have

become

virtual
,

our

workflows

have

become

virtual
,

our

equipment

has

become

virtual
,

and

so

it

now

makes

sense

that

we

need

to

update

our

management

and

supervision

styles

to

also

be

virtual
.

And

so
,

yes
,

this

is

a

really

critical

piece

of

that

upskilling

and

that

training

that

we

were

talking

about

earlier

is

that

we

need

to

understand

what

the

difference

is
.

It's

not

a

big

difference
,

but

it

is

a

very

important

and

intentional

difference

on

how

to

measure

productivity
,

how

to

support

and

offer

feedback
,

how

to

build

relationships

and

empower

productivity

and

efficiency
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
37:49

Like

all

of

those

things

need

to

be

in

an

office

in

January
.

Now

you're

in

an

office
,

now

you're

working

from

home
.

Laurel Farrer
37:54

So

the

whole

culture

of

your

organization

is

like

just

changing

literally

overnight
,

you

know

on

the

consulting

end
,

too
,

that

previously

all

of

our

clients
,

even

if

they

were

coming

to

us

hesitantly
,

they

were

still

coming

to

us

right

Like
,

we

can

see

that

we

need

some

help

with

remote

work
.

We're

here
,

we're

willing
,

our

minds

are

open

and

so
,

therefore
,

we're

ready

to

to

engage

with

your

consulting

services
.

But

now

the

market

is

so

diverse
.

It's

people

that

have

previously

never

thought

of

themselves

as

remote
,

friendly
,

ever
,

and

now

they

all

of

a

sudden

have

to

figure

it

out
.

Or

people

that

were

very
,

very

against

remote

workforce
,

whatever

reason
.

Now

we

have

to

help

them

through

that

mindset

shift
,

like

and

as

well

as

people

that

said
,

well
,

this

is

great
,

I

always

wanted

this

and

I've

always

thought

that

this

was

a

viable

option
.

And

now

here

we

are
.

Laurel Farrer
38:52

So

it

is
.

Our

market

has

polarized

and

expanded
,

so

so
,

so

much
,

and

so
,

yeah
,

there's

a

lot

of

people

that

have

a

lot

of

questions

and

need

assistance

on

levels

that

we

previously

have

never

seen

before
.

I

mean
,

we're

working

with

companies

that

have

never

even

had

a

video

call
.

I've

been

asked

for

people

to

fax

information

to

them

in

the

past

few

weeks

like
,

oh
,

I

don't

have

that

capability
.

Do

you

have

that

capability
?

Laurel Farrer
39:25

Oh
,

oh

oh
,

wow

yeah
,

there's

a

lot

of

companies

that

are

really

hurting

because

they

don't

understand

how

to

make

this

transition
,

and

that's

why

we're

here

to

help

and

yeah
,

I

mean

I

I

guess

I'm

laughing

at

that

but

yeah
,

it's

different
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
39:39

I

mean
,

it's

a

different

world
,

isn't

it
?

The

remote

world

is

different
,

but

it's

it's
.

It's

still
.

It's

very

open
.

We're

all

about

supporting

and

collaboration

and

communication

and

all

that

sort

of

thing
,

but

I

guess

those

kinds

of

things

it

can

be

quite
.

It

is

stressful

for

managers
,

the

whole

situation

right

now
.

But

if

you're

a

manager

and

you're

under

these

kind

of

stresses
,

how

can

you

also

make

sure

that

your

team
,

the

people

around

you

are
,

are

happy

as

well
?

How

do

you

do

that

without

sort

of

bombarding

them

with

emails

or

bombarding

them

with

with
,

you

know
,

video

conferencing

calls
,

all

that

sort

of

stuff
?

Laurel Farrer
40:19

yeah
.

So

because

of

that

transition

from

that

physical

supervising

methodology

into

virtual

management
,

it

is

the

default

and

very

subconscious

default
,

for

most

managers

to

turn

into

micromanagers

in

a

virtual

environment
.

Like
,

I

need

to

know

what

you're

working

on
.

Like
,

are

you

working
?

This

is

by

far

the

number

one

concern

of

all

managers

is

how

do

I

know

that

my

people

are

working
?

So

there's

again
,

the

training

helps

with

this
.

Because

I

know

that

my

people

are

working
.

So

there's

again
,

the

training

helps

with

this
.

Because

I

know

that

this

sounds

like

a

big

difference

just

when

I

say

it
,

but

if

we

can

transition

our

methodologies

to

be

based

more

on

trust

than

on

sensory

supervision
,

and

then

that

gives

us

the

permission

and

the

flexibility

to

start

measuring

results

and

output

instead

of

activity
,

so

we're

measuring

accomplishment

instead

of

activity
,

and

that

that

really

is

what

gives

us

the

that

flexibility

to

take

our

hands

off

during

the

production

workflows
.

Laurel Farrer
41:26

So

a

very

oversimplified

and

basic

example

that

I

give

is

if

I

hire

a

company

to

wash

my

car
,

I

don't

need

to

watch

them

do

it

to

know

if

they

did

a

good

job
.

You

know
,

I

don't

need

to

know

if

they

washed

it

in

the

garage

or

in

the

parking

lot
,

or

what

type

of

soap

they

used
,

or

did

they

do

the

backseat

before

the

front

seat
,

or

did

they

do

it

in

the

morning

lot
?

Or

what

type

of

soap

they

used
,

or

did

they

do

the

the

um

backseat

before

the

front

seat
,

or

did

they

do

it

in

the

morning

or

the

afternoon
?

Like
?

I

don't

need

to

know

that
.

I

just

need

to

empower

them

and

trust

them

to

do

what

they

do

best
,

to

do

the

job

that

I

hired

them

to

do
.

And

then
,

at

five

o'clock
,

when

I

pick

it

up

when

they

told

me

to

pick

it

up

I'll

be

able

to

see

if

they

did

a

good

job

and
,

uh
,

and

maybe

there's

some

things

that

I

can

do

in

the

meantime

to

support

them

in

their

job

and

to

clarify

my

expectations

prior

to

it
.

Laurel Farrer
42:12

It

doesn't

necessarily

mean

that

I
,

you

know
,

take

my

hands

completely

off
,

but

we

do

need

to

just

be

able

to

facilitate

our

workflows

in

a

different

way
,

and

that

does

mean

more

of

an

indirect

relationship

as

managers

that

we

are
.

Now
,

instead

of

controlling

the

results

ourselves
,

we

need

to

empower

our

workers

and

our

team

members

to

self-manage

the

results

on

their

own
.

While

we

indirectly

support

the

results

by

supporting

the

team

member
,

so

we

support

them

as

they

control

the

results

instead

of

us

controlling

the

results
.

And

that

is

where

we

see

the

highest

levels

of

retention
,

productivity
,

profitability

is

with

that

enhanced

model

of

a

supportive

management

role
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
43:05

I

love

that

analogy

analogy

though

with

the

car
.

I

really

like

that

because

obviously
,

when

the

car's

finished
,

you'll

be

able

to

see

it's

nice

and

clean

and

shiny
,

won't

you
?

Without

having

to

be

there
.

I

love

that
.

I

might

use

that

in

the

future
.

If

that's

okay

with

you
,

I'll

quote

you
.

I'll

quote

you

on

that
.

Laurel Farrer
43:21

Thank

you

Credit
.

I

appreciate

that
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
43:24

Excellent
.

I

mean
,

I've

got

to

tell

you

what
.

Every

time

we

cover

an

answer
,

I

get

more

questions

coming

into

my

head
.

But

I

know

that

you're

you're

really

busy

and
,

um
,

I

don't

want

to

take

up

too

much

more

of

your

time
.

Um
,

laurel
,

but

um
,

I

just

wanted

to

ask

you

just

another

couple

of

questions

before

I

let

you

go
.

Um
,

yeah
,

we

can

do

a

part

two
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
43:47

Another

thing

oh
,

that

would

be

great
,

excellent
,

excellent
,

good
,

good
,

good
,

good
,

what
,

uh
,

I

suppose
,

when

you're

not
,

when

you're

not

working
,

what
?

What

kind

of

things

are

you
?

Are

you

doing

in

a

normal

sense
,

and

are

you

what
?

What

other

kind

of

stuff

do

you

normally

do
?

Laurel Farrer
44:01

I'm

just

gonna

say
,

like

right
,

that's

a

very

short

answer
.

No
,

this

is

really

important

because
,

ironically
,

as

a

segue

from

what

we

just

talked

about
,

most

managers

are

so

panicked
,

right
,

that

their

remote

workers

are

not

going

to

be

working

during

the

hours

that

they

say

that

they

are

going

to

or

that

they

need

to
.

The

irony

is

that

remote

workers

actually

work

more

than

their

in-office

counterparts
,

and

so

burnout

is

very
,

very
,

very

common

in

remote

workers

because

it

is

so

easy

to

work

a

10
,

12
,

14

hour

day

and

I'm

definitely

fall

into

that

category

that

I

do

that

all

the

time
.

Cutting

my

hours

off

at

the

right

time

is

really

hard
.

Even

after

almost

14

years

of

working

remotely
,

I

still

struggle

with

this

on

a

daily

basis
.

So

this

is

a

good

question

to

ask
.

So
,

with

the

caveat
,

the

disclaimer
,

that

I

am

not

as

good

at

this

as

I

would

like

to

be
,

I

love

spending

time

with

my

family
.

Laurel Farrer
45:06

I

do

have

two

kids

and

a

husband

that

also

works

from

home
.

We

live

in

a

farmhouse

in

rural

Connecticut

that

we

renovate
,

so

that's

a

big

thing

that

we

do
.

We

have

chickens

that

we're

raising

and

we

are

renovating

the

home

and

doing

a

lot

of

landscaping

work
.

We

bought

it

as

a

fixer

upper

last

year

and

there's

still

a

lot

of

work

to

be

done
,

and

so

doing

something

physical

like

that

is

really

fun

for

me
.

Because
,

you

know
,

so

much

of

my

day

and

so

much

of

my

time

is

all

on

a

screen
.

It's

really

satisfying

for

me

to

be

able

to

go

outside

and

work

hard

with

my

muscles

and

my

hands

and
,

you

know
,

get

dirty
.

Um
,

it's

a

nice

juxtaposition

for

the

work

that

I

do

during

the

day
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
45:49

I

love

that

as

well
,

because

you

you

raise

a

nice

point

there

as

well
,

because

I

think

it's

important

to

have

something

else

to

do
,

um

and

and

sort

of

take

yourself

away

from

the

computer

and

have

that

discipline
.

I

also

struggle

myself

with

with

working

too

much
,

but

I

think

having

sort

of

like

a

project

where

you

can

get

your
,

get

your

teeth

into

something

else

that's

going

to

take

you

a

month

or

two

months

to

do

is

something

that

can

be

a

welcome

distraction

from

from

from

work
.

So

I

like

that

example
,

love

it
.

Laurel Farrer
46:16

Yeah
,

I

think

that

managers

can

and

should

encourage

that
,

um
,

encourage

that

transparency

of

what

have

you

been

working

on
?

How

are

you

preventing

burnout
?

Because

the

last

thing

they

need

are

a

whole

bunch

of

frazzled

and

depressed

employees

that

are

just

working

too

hard

that

they're

burning

themselves

out
.

So
,

yeah
,

ask

people

about

it

Again
.

It

allows

them

to

be

their

whole

selves

during

this

time

of

a

lot

of

blurriness
,

and

it's

a

great

culture

building

activity

to

build

relationships

and

camaraderie

with

each

other

to

say
,

oh

yeah
,

I'm
,

I'm

building

a

chicken

coop

too
,

or

I

just

finished

this

great

book
.

I

think

that

everybody

would

love

it
.

Or

here's

a

picture

of

me
.

You

know
,

I

went

out

running

today

and

it

was

so

great

like

it

just

allows

people

to

uh
,

have

those

interpersonal

kind

of

water

cooler

chats

that

we

might

be

missing

from

the

break

room

and

there

was

everybody

thinking

that

we

just

spent

time

in

our

bedrooms

on

our

laptops
,

just

just

working

away

at

our

keyboards
,

you

know

we're

maybe

not

as

much

of

hermit

hermits

as

we

thought

we

were

exactly
,

exactly
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
47:21

Well
,

laurel
,

it

has

been

a

pleasure

and
,

yeah
,

I

hope

we

can

do

that

part

too
,

because
,

as

I

said
,

I've

got

loads

more

questions

for

you
.

Yeah
,

definitely

I'd

be

happy

to

Excellent
.

It's

been

great

having

you

on

what's

the

future

look

like

for

you

and

what's

the

immediate

future
,

I

suppose
.

Laurel Farrer
47:38

Yeah
,

the

future

is
.

Remote Work as Business Continuity Strategy

Laurel Farrer
47:41

We're

really

focused

on

positioning

and

encouraging

remote

work

as

a

business

continuity

strategy
,

not

only

for

post-COVID
,

but

especially

as

our

international

economy

starts

to

head

into

a

deeper

and

deeper

recession
.

We're

very
,

very

focused

on

that
.

Businesses

can

save

a

lot

of

money

and

a

lot

of

jobs

by

leveraging

remote

work
.

A

lot

of

money

and

a

lot

of

jobs

by

leveraging

remote

work
,

and

so

that's

what

we're

focused

on

as

a

consulting

firm

is

helping

businesses

do

that
,

but

then

also

helping

national

and

international

governments

understand

how

to

support

businesses

in

doing

so
.

So
,

yeah
,

we've

got

a

lot

of

work

ahead

of

us
,

but

we

are

happy

to

help

and

honored

to

be

in

this

position

of

authority

and

assistance

during

such

a

hard

time
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
48:30

Guys
,

for

more

information

go

across

to

distributeconsultingcom
.

Laurel
,

thank

you

again

and

we'll

speak

to

you

again

soon
,

I

hope
.

Laurel Farrer
48:40

Wonderful
.

Thank

you

so

much

for

having

me
,

Alex
.

I

appreciate

it
.

Alex Wilson-Campbell
48:43

Anytime
.