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Build a Positive Work Environment Across Time Zones posted on Thursday, 03 January 2008

One of the more challenging aspects of growing a small company is developing a positive work environment to attract and retain quality people. This task is even more daunting when a company’s employees are scattered across multiple time zones and locations.

As the founder and president of Sentek Consulting, a 40-person defense contractor located in San Diego, Eric Basu knows how to create a positive work environment.

By Eric Basu

Organizations need to adhere to three guiding principles; hire the right people, develop strong communication lines and organize company-wide team events.

Hire the right person and discover what makes them tick
Not everyone is suited well to work in a different location than their headquarters element, so it’s important to hire people that can work well remotely from the parent organization and their boss. One way to determine a given person’s aptitude for working remotely is to look at their work history. If they have previous successful experiences working remotely and have demonstrated experience as a self-starter, the odds of their being successful will be much greater.

It’s also critical for management to make a personal investment with each new hire by finding out what the person wants to do in life. For some, it’s public recognition, but for others it might be taking time off for family, or the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology. While a small company may not be able to accommodate every person’s requests, there may be something management can bring to the table that the person values more than a certain salary level, and help maintain loyalty when working remotely.

Commit to communicating
I’ve seen many firms whose employees and management all worked under one roof that were never on the same page. Developing efficient, collaborative and team-building communications channels is more a factor of an organization’s commitment to ensuring communications than whether the staff operates in a single geographic location.

Technology can assist with, but not replace, standard communication processes. Regular meetings and phone calls are key, and leaders must commit to these and follow through. A corporate Intranet for document and knowledge sharing can be helpful, if used by everyone. Regardless, the communication practices need to foster conversations not only between employees and management, but also between peer groups.

Bring everyone together
Even the best phone and IT systems will not replace face-to-face gatherings with all employees. At least twice a year, small companies need to budget for flying in all remote employees to one location for training and events, and allocate monies for satellite offices to hold fun, team-building activities throughout the year. These events have positive, lasting effects on a company’s esprit de corps that will translate into greater productivity and job satisfaction.

Stay true to your core values
Any company, but particularly smaller ones, must keep a keen focus on their corporate culture and values. The talent base within an organization is its greatest asset and competitive advantage. Companies – regardless of size – should never let time zones stand in the way of creating a solid esprit de corps.

Eric Basu is the founder and president of Sentek Consulting, a 40-person defense contractor in San Diego. The company was included in this year’s Inc. 500 list.

Posted by John Lincoln