More companies are now allowing employees to work from anywhere. As a result, remote work is no longer a trend. It’s becoming the future of the workplace. But pre-remote work expectations can make it difficult for firms to fully embrace work from anywhere. In particular, organizational structures can be difficult to reconstruct. These affect how well a company can adopt work from anywhere systems.

How can companies create a work from anywhere organizational structure? Organizational structures shape behaviors and impact communication. This underscores their roles in enabling remote work. Companies can employ these structural interventions for better remote work:

Focusing on more modular work teams
Reducing spans of control
Ensuring clear communication
Bolster IT staff

Adopting remote work requires rethinking how companies arrange their personnel. Many firms will insist on retaining how their employees are structured. However, more streamlined structures will prepare companies for work from anywhere. Furthermore, it sets them up to thrive in a future enabled by remote work technologies.

Organizational Considerations for Enabling Work from Anywhere

Internal structure is a key factor in work from anywhere policies. After all, organizational structures can shape behaviors and influence outputs. Agile structures ensure a smoother transition to remote work.

Travis Rosenbloom, Director of Growth at Balanced Health Botanicals, writes, “In this next evolution of leading remote teams and hybrid workforces, business standards must be optimized to help team members succeed, no matter where they are working. In many cases, this means getting back to business basics and leading with a new focus on a company’s organizational structure.”

Team size and composition first come to mind in discussions about structure. However, proper company structure goes beyond tangible concepts. Behaviors and perceptions are less visible aspects of the work environment. Nevertheless, they play huge roles in promoting or suppressing engagement. Most of the guidelines below directly impact company structure. Other tips rely on changing policies and behavioral perspectives.

Understand how remote work affects communication

Remote work impacts work dynamics by reducing face-to-face interactions. Workers in the corporate setting have to interact regularly with bosses, direct reports, and other colleagues. Any person can quickly reach out to someone else. It’s as easy as walking to their desk and striking up a chat. The convenience makes communication more fluid and spontaneous. Meanwhile, remote work introduces barriers to these interactions.

Likewise, remember that communication involves verbal and non-verbal cues. Body language can express what speaking cannot adequately show. For instance, poses and gestures can communicate emotions and mental states. However, non-verbal cues are difficult to detect in remote work settings.

Remote work requires clearer and more deliberate communication. Corporate structures can influence communication needs. Thus, remote work setups are more appropriate for some structures than others.

Consider the link between structure and communication

Communication is important in the discussion of remote work because structure impacts communication needs. Companies with large teams have greater communication needs than those with smaller teams.

Pria George, People and Culture Manager at Lifecare International, writes, “An organizational structure is important for any growing company to provide guidance and clarity on specific roles and human resource issues, such as managerial authority.”

A team of 5 members already has 10 potential communicating pairs. A team with 10 members has 45 communicating pairs. Communicating at work is generally a two-way interaction. The need for communication increases exponentially with each additional member.

Remote work can make some forms of communication more difficult. Thus, communication issues may arise for larger teams in a work from anywhere scheme. This can lead to decreased team coordination and employees left out of the loop.

Structures that support small teams help bridge communication gaps in remote work.

Manage span of control

Span of control refers to each employee’s scope of responsibilities. It mainly deals with the number of subordinates an employee has. A higher span of control means an employee handles many workers.

Span of control is also influenced by job complexity. There are employees who handle people with larger responsibilities. They naturally have a larger influence on corporate operations and a larger span of control.

Communication issues arise in work from anywhere setups. People are not in the same physical space. Thus, management and HR should strive to reduce span of control with remote work. A narrower span of control means employees can focus on fewer people.

Flatter organizational structures mean larger spans of control. But adopting a hierarchical structure might not be feasible for some. In this case, companies should assign smaller teams to work on projects. Reducing team count and scaling down responsibilities allows them to work on tasks where they excel.

Working from anywhere also requires more communication. A smaller span of control helps keep management workloads from overwhelming employees.

Split large groups into smaller hubs

Keeping with the theme of reducing spans of control, remote work employees need to adopt leaner team compositions. Many companies work in offices with over 10 employees. These firms might be hesitant to adopt smaller teams. However, a lower span of control has many benefits for remote teams.

Supervisors can devote more attention to monitoring performance. They can also provide detailed guidance if they handle fewer workers. Likewise, smaller teams are systems that have fewer moving parts. Thus, employees have better coordination and communication. It’s easier to realign when necessary.

Smaller teams also improve the employees’ sense of responsibility. In smaller teams, each employee handles a larger share of the team’s output. They know their deficiencies will have a larger impact on team performance. This subtle pressure encourages everyone to work harder and do their best.

Empower work teams

Team-centric structures are conducive to remote work success. A company’s overall success is driven strongly by how these teams adapt. Employees need an enabling environment. Without this, performance can drop significantly and hurt work outputs.

According to Atomate Software, “In order for a hybrid model to work well, managers should be supportive of remote work.”

The success of work from anywhere relies on team effort. This requires companies to invest in their teams. HR needs to pay closer attention to:

Employee engagement
Work productivity

Likewise, management needs to address concerns during the switch to remote work. If companies want to empower their teams, they should prioritize things like:

Cutting off distractions
Access to the right office equipment
Training on remote work tech and tools

Learn more about enabling environments in our article “The Productivity Anywhere Work Model: Embracing the New Normal.”

Bolster IT staff

Work from anywhere assumes teams can finish tasks outside a physical office. Information economy has continued to grow in the recent years. This means modern lines of work only need a computer and Internet access. Hence, remote work is best for jobs that require software and access to computers. The upkeep and maintenance of these tools rest on IT departments. This underscores their role in a successful work from anywhere setup.

IT-related concerns will inevitably increase once a company adopts remote work. Employees have different training and work responsibilities. This means their levels of computer literacy likely vary. You’ll have employees who might initially struggle with using certain tech tools. Remote work also reduces technicians’ physical access to devices. This makes providing proper maintenance and support services difficult.

Hence, companies that adopt work from anywhere should invest heavily in their IT capacity. Firms can take these steps to bolster their IT teams:

Increase the number of IT staff
Provide upskilling opportunities
Reorganize IT departments into modular units
Adopt speed-based methodologies to address concerns promptly
Upgrade the company’s IT infrastructure, especially remote file systems

Alternatively, companies can also outsource their technology needs. If this is the case for your business, consider choosing premium services.

Learn more about the links between technology and work in our article “The Changing Landscape of Work: How Technology Affects the Workplace.”

Identify asynchronous vs. synchronous tasks

Work structures involve not only employee groupings. Task structure is also important to consider for remote workers. This is crucial for tasks and projects that require teamwork.

We can classify tasks classified in two ways:

Can we complete them in isolation?
Do they require inputs from multiple individuals?

Synchronous tasks are best completed during coordination sessions. Meanwhile, workers can complete asynchronous tasks during their own time. The latter gives them the flexibility to choose optimal work schedules.

Thus, it’s crucial to identify synchronous tasks and schedule them correctly. This can increase the efficiency of remote workers. Better yet, management can also increase the number of asynchronous tasks. This decreases the need for coordination, keeping productivity up.

Common Pitfalls in Transitioning to Work From Anywhere

Transitioning to remote work will certainly bring some challenges. Companies in more traditional industries may encounter more issues. Despite their best efforts, they can run into some of the most common pitfalls in work from anywhere setups. Companies need to identify these red flags early. The knowledge will allow them to adjust their strategies accordingly. Through these strategies, they can also maximize the benefits of this setup.

Confusing reporting structures

Rearranging corporate structures is crucial to a work from anywhere setup. Management should expect some confusion on command and report obligations. A complete overhaul is almost guaranteed to cause work friction. An example is switching from a division-based structure to a more functional one. These changes can cause frustration for everyone involved. However, you can minimize friction through consistent communication.

Employees will sometimes report confusion regarding company structure. This is not always the case. Non-management staff may decide to focus on their work responsibilities. If not prompted, they can simply ignore structural changes around them. Hence, management should proactively determine if confusion exists. If there’s any, they should clarify any sources of confusion. Everyone should be on the same page.

Bosses should ensure employees understand their new responsibilities. The composition and objectives of the teams they’ll be joining should be clear. Managers should also ensure that employees know their new superiors and direct reports.

According to KIVO, “Remote teams need an organizational structure that clearly defines the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between their members. This helps to avoid confusion, duplications, or gaps in work and facilitates coordination and collaboration between different areas or projects.”

Lack of autonomy

Autonomy is crucial for employee engagement. People want to feel in control over what they need to do to achieve their goals. Forced conformity will make them feel like lifeless cogs in the corporate machine. Without some autonomy, employee engagement and satisfaction will drop.

A work from anywhere setup means a smaller span of control and tighter communication requirements. These ensure that employees receive adequate guidance during the transition. However, managers can easily overcompensate. This creates an environment that robs employees of autonomy.

Even if the company structure enables remote work, lack of autonomy can still exist. Here, behavioral mindsets regarding employee behavior might be at play. Many managers cling to the belief that employees are inherently untrustworthy and require constant surveillance. This unfortunate belief can prompt employers to:

Use intrusive time-tracking software
Constantly monitor remote employee activities
Suppress autonomy

Trust is a powerful antidote to inadequate autonomy. Managers should trust employees to strive for excellence at their jobs. It should not matter where they work. In turn, remote workers need to trust that their managers are doing their best to help everyone adjust to the remote work setting.

Want to learn more about trust and other ingredients for the ideal workplace? Check out “Top 10 Attributes for Maximum Productivity: Crafting the Ideal Work Environment.”

Overreliance on time-based metrics

Companies worry that remote work will reduce employees’ time efficiency. After all, working from anywhere loosens time constraints. This setup also makes it more difficult to monitor employees. This belief can erode trust and rob employee autonomy.

The key issue is that managers rely too much on time as a productivity metric. Many employees receive pay based on time rendered. However, companies should instead place greater value on their work outputs. It’s possible that the workers they’re worried about aren’t wasting time at all. They might just be so time-efficient that they can complete their tasks with time to spare.

Organizational restructuring should include measuring productivity through work outputs. Work quantity and quality should matter more to managers than time rendered. This system motivates remote workers to excel no matter where they work.

Reduced communication

Remote work makes it more difficult to communicate using non-verbal cues. People can work anywhere; the distance limits spontaneous communication. No more small talk with colleagues in the pantry or the elevator. In these situations, team coordination is likely to drop. This is why companies need to understand the communication impacts of work from anywhere policies.

Leaders should watch for signs of poor communication and coordination. Some effective countermeasures include:

Adopting smaller work teams
Establishing coordination guidelines
Streamlining communication processes
Regular check-ins with team members

According to LinkedIn News, “Remote work requires additional communication touchpoints to help keep employees engaged. This means a few different things. Employees need to remain in touch with one another more or less as easily as they were able to in an office.”

Insufficient sense of belonging

Separate work environments affect not only communication. Work from anywhere staff may feel distinctly separate from their colleagues. Remote work requires constant electronic communication. However, the lack of face-to-face interaction can still magnify feelings of isolation. Left unchecked, this situation may lead employees to feel disconnected from their team. They may also not relate to or align with the company goals. Thus, employee engagement can decrease.

Addressing this requires more than just a few team-building activities. Companies should:

Regularly check that everyone is still aligned with the larger picture
Improve recruitment efforts to prioritize resilient employees

Likewise, firms should have activities that make employees feel they are part of the team. Leisure and interest-based events like the following can help keep employees engaged:

Team parties and hang-outs
Volunteer drives
Charity work

Creating a Work From Anywhere Organizational Structure