Traditionally, consultants have spent a large part of their life in trains, planes and automobiles, and were the original fuel for the portable computer market of the 1990s. As well as the original road warriors, there are now an increasing number of companies who have decided to shun the old-fashioned physical office model and use remote workers as a core part of their operating model.

They're doing this not only to reduce fixed overhead costs, but also to attract and retain the types of high quality talent that wouldn’t be available to them if they required everyone to travel to a single location every day. When done correctly, studies show that these operations create a happier and more productive workforce, but it does take some effort. We've put together a few tips from folks with a track record of making a success of remote working teams.

Tech tools

Collaborative documents

One of the banes of office life is sharing files. In the past people used to overwrite each others’ version or delete the data. Those days should be over courtesy of either Microsoft Office 365 or Google’s GSuite.

Both are full business product suites that are all delivered via the cloud - you need no on-site server or software. The basics include email, shared file storage, calendars, and office applications such as a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tools. They both offer real-time collaboration on documents with version control and the ability to see updates in real time. This makes it easy for two or more people to work on the same document at the same time and turn back the clock if mistakes happen. Both charge a per person per month subscription for everything you need, and all updates are included.

The key differences are economic and religious. If you’re prepared to leave behind Microsoft Office and use Google’s pretty good (though simpler) alternatives, then GSuite can be cheaper and makes sense for many organisations. If you absolutely must have your favourite applications then Office 365 is the way to go for a little more money per person. There’s an online only option (not installed apps) which competes price-wise with GSuite. Whichever one you choose you can say goodbye to the majority of your IT support and most of your on-site infrastructure.

Communication tools

We all (over) use email, but there are some newer kids on the block that you might want to consider for keeping your remote team in sync. Both Office 365 and GSuite come with built-in comms tool (Skype for Business and Hangouts respectively). But a free alternative that is taking the world by storm is Slack. Slack is a group chat system that isn’t so different from instant messenger tools of the past. Its many capabilities include 1:1 and group discussions, 1:1 voice and video calling and the ability to reference files from places like Dropbox and Google Drive in conversations. It takes effort and leadership, but moving internal communications to any of these tools is well worth it, meaning that email inboxes are now only filled by the important people: clients.

Human factors

The right desk

Firstly, make sure everyone has the right environment and equipment to create a safe and productive space. Not all of us have a book-lined office in the west wing that we can use when at home, but it’s important for people to have a proper desk and chair in a place where they can work quietly, away from the rest of their family life. This need for quiet space is one of the factors that has driven the growth in garden offices. Other home essentials are high-speed broadband and a good mobile phone signal. For people with poor home mobile coverage it’s often possible to get a small coverage booster that plugs into your broadband - speak to your network for more information. Another home win is to invest in a decent monitor, keyboard and mouse so that you can make your laptop setup healthier for those long hours writing proposals.

The details matter

Tools are all very well, but it takes people to use them. Little ‘human’ things can have a big impact, like encouraging your team to include photos/avatars on collaboration tools so it’s clear there's a person behind those initials. Also, creating some "water cooler" channels in Slack (or other collaboration tool of choice) to bring some lighter interactions into the day.

Setting boundaries

In terms of helping remote workers feel they don't have to be available 24/7, we once saw a team at eBay who banned all but the most essential communication outside the hours of 8am to 6pm. This worked very well in terms of setting expectations for staffers, management and even clients.

Online meetings are another area to get right. Skype is great for two or three people, but team meetings can be distracted by too many video streams, background noise and everyone shouting "Paul, you're on mute so we can see your mouth moving but cannot hear you!" For this reason, it’s worth having a rule that people will mute themselves when not actively contributing. Hangout or Skype for Business presenters can reinforce this by muting everyone else while they’re speaking. Finally, consider whether video is really necessary - our rule of thumb is that video only works if there are more people in the physical room than the number joining remotely.

Think about the environment

Everyone needs a change of environment, and this is especially important for remote workers who risk 8-10 hours per day with the same vista and surroundings. Why not offer memberships to local touchdown spaces to encourage them to get out of the house from time to time - it's more productive and professional than their local cafe, and they might even meet a prospect at the coffee machine! See NearDesk for ideas.

Let’s get physical

Get your team together physically with rigorous regularity and put emphasis on attendance. This might be one day each month, or two days each quarter depending on your geographical spread. Mix the agenda with company / product updates, new skills / learning and some genuinely relaxing activities together that fit with your culture. Budget for these in the start of the year budget and you're still saving versus office costs.

You still need structured communications on a regular basis. That might be weekly updates from each team on Slack each Monday morning following a "what's up / what's down and what's next" format or "Five on Friday" which has 5 points and takes no longer than 5 minutes to write each one and 5 minutes to read them all.

Finally, use real time systems to manage the business instead of spreadsheets and emails that go out of date or require admin support to produce periodic reports. Now let me think of one designed by consultants for consultancies.....