Members of the Fourth Economy team brainstorm ways to optimize remote work.
During a LUMA facilitation in early 2024, Fourth Economy decided to become a leading remote working firm with a focus on belonging. Initially operating in-person, the firm transitioned to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded its market through a partnership with Steer. This shift allowed Fourth Economy to hire talent nationwide, with many colleagues experiencing remote onboarding. This post discusses the rise of remote work, challenges in fostering belonging remotely, and actions to enhance belonging in remote settings.
Remote Work By The Numbers
Fourth Economy is not alone in its permanent transition to remote work.
Worker Preferences
Challenges of Remote Work
Disconnection: The Buffer survey indicated 21% of remote workers struggle with staying home too often, and 15% experience loneliness. Pew Research found 53% of remote workers feel less connected to coworkers.
Creating Belonging in a Remote Environment - Fourth Economy Examples
While remote work can create physical distance, there are effective ways to foster belonging and connectedness within teams. Authentic connection in a remote setting requires intentionality and deliberate efforts to build opportunities for increased belonging, as remote work can lead to siloed connections or limited accessibility for all employees.
Fourth Economy holds periodic in-person and virtual retreats that offer valuable bonding experiences. Holding an in-person retreat shortly after hiring new employees helps align their first impressions before returning to remote work.
We work to build in early work travel for new hires to facilitate meeting a wide range of team members and settling into a mentored environment.
We encourage and model virtual coffee chats, where team members meet for 15-30 minutes in a non-work-focused setting, providing opportunities for new hires to connect with existing employees and enhance connections across the organization. Scheduling these chats throughout the year fosters belonging and collaboration between employees, regardless of their regular working relationships.
Periodic team bonding events organized by a rotating "fun committee" create space for non-work connections. This approach ensures all team members contribute to the planning process and encourages creative event choices. At Fourth Economy, fun committee activities have included virtual paint sessions, team bingo with employee-based questions, and virtual art walks featuring submissions from team members' home offices
We make use of a Teams Water Cooler channel for informal interactions that sometimes get lost in a virtual environment. Here we share pictures of pets, adventures with family, recent vacations, staff meet ups in different cities, house projects, highlights from the weekend, what we're reading and listening to, and of course FOOD!
On projects, Fourth Economy employs a Ways We Work document to ensure effective collaboration. This document includes detailed checklists and explanations for each section, promoting clear communication and aligned expectations. The team discusses potential concerns with clients to address challenges proactively.
Fourth Economy also uses the DiSC assessment to enhance team understanding. Each member creates a collaboration profile outlining their work preferences, motivators, strengths, and stressors. These profiles, reviewed with supervisors and accessible to all, help team members navigate different working styles effectively.
By implementing these strategies, Fourth Economy aims to create a remote work environment that emphasizes belonging and connectivity.
Snapshot from a team member's vacation to Yellowstone National Park posted in the Water Cooler.
As a location-agnostic company, Fourth Economy is always looking for ways to maximize the benefits and effectiveness of remote work, from the onboarding stage for new joiners to longstanding members of the team who started in-person and transitioned to remote work.
How has your organization adapted/maximized the benefits of remote work?
Is your organization approaching remote work in a creative way?
Is there anything that surprised you about the benefits of remote work?
Let’s keep the conversation going. Reach out to us today!