HR Committee: Managing Your Remote Workforce: Real-World Challenges and Solutions

On December 1, at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, AMCHAM’s HR Committee hosted Managing Your Remote Workforce: Real-World Challenges and Solutions. HR Committee Co-Chair, Christopher Schultz, Director, Group Learning & Organization Development at DKSH Thailand; conducted an interactive workshop with 30 attendees to draw out ideas and insights on success factors related to working remotely in the areas of legal, technology and tool, employees, managers, and company culture.

Christopher began his workshop by saying that Covid-19 has thrown businesses into unprecedented situations and accelerated Work from Home (WFH) practices by five years. Through the workshop, he wanted to help attendees mind-storm collectively to learn how best to manage remote workforces. The event gave attendees a platform to share knowledge from their experiences of working remotely and to address some key challenges such as keeping team engagement and rapport, effective compensation, working with new tools and technology, and building authentic relationships in a virtual world.

The pandemic has brought forward a new culture, new tools and technology, and a new way of working. Some employees prefer working from home and some miss the in-person interaction. The pros and cons of WFH are many. While ease of working from home can help save time and money while commuting, it can also increase the cost of utilities and other unpredicted office expenses. Chris mentioned that for organizations to be successful they need to support this new culture by making the work environment inclusive, provide additional employee benefits, educate their teams, reskill, and upskill them, as well as rethink traditional forms of communications. Other key success factors included agile and flexible managers, and concerted efforts to stay connected.