Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash.

The shift to remote work for organizations across the country has been swift and profound. The changes are so drastic that large numbers of Americans say they never want to go back to the office full time.

That’s a problem for some business leaders who say they have seen a drop in productivity or creativity, or as teams try to fill training gaps for new workers. Some leaders, such as Netflix’s Reed Hastings, have gone so far as to say remote work has been a disaster for company culture.

So, how can organizations find ways to make sure their remote teams are successful—both now during the prolonged COVID-19 crisis, and later when employers try to find the balance between in-person and permanently remote work?

Joel Andren, founder of Protypical, shared his insights from a long career in managing remote teams in a recent presentation for Ragan Communications’ Future of Communications Virtual Conference. In his view, successful remote work relies on four E’s:

Encourage. Find new ways to support remote workers, including having many more one-on-ones.
Elaborate. Directions and expectations must be especially clear for remote workers.
Empower. Give your team the ability to solve problems and succeed on their own.
Evaluate. Measure based on performance, and against clearly defined benchmarks.

Watch his whole presentation here.