Each week, FP Weekly members receive a practical and cutting-edge checklist of issues to consider, action steps to take, and goals to accomplish to ensure you remain on the top of your game when it comes to workplace relations and employment law compliance. This week we provide you a checklist of items to consider when determining whether your organization needs a Chief Remote Officer – and how to get the most out of such a position.
What is a Chief Remote Officer?
Whether your organization has long been friendly to remote or hybrid work, or whether you have adapted quite a bit since the start of the pandemic, it might be time to take a fresh look at where things stand. Some companies have created a singular position to take charge of this crucial task rather than spreading out responsibility over multiple departments – a high-ranking leader solely dedicated to overseeing remote work for the benefit of organization and worker alike. This is the role of the Chief Remote Officer. Once considered only necessary for tech companies, we’re now seeing organizations in all fields bring aboard leaders to handle this unique position.
Imagine you had a single leader to assist your organization on all elements of remote working as they relate to your company. They could look at all aspects of your corporate structure specifically through the lens of remote work and then identify what you need to adapt or upgrade to get the most out of each function. Most importantly, they would then champion and oversee those changes. Rather than a distributed model where each department handles their function while considering the role of remote work, you would have a single source who would be dedicated to getting the most out of it.
But they could have a longer-term purpose after the initial work is done. You could maintain them in a leadership role in your organization to ensure there is continuous improvement in those functions. The checklists below will help you determine whether such a role is right for your company, how to hire a CRO (or its equivalent), and how to get the most out of such a leader.
Hiring a CRO
What Should Your CRO Do?