'Remote working needs personal equation'

John Riordan, Director of Support, Shopify, Ireland, on what makes work from home effective

What do you think are the crucial challenges in the implementation of remote work?
- Unlearning years of office-based behaviour quickly
- Learning to trust, rather than trying to control
When organisations talk about data science and artificial intelligence enabling remote work, where do you think they should start? What are the must not ignore factors?

Remote work requires more personal touch not less - this is a challenge that needs more human interactivity and not less. We need more focus on meaningful and informed insights and less on accumulating data.
Productivity is the most important criteria that leaders try and ensure while managing a distributed or remote team, how can they ensure it stays up?

I would disagree that productivity is the most important criteria. The most important focus should be on achieving the right outcomes.
What are some of the noticeable achievements of Shopify when it comes to building or scaling remote teams?

Our support organisation of close to 2,000 people is virtually all remote. The vast majority of our team is full time employees who enjoy full benefits, including equity.

What can delegates expect from your session at the Remote Workforce Summit?
The candid view on the future of working from home
Lastly, have you got a favorite quote or a quote that you live by?
Daniel Pink's from the book Drive: "Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to
engagement."
 

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