Many firms that shifted to remote work when social distancing protocols were put in place have returned to working in the office again, while others remain fully remote or are implementing hybrid workplaces. Today, agencies aiming to inspire their teams and better serve clients are embracing a variety of policies, practices and models, from fostering a culture of in-person collaboration to allowing teammates the flexibility to do their best work on their own schedules.
While the members of Forbes Agency Council are all leading authorities in their industry, each of their organizations is following a unique path toward the future of work. Below, 19 members explore what their agencies are doing (or not doing) now in terms of remote work, and offer tips to show other agencies how and why these workplace models may benefit them.
1. Sync-Up Calls Connect Hybrid And Remote Team Members
Inclusion and belonging are top priorities for our agency. With a mix of hybrid and remote team members, we’re always finding ways to connect virtually. Once a week, we host an optional sync-up meeting, where we can take a break and catch up on just about anything—from pop culture to the best type of french fry. What started during the pandemic has transformed into one of the best team calls of the week. – Heather Kelly, Next PR
2. Weekly All-Team Meetings Help Remote Teams Bond
My agency has been remote-first since its inception in 2013. We make it work for us by hiring great people who work well in a remote environment, keeping lines of communication open via Slack and hosting weekly all-team meetings. These meetings are especially helpful; in them, we provide updates on the business, do team bonding activities and provide space to chat at the virtual “water cooler.” – Evan Nison, NisonCo
3. Following Remote-Centric Policies Benefits Everyone
It’s important to keep policies in place as if everyone is working remotely. Otherwise, it is easy to inadvertently create the idea that there are two groups of team members—those who are in-office and those who are on the outside looking in. By keeping internal communication, meeting and collaboration policies remote-centric, we maintain a stronger team work environment for all. – Henry Kurkowski, One WiFi
4. Hybrid Teams Should Be Candid, Proactive And Plan Ahead
We have been a hybrid work environment from day one of our 21-year history. Flexibility is a cornerstone value of a professional, supportive workplace. To make this work, we advocate candor and proactivity among colleagues. Our people plan ahead and negotiate what modality is best for the task at hand: having cameras turned on, planning to have a particular meeting in person or picking up the phone. – Reid Carr, Red Door Interactive
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5. Remote Workplaces Can Attract Top Talent Globally
Embracing remote work has allowed us to attract top talent globally, fostering a diverse and innovative team. With flexible schedules, we strike a work-life balance that boosts productivity and creativity. Our virtual collaboration tools ensure seamless communication, enabling us to stay agile and responsive to client needs, regardless of geographical boundaries. – Jon James, Ignited Results
6. Hybrid Staff Members Can Decide When To Come In
We’ve created a tiered system of different working patterns: being in the office twice a week, once a week, once a month and once a quarter. Staff members place themselves into these buckets, so as a business, we know which staff members we can encourage to come in regularly versus those who have little interest in coming into the office. Ultimately, we let the staff decide when they come in, based on a minimum commitment. – Sam Hurley, NOVOS
7. Leaders Should Consider Why They Are Against Remote Work
We were fully remote (a.k.a. distributed) before it was cool. The advantages for recruiting and retention are undeniable. Sure, we like to get together from time to time, but being remote-first remains a massive competitive advantage. If you’re against remote work, ask yourself, “Why?” Is it trust? Productivity? Creativity? Camaraderie? You should also ask yourself how you’re managing these aspects. Now, go ask your team. – Gyi Tsakalakis, AttorneySync & EPL Digital
8. Flexibility And ‘Tent Pole Days’ Make All Employees Happy
Whether our employee-owners prefer working in the office or working from home, there is one thing that makes them all happy: flexibility. Our policy includes two “work from anywhere” days weekly and three in-office days for cross-collaboration and culture curation. For our fully remote employees, we have implemented “tent pole days,” where we have all employees visit our headquarters twice a year. – Kimberly Jones, Butler/Till
9. 9-To-4 Days And WFH Fridays Provide More Personal Time
From the beginning, our agency has maintained a 9-to-4 work schedule, and the fact that people can add that extra hour back into their personal lives makes a huge difference. We also work in the office Monday through Thursday and work from home on Fridays, which maximizes productivity and morale. Thursday is the new Friday! – Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relations
10. A Mix Of Online And In-Person Activities Connects Teams
We host virtual lectures and workshops covering a wide range of topics. Every Friday, we kick-start the day with online yoga that everyone can participate in. Additionally, we offer online language classes in Spanish, Portuguese and French. Despite staying connected primarily online, we have a tradition of coming together once a year for a festive gathering in one of the cities around the world. – Michael Kuzminov, HypeFactory
11. Remote Work Delivers More Value And Boosts Diversity
Our model will remain remote for the foreseeable future. We have revamped our communication processes internally and externally to be more agile so that we can deliver more value to every stakeholder. Above all, adopting a remote working environment provides us with more flexibility in hiring, relocating and attracting a more diverse overall team. – Bernard May, National Positions
12. Remote Time-Tracking And Micromanaging Will Not Help
We started off remote and stayed remote. I believe tracking everyone’s time and micromanaging simply builds a horrible work environment. Assigning people work and being able to evaluate how much work one individual can take on is the best way to allow employees to work remotely without them feeling as if we’re watching their every move. – Andrew Maffettone, BlueTuskr
13. Communication Tools Empower Remote Collaboration
Our agency operates fully remotely, capitalizing on the advantages of a diverse talent pool, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Remote work empowers our team and boosts productivity. Initially, we faced challenges, but with the aid of effective communication tools, we have successfully overcome the trickiest aspect—seamless collaboration—while fostering a strong sense of connection. – Dmitrii Kustov, Regex SEO
14. A Hybrid Work Plan Fosters A Healthy Work-Life Balance
We have adopted a hybrid work plan, with team members spending an average of three days a week in the office. This balance maintains the collaboration and connectivity of in-person work, while also granting the flexibility and autonomy remote work offers. The arrangement boosts productivity, fosters a healthy work-life balance and has successfully maintained team morale and efficiency. – Stacy Jones, Hollywood Branded
15. Hybrid Models Combine Flexibility And Strong Teamwork
Our team operates with a hybrid workplace, where everyone is in the office together at least two days each week. Many of us like to come in more often than that for collaboration and in-person connection, but the hybrid model works best for combining flexibility with a strong team environment. We schedule team events and big meetings on in-office days so that the time with everyone is used wisely. – Gavin Baker, Baker Marketing Laboratory
16. Hybrid Models Help; In-Person Collaboration Is Essential
We’re embracing hybrid remote work when needed, but mostly, we’re back in the office. We’ve always had flex-day options and WFH days available, but we’re a small team, and the power of in-person collaboration and creative brainstorming sessions is something we’ve found we can’t do without. The goal has always been to give flexibility while still holding each other accountable and maintaining structure. – Tom Elstner, Zoogency GmbH
17. Three Days A Week In The Office Boosts Performance
With a relatively young team working in a dynamic, competitive industry—and in new areas of marketing where innovation is vital—our policy is that everyone is in the office three days a week. We’ve found that teams and individuals perform better and more creatively when working collaboratively in the office. We’ve even found that people are coming into the office more than the allotted days. – James Hacking, Socially Powerful
18. Remote Work Allows Writers To Pay Deep Attention
Our agency is fully remote and hasn’t missed a beat. Producing great writing requires deep attention, which isn’t always easy to achieve in a busy office. We haven’t ruled out a return to the office at some point, but for now we’re pleased with our remote workflow. We may have fewer communication touch points, but each touch point feels more meaningful now. – Justin Belmont, Prose
19. An Office-Like Environment Builds Remote Relationships
We’ve been a fully remote agency since 2016, so nothing has changed. The one thing we focus heavily on is building relationships and fostering an office-like environment. We encourage team members to take breaks, have lunch while on group calls and really get to know each other, as the team has never met in real life, but strong relationships are built through proximity! – Kevin Dam, Aemorph
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