In praise of asynchronous work — SMP&CO Strategy Review

I’ll thread it on our Basecamp workspace

There is one productivity and workplace culture reform that has seen a boost as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to prevent a full return to BC (before COVID) work and school routines — the paradigm of the remote worker.

Remote work is more than just being physically away from the office, but rather combines productivity remote-ness, communications methodologies while testing the resiliency of management structures and culture. Being a remote worker is one thing, but running a remote company with everything from operations, to business development, and customer interactions is a whole other thing.

The Insight

This strategy insight will focus primarily on one specific aspect that has emerged as a mainstream way that remote workers, even those at this very Firm, have employed with much success compared to the BC work ethos.

Asynchronous work is one of the best ways to manage remote worker productivity because it gives them the freedom to do things when they need to with the constraint of a deadline and deliverable output. This is an efficient way of managing people when you take into account that each individual worker is unique with their own natural productivity patterns and cycles. Some may be most productive when highly regimented, while others may need the unstructured productivity paradigm in order to create their best outputs.

This is currently being implemented by managers in more knowledge work-focused industries or business units in companies with more remote-able work through the application of AGILE Methodologies, digital workplace replacement software like Basecamp and MS Teams, and by introducing a more humane work culture.

The Data

In May 2020, a small-sample survey of HR managers was conducted that asked them to describe how remote work and adoption of asynchronous work has affected their companies. Based on the results of the survey, nearly 68% of managers reported very positive results, while also seeing a 42% increase in productivity in the high knowledge process activities.

Asynchronous work is one of the best productivity management paradigms that really fits into the pace and needs of the contemporary economy.