How Remote Work Impacts Networking Within Companies

The concept of remote work and the impact it could have on the productivity and motivation of employees, has been in discussion long before the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2013 Stanford University study with 500 employees in China showcased that employee productivity increased by 13% as a result of working remotely in quieter environments. 

The pandemic forced employers and governments across the world to adopt the remote work model. According to Statista, the global collaboration software market revenues rose by a whopping $15.9 billion in 2019 to $19.2 billion in 2021. These figures are expected to increase over the next few years, as digital transformation and remote work are here to stay.

Some companies believe that the best practice is a hybrid-first work model, while others are pursuing efforts to bring employees back to the office. In September 2022, Kastle Systems, a key-card property management company that monitors entries and exits from office buildings, reported that some businesses are close to 50% office capacity.

So, how has remote work impacted the relationships of employees? The way they connect on a professional level or even a friendly manner?

We conducted a survey in the United States across a wide age range, asking the participants about their experiences with remote and hybrid work models, and how it has impacted their productivity and their relationships with their colleagues.

The Participants

To understand the role of remote work in the internal network of employers, we included participants across 31 states who are either working entirely remotely, or with a hybrid work model. The survey sample included a diverse audience, as people of various ages and industries have varying preferences when it comes to the methods and tools they use to perform.

• 82% of the participants were aged between 25 and 44 years old
• 18% were aged between 45 and 55 years old. 

The majority worked across different industries including, but not limited to, finance, software, healthcare, and information services.

Remote Work and Productivity

71% of our participants claimed that their productivity has improved over the past two years. A further 21% stated that it remained unchanged and  8% believe that it deteriorated.

This came as no surprise. Removing the hours of commute, preparing food at home, and being close to the family are all elements that employees have appreciated. In the words of Allyson Zimmermann, Executive Director at Catalyst, “access to remote work increases employee well-being, productivity, innovation, and inclusion.”

Whereas, no one under the age of 34 found their productivity deteriorating.

Remote Work and Relationships With Colleagues

Despite the fact that remote work removes the boundary between work and home, people have been able to establish methods to communicate with colleagues without it becoming a burden. So much so, that for some, remote work has improved their relationships with their colleagues.

67% of our participants believe that their relationships with their colleagues have improved during the last two years. This figure was sufficiently higher among the younger ages, as 73.8% of the respondents between the ages of 25-34 answered positively.

This is in line with the findings of Dan Schwable, Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence, who highlights that “over the past year their relationships have improved with their managers (32%), peers/colleagues on their team (25%), and peers/colleagues on other teams (21%).”

 “When people trust one another and have social capital, you get a willingness to take risks, you get more innovation and creativity and less groupthink”.

Methods of Interactions

No matter the benefits of remote work, employees can get lonely. Nancy Baym, Jonathan Larson, and Ronnie Martin from Harvard Business Review elaborate, “the spontaneous informal interactions at risk in hybrid and remote work are not distractions or unproductive. They foster the employee connections that feed productivity and innovation – these interactions are the soil in which ideas grow.” 

Our survey participants, however, have shared different methods that their employers promote in-person interactions:

• 26% said that social outings have been their company’s go-to method
• 23% of our participants stated their company does so through work retreats and off-site gatherings

An interesting point to note is that some companies encourage remote interactions with colleagues:

• 23% connect through digital Interactive Office Solutions
• 11% interact through online video game sessions. 

Admittedly, we have tried the last two points at Covve by hosting virtual game nights and online yoga sessions once per month with great success, connecting our teams. 

In addition to the above responses, we invited the participants to share other activities that would help them interact better with their colleagues at work. The most prominent responses were:

• The inclusion of outdoor activities and sports in the company’s schedule 
• Department-wide lunches or occasional dinners with colleagues. This  is a technique introduced at Google (and then the wider Silicon Valley) to encourage employees to eat together, connect, and share ideas for new projects
• The introduction of biweekly or monthly mentorship sessions
• Working together on volunteering activities and community service projects

Conclusion

The key message from our findings is that while remote work has increased employee productivity and improved their relationships, it did not eliminate the need for social interaction. 

Company networking and bonding is still heavily facilitated at company outings and gatherings. Although online interactions and even video games are novel and rising methods in connecting employees at the remote or hybrid workplace, employees still need to connect over drinks, food, exercise, or even volunteering.  This is well explained by a research-backed op-ed by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler from The Washington Post, which claims that “over the medium to long term, long-distance employment can’t deliver key benefits – including learning and new friendships – that come from face-to-face contact.”

Maintaining relationships with colleagues is key to forming what is known as ‘social capital, which can have a wider positive impact on the organization. According to Nancy Baym, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, social capital increases the employees’ willingness to take risks, which in turn leads to higher levels of innovation. 

In this manner relationships and productivity are interconnected and interoperate.

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Are you a trustworthy contact?

Your entire network, your credibility in it, and future interactions with others, all depend on trust. 

Although perceptions are shaped by first impressions, trust is harnessed in the long term. It is the foundation that makes the relationship last. So even if you make the wrong first impression, you can win the long game by making others like you, and building trust in your work and personality.

According to a 2009 OECD study, trust determines “which people in the community are perceived as potential partners rather than as rivals”. For this reason, trust is the social protocol that determines how relationships between people impact the overall progress in society.

The effectiveness of trust is particularly evident amongst professional networks. Take for example EY’s 2021 Global Alumni Survey, which highlighted that 74% of the company’s alumni felt a strong relationship with the company’s current employees, because of trust networks. EY’s former global CEO, Mark A. Weinberger, commented: “When I left the organization, I never left the people – we continued sharing insights and opportunities”.

So what are the factors that can empower your trustworthiness as a professional? 

According to Jeffrey Hayzlett, author of “The Hero Factor: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations and Create Winning Cultures”, the components that build trust in organizations, and in our case networks, are: Competency, sincerity, and relevancy.

• Competency is about being reliable, and efficient in what you do. 
• Sincerity is about being open and honest. Being sincere about your work, and achievements always increase the level of trust in a relationship. Dishonesty and hiding of things can result in exactly the opposite. 
• Relevancy is about being connected to relevant interests, messages, and values of like-minded people in your network.

So remember. In your professional network, be honest and don’t exaggerate, deliver on your promises, and stay true to your values. These very simple principles can go a long way in establishing your trustworthiness among others. 

In the words of the business author, Lance Secretan, “Authenticity is the alignment of head, mouth, heart, and feet – thinking, saying, feeling, and doing the same thing – consistently.”

Covve suggests: When you meet someone new, add a note in Covve on how you met; jot down common interests and opinions, common friends and info about their family to ensure you stay relevant and personable. Add an auto reminder to follow up with them at least once a month to build your relationship. Help out where you can and offer relevant introductions. Be valuable to your relationships, while you stay true without overpromising.

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Meeting in-person or online?

Similar to other social interactions, networking is now majorly conducted via online means. We often connect and stay in touch with other professionals whom we’ve never met in person before. As a result, platforms like LinkedIn have grown multiple times over the past decade.

This digital transformation process was further accelerated during the pandemic. One of the most important adoptions of the ‘new normal life’ was remote work, which according to McKinsey accelerated 43 times faster than expected.

So we can’t help but ask, are in-person meetings still a thing or is it better to meet through a screen?

Not long ago, an expert article in Forbes highlighted that face-to-face interactions could make a stronger impact on relationship development. The article went as far as to point out that technology could never replace in-person meetings, unless absolutely necessary. Online interactions, it stated, must be limited to occasions where a business is “too dependent on long-distance, digital and impersonal meetings”.

The article’s premises were not unfounded. Dunlap and Murtagh’s 2016 research suggested that “behaviors—such as facial expressions, the placement of head and shoulders, the use of hands—can deliver information, regulate the interaction, and express feelings and intimacy”. This is in line with Dr. Mehrabian’s research in the 1960s, which described that 55% of our communication is visual – known as “body language”.

Nonetheless, this notion may as well get challenged in the future, as social norms and body language are simulated virtually.

Consider for instance that new social norms have emerged because of virtual meetings, but people are still adapting to them. A  2021 research paper by Katherine A. Karl, Joy V. Peluchette, and Navid Aghakhani on the “Virtual Work Meetings During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, actually concluded that the sudden shift toward a remote work environment, found employees being unaware of the virtual meetings’ social norms and etiquettes.

To add, according to research by Covve, users expect that important communication elements such as body language and eye contact will be simulated effectively through digital meeting points, like the metaverse. 

The above leads us to two important points. 

Firstly, in-person meetings matter. Although online meetings are easier, faster, and more efficient than in-person ones, meeting in person can be more effective in important situations, such as negotiations, where body language and communication have an important role in the conversation.

Secondly, body language and new social norms are established and evolve as the frequency of online meetings increases. 

Therefore, in the future, the paradigm of online vs in-person meetings will naturally shift towards the former, without of course undermining or eliminating the importance and usefulness of the latter.

Covve suggests: Setup your reminders for the upcoming week to catch up with your relationships. With the ones you usually text, try to have a call this time and even turn the camera on. If it’s been long since you last met, arrange a physical get-together. After your meetings, note anything new you found out about them, e.g. her twins turn five next week, and she’s pescatarian. This is relationship gold!

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Connecting with the right crowd

“Networking is linked to many measures of professional success — including getting promoted, having influence, earning more money, and feeling more satisfied in your career”, writes Rebecca Knight, Senior Correspondent for Insider and Contributor at Harvard Business Review. 

While this is very true, it all boils down to the people you network with. Connecting to individuals that cannot contribute to your professional development, have dissimilar interests to yours, and do not understand your aspirations or goals, will probably limit your prospects of building a meaningful and productive relationship with them. 

According to London Business School’s Professor Raina Brands:

“When you hear the word ‘network’, you might sigh inwardly at the prospect of introducing yourself to people for the sole purpose of making contacts to further a goal. But this is an outdated view of a social network, and networking in this way doesn’t usually produce results”.

It’s all about finding like-minded people to connect with. Similar to you in your area of expertise, line of work, and interests. Quoting Professor Brands “Birds of a feather flock together: people form relationships with similar people”.

So how can you meet like-minded people? There are plenty of ways.

1. During a networking event learn how to read the room. Find out who’s on the guest list, their line of work, and their interests, if those are explicitly provided. Alternatively, walk around, listen to conversations, find one where you fit in, and politely introduce yourself without interrupting.
2. In general, look for like-minded people on social media, who have interests that are aligned with yours. You can discover them via their line of work, posts, or even hashtags they follow. LinkedIn even offers the “Talks About” section on its users’ profiles. In this manner, the users can be identified by others with shared interests.
3. Attend events, meetups, or instances, which are attended by like-minded people. It may be a video games conference, like E3; it may be a meetup for UI/UX designers, or it may be a place of common interests like the gym. As a matter of fact, “sweatworking” is a popular way to connect with others. It has been done traditionally through sports like golf, according to Brigid Sweeney of Chicago Business.

There you have it! Connecting to the right people can make your relationships, and thus network more meaningful and effective. In the words of actor Robert Redford, “Problems can become opportunities when the right people come together.”

Covve Suggests: Add like-minded people from your address book as relationships and tag them with what you share in common, e.g. “Programming”, or “Art”. Search online for any upcoming event that you would both be interested in and set a reminder to invite them to go together. Make them feel free to invite a couple of like-minded friends and offer to do the same.

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Opportunities exist outside your comfort zone

We deliberately find comfort in our inner circle. Our family, group of friends, a cluster of professional contacts. People we already know. People who can potentially protect us from a financial or emotional downfall.  This is what research from Northwestern University on “How Socioeconomic Status Impacts the Way We Network”, suggests. 

Nonetheless, although our inner circle feels like a safe space, it may actually do more harm than good. The research goes on to warn that our inner circle may become a limiting factor to our network’s future development. 

As it points out, ‘new opportunities and novel information’ can only come from our wider network. For this reason, it is important to expand our network, meet new people and get outside of our comfort zone. 

Therefore, how can we unleash the power of our current and future networks effectively? London Business School’s John Dore recommends a  4-step process.

Step 1: Filter and prioritize your contacts

Who do you keep in touch with? Who matters to your career? Not just for now, but also for the future. It may be a classmate, a former colleague or a friend. Dore recommends creating a list and assessing how accessible each contact is.

Step 2: Reach out to them

Reach out to people, to the people you have marked as accessible, your inner circle. Even if you haven’t talked to them in a while, they can still be classified as accessible. Dore highlights that even “if you’re hesitant about their likely response, consider how you’ve responded to a suddenly revived contact from the past? Perhaps a former colleague or an alumni contact from University.”

Step 3: Power up your relationships with them

Spend time learning more about these contacts. To catch up with their most recent updates. What are they working on? What are the things they are interested in? Then start contributing. Do you have something to share or offer that may be of interest to them? In this manner, you will strengthen your active relationships and rewarm the dormant ones.

Step 4: Use your current network as a ladder

Start reaching out to people who are two degrees away from you. The contacts of your contacts. Ask for an introduction from your network. This is the best way to reach out to someone. As a Harvard Business Review article points out, references may be the best way to validate someone’s professional credibility.

In a nutshell, get outside of your comfort zone, scout for new opportunities in uncharted territories, and do so by using your inner circle as the first stepping stone.

Covve Suggests: Add the people of your inner circle as relationships with an auto reminder once or twice per month. Add a note for each of them about any referral you seek but also any introduction they would be possibly interested in. Use the news topics to find extra discussion points. After each talk, note down recent updates and next goals.

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How to follow up after a meeting

Following up after you meet someone is important for preserving and developing a relationship. It paves the way to subsequent meetings and the chance of synergies and new opportunities. 

In the words of the award-winning author and corporate trainer, Paul Axwell, “Persistence is a key influence skill. If you want anything to happen you must follow up, follow up and follow up”.

So what is the best way to follow up with new contacts?

Step 1: Follow up with the people who matter

According to a recent infographic, we are expected to meet 80,000 people in our lifetime. Although our brain has the biological capacity of storing 2.5 petabytes of data, we won’t remember everyone, and we are not supposed to. 

You will only remember a handful of people who made an impression and that you probably decided to stay in touch with. So choose carefully. Stay in touch with people who have a mindset, skills, or network that can help you develop.

Step 2: Make a memorable exit through mnemonic devices

According to Dr. Charan Ranganath, Director of the Memory and Plasticity Program at the University of California, Davis, our brain has to put in a lot of work to remember someone. It has to match the name with a face, then store that name in an already crowded memory where myriads of other names exist, and recall it when necessary. 

For this reason, you need to create mnemonic devices. Don’t just hand over a business card and leave. Share a story, a thought, or even a hobby that you will be remembered for. 

In this manner, when you pick up the phone or send an email to follow up, your contact will automatically recall who you are, by the mnemonic device you provided them with.

Step 3: Set a reminder and prepare

As a Chinese proverb says “The palest ink is better than the best memory”. Don’t just say you will follow up, put it in your agenda. Ink it. 

Schedule a follow-up meeting at the end of your introduction, or set a reminder with a note – For example: “Call Jane in 2 days to discuss the marketing executive position opportunity”.

Before you follow up, be prepared. Recap any notes you may have made on that person, on their interests, line of work, family status, and any news that may be relevant to them. 

“Note: George has a Labradoodle that just gave birth. Make sure to ask how the puppies are.” 

Anything that can help you start a conversation and warm up the follow-up call or email, is to your advantage.

Covve suggests: When adding a new relationship make sure you add a note with some key elements of their story to help you remember the person. Set your upcoming reminders and add a note that is relevant to both you and them, i.e. what you connected on, common interests, and ideally what you can help them with. After you speak, set a reminder for a follow-up with the key points discussed and any actions until then (e.g. Introduce her to Don Norman).

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Networking is essential for founders

What differentiates a successful startup founder from an unsuccessful one? There are a number of obvious reasons. The product, the team, and the track record. What about the network though?

While talent is universal, opportunity is not. No matter how good you are, you will still face limited prospects if you don’t have access to the right networks. Without networking, it will be increasingly difficult to scale your business, access new markets, and attract new capital.

This is what a study from Chicago University’s Booth Business School showcases by outlining that “the network is an entrepreneur’s best asset”.

The study received responses from 350 professionals, in 40 countries. The results indicate that founders reach out to their network for fundraising (29%), talent sourcing (32%), and emotional support (34%). 

The study advises entrepreneurs to diversify their networks. Highlighting that “using the network means reaching out and asking people you don’t know well or have only a weak online link with to help you. Asking for help is one of the most valuable skills an entrepreneur can cultivate.”

Fast Company even visually represents how some star founders of Y Combinator, the world’s premier startup accelerator, network in terms of boosting each other’s products, building social connections, and sharing advice. A testimonial from GiftRocket’s founder, Kapil Kale, goes on to explain how Stripe and WePay had been “really influential” in helping them understand how the payment business worked.

The advantages of networking among startups go well beyond the sharing of advice. Austin Clements, the Managing Partner of On Purpose Ventures, points out that networks can be a true door opener for entrepreneurs in terms of raising funding. He mentions, “VCs have big networks and know a lot of people, they can often open up doors and help founders skip steps in finding new customers and new challenges.” Therefore networking puts you on a fast track.

So where do you start? What is the first step in using your network for the benefit of your startup? 

Clements suggests that you need to identify the right contacts in your network. To find the smartest people and ask who’s doing something innovative. 

Once you do that, start learning from them. Find out more about their work and ways. Connect with them, get to know them better, ask questions. 

Benefit from their network. Are they connected to someone you would like to meet? Such as an investor or an entrepreneur? For certain, a warm introduction from someone they already know gives you better chances to meet them, than cold emailing them.

Last but not least, always make sure to reciprocate. The best networkers are givers. Referring them to a contact of yours, offering advice or insights, or even inviting them for a coffee or lunch just to thank them. Any act of reciprocity could go a long way.

Also, don’t forget to keep the relationship alive. Make sure to touch base once every while, to give them a thumbs up on their work, or even see how they are doing. Preserving your network active only takes a few moments of your time, yet can be of tremendous benefit to your future self and business.

In conclusion, no matter how strongly you believe in your business, make sure to give it a powerful launch or scaling platform through the right channels. These channels can come through your existing and future networks. 

Did you know that: Covve allows you to add tags to each of your contacts. Add tags like “advisors”, “fellow entrepreneurs”, “investors”, to easily find them when you need them. Add auto reminders to remember to keep in touch and news topics on their business and hobbies to have a great excuse to reach out.

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How to rewarm dormant relationships

Your network stretches well beyond the people you keep in touch with, and that’s okay. You naturally don’t have time to keep in touch with everyone.

Nonetheless, the dormant relationships in your network are neither dead nor useless. They quietly exist there until it is time to activate them. 

According to a study featured in the MIT Sloan Management Review, “reconnecting dormant ties, provides a whole host of benefits, many of them unexpected… Reconnecting with dormant relationships is more than just fun – it can be extremely useful”.

So how do you activate dormant relationships? There’s actually a right way of doing it.

Rebbeca Zucker, a leadership coach, who advises companies the likes of Amazon and Dropbox, recommends a  number of ways to get in touch with the contacts you haven’t talked to in a while. We repurposed her recommendations into a four-step process.

Step 1: Be positive. Prior to getting in touch, make sure to get rid of any negative thoughts. You may be inclined to think that your message is unwanted. That may be boring them, or wasting their time. There’s also a good chance that they may be actually happy to hear from you. The relationship may be dormant, but they may be following you and your work.

Step 2: Be sincere and build rapport. Address the elephant in the room. You haven’t been in touch for some time. That’s fine. If you are contacting them after so long, you are there to ask for something. They already know that too. Therefore, you can avoid the small talk and start working on your preposition. Establish some common ground first. Ask them about their kids, mention their favorite sports team, and make them feel comfortable about having a conversation.

Step 3: Ask for something, in the right way. Don’t be assertive, be understanding. After building rapport, go ahead and ask: “If you have the time, could you please help me out with this request?”. This is certainly better than saying “I need this from you”. If their response is negative, don’t burn any bridges. Be the bigger person, and respect their decision. “If you can’t help out I totally understand, and I hope we catch up soon”. In this manner, you showcase that you are also interested in maintaining the relationship, not just achieving your goal. No matter how true this may be or not, it is always of benefit to keep the door open. They may revert with some help or offer you a synergistic solution in the future.

Step 4: Keep the relationship alive and be appreciative. Whatever the result may be, be sure to thank the other person, and reciprocate. The best networkers are givers. Make yourself available to them for any future assistance that may be needed, and offer to follow up actions such as, “Let’s catch up for coffee soon”. It does not always have to be about work.

Did you know that: Covve allows you to keep notes on each one of your contacts. With the tap of a button, you can now refresh your memory on their interests, dislikes, and favorite things! Including food. Tap on the + icon on your homepage and “Add Note” to get started.

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All the Right First-time Questions

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Boost your career through relationships

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