Don’t Throw the Virtual Baby Out With the Virtual Bath Water!
First, some equate virtual worker with non-contributor. Not so! The quality of someone’s contributions to their team can’t be judged by their geolocation. Is anyone looking at the organization as a living entity, and asking which team members are instrumental in maintaining processes, relationships, and ‘team spirit’?
Second, these companies tend to think their ‘good’ employees will return to the office while their ‘bad’ employees won’t. Whether they have more good or bad employees isn’t the question. It’s equally likely that non-contributors will return to the office rather than seek out new opportunities where they might be more closely managed. It’s also likely they’ll lose people who are quite comfortable and even more productive working virtually.