Newsflash 2 September 2022

Savvy Companies Will Keep Working Remotely

The conversation around remote work, office culture, and how to manage teams in distributed workforces has been happening for some time, and there’s still healthy debate as to what the future of work will look like.
However, for forward-thinking companies, the debate is largely over, as they realise that remote working is, well, working and that most staff are happier and more productive at home.

With this in mind, Paymaster has taken the decision to remain mostly remote working.

This decision is an exciting one, as it enables the company to be at the vanguard of this model, and pave the way for other companies to adopt it too.

However, while this is an exciting decision, it is not without its challenges. At Paymaster we are lucky to have a culture that has enabled a smooth transition to remote working, due to several factors.

Reasons to stay remote

The first reason is colleague satisfaction which is supported by Paymaster’s low staff turnover. We also have a strong culture of recognition and have created a company culture that celebrates recognition. This has helped us to attract loyal staff.

Another reason is that Paymaster has a high-performance culture where colleagues are accountable for their results and given the autonomy to succeed. Even our employees agree that we have a culture of performance and working on deliverables rather than hours in the office.
We also offer some great incentives, such as mental health leave, where employees are encouraged to take time off and rest, but also be held accountable to ensure there is a stand-in for them.

Making use of the office only once a week

We have our whole team together in the office on Wednesdays to ensure the teams work well together and for team meetings and staff events. We are committed to supporting the staff working from home, and the challenges they might be facing.

One such challenge is South Africa’s power situation. Making sure our employees are empowered to work remotely is extremely important and enabling them to deliver on output is also critical. If you want them to be 100% productive, you cannot expect them to take care of loadshedding for example. We’ve given all our staff a battery backup, so that they can carry on, regardless of loadshedding.

Another challenge is maintaining the strong culture Paymaster has built, while remaining remote and growing the business. Our company culture is not just about how we do things but also about why we do things the way we do. Our mission is to improve client interaction through relationships, which we actively work on during our Wednesdays in the office.

How to maintain success

While Paymaster has the technology to be able to work remotely and has found remote work to be a great success, the next step in benchmarking remote working will ensure the company maintains its healthy company culture.

When new staff members join Paymaster, the company does the induction in-office to ensure they learn the company culture, the Paymaster way of working as well as policies and procedures required to have a successful relationship with the client.

In addition, every two weeks, the company holds a “Staff Spotlight” event, where staff are celebrated and made to feel special and part of the team.
The benefits of remote working far outweigh any perceived negatives. For starters, there is no stress of commuting, or time wasted sitting in traffic every day, and employees feel more in control when they’re allowed to work remotely. For us, it’s a win-win.

At the same time, Paymaster understands that maintaining a healthy company culture is an ongoing process, requiring commitment from all colleagues. This is why we will continue to trial and research and, importantly, listen to and include feedback from colleagues to cultivate a remote workplace culture that engages, rewards, and inspires.

We really care about the individual at Paymaster. We want to do what is best for colleagues and our business, and people are simply happier and more productive when working from home. Remote working is the new way. It makes zero sense to force people to go back to work. Businesses who adapt to this, are the ones who will survive.