Background Checks, Employment Screenings, Tenant Screenings

PeopleG2 began as a typical “brick and mortar” company. We ensured all employees had a proper workstation in their home, provided a state of the art internet based system with which to perform the necessary tasks, and offered tips and continued follow up to ensure all employees were feeling successful in this new model.

Remote work is the backbone of our company, as we are almost entirely virtual. Our platform allows for all employees to access information regardless of their location. It also encourages autonomy and personal drive to accomplish tasks and ensure work is being completed.

A remote workforce encourages all team members to contribute. Tasks are expected to be completed, and each person understands the specific duties that they must accomplish day in, day out. There is no way to micro-manage a remote workforce, so providing flexibility coupled with expectation has enabled employees to feel more responsible for their role in the company’s success.

During the most recent recession, it was designed as a way to reduce overhead and maintain staff.  We eliminated the need to pay for an entire office space to house all employees, and instead focused on retaining employees.

We utilize Skype for face to face interviews.

Productivity is easily measured by the output each day.  Our platform provides metrics which will show the productivity of individuals and the company.  We also have daily sales and operations goals which clearly outline how productive a day it was.

If employees have a laptop or computer, we will typically ask them to use that. However, if they need a new computer, or do not have something that is sufficient for getting the job done, we will purchase a computer for them, along with other things needed to perform the job (headphones, printers, etc.)

Initially, we had formal guidelines and documents on the “how to’s” of working remotely.  As we have adapted to this virtual/remote office model, the policies have become more organic in nature, adjusting to integrate work/life balance and the autonomous nature of remote work.

Remote companies can have a healthy culture. In one sense, you don’t have the constant interpersonal contact that can sometimes damage relationships which might inadvertently hurt the culture. On the other hand, not having that interpersonal communication can be a challenge for some. Like any company, however, the culture is established by the leadership through clearly defined expectations and the sense of accomplishment towards the company’s end goal and mission by the employees.  At the center of it all, like any company, is communicating the expectations and making sure people are on board with how things should be.

The best advice would be to ensure that you have a plan prior to establishing a remote workforce. Whether it is one or two people or an entire company, having a plan in place as to how exactly work will be performed and the expectations of employees working remotely is key to success. The other piece of advice would be to have confidence that jobs and tasks will get done.

We utilize conference calls for solving immediate issues as well as for operational meetings. We hold “Cockroach Meetings” if a problem requires immediate attention from a core group of people. These are specifically directed towards the problem to find a quick solution and not let the matter linger.  We also utilize an intranet chat platform which provides a general “Water Cooler” area where anyone can talk about anything; individual chat rooms set up for specific parts of company (e.g. operations or sales); and one to one chats if a private conversation needs to happen between two employees.