Determining Commitment to Long-Term Remote Work

Let’s try a thought experiment today. You’re poking around for new opportunities like—oh, I don’t know—possibly two-thirds of the workforce these days. You visit a job board. You find yourself most interested in two companies that I’ll call A and B here. Assume that compensation, title, responsibilities, and other perks are equal at both. One last nugget: For you, remote work is a dealbreaker.

You wisely keep digging and visit each company’s website—specifically its leadership page. Here’s what you see:

And now, Company B.

Interviewing the Interviewers

During your first interview at each company, you ask the recruiter about the possibility of long-term remote work. In each case, she confirms that it’s an option.

Equipped with no other information, which company is truly committed to long-term remote? (Hint: It’s not Company A.)

Lest you think that my example above is hypothetical, rest assured: It’s not. The basis for those screenshots is the low-code/no-code startup  Almanac.io. For the purposes of attracting new talent, its website excels in this regard by prominently displaying:

• The word distributed on its leadership page.
• Smartly, each executive’s current location.

This potent combination reinforces the fact that future employees won’t have to schlep to the office every day—something that few people want to do. What’s more, management doesn’t view the idea of remote work as a passing fad or a temporary employee concession.

Now, much like my recent post on Zapier, I don’t possess any insider knowledge about working at Almanac.io. I doubt it, but it’s possible that Almanac’s website is all hat and no cattle. That is rank-and-file employees abide by a different set of rules than the top brass does. (I’m hardly going out on a limb by saying that it wouldn’t be the first time in the history of business that that has happened.)

As someone who once took a job that turned out to be far different than what the company’s recruiters told me, reading tea leaves like these is invaluable in sussing out organizational culture.

Simon Says

Brass tacks: If your company is truly committed to remote work, then make it abundantly clear throughout its website and job boards. Quality applicants will have their pick of the litter for the foreseeable future (💲). Why not conduct interview litmus tests such as these?

Apart from the occasional one-off interview, I haven’t done any formal recruiting in over two decades. Still, I do know this much: Signals (couldn’t resist) such as these can help drive applications, promote successful careers, and minimize issues around employee match quality.

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What say you?