Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic forcibly introduced the concept of remote work to the general public, many people have realized that they’re able to be just as, or even more, productive working remotely compared to the office. They have since indicated their desire to continue working off-site, and many consider remote or hybrid work a non-negotiable when evaluating a job offer.
Conversely, once the pandemic subsided, many employers wanted their employees to return to the office. While there are many reasons for this, one of the most popular is that they don’t trust their employees enough to get the job done away from their watchful eyes. Some bosses have begrudgingly allowed their employees to work from home, but they mandate their employees to use surveillance software that monitors keystrokes and mouse movement, alerting the boss if the employee hasn’t interacted with their computer after a set amount of time. Employees countered this by using mouse jiggers to prevent the system from detecting their device idling.
All these point to the lack of transparency and accountability in the workplace – an organizational issue that goes beyond whether employees are working at home or in the office, says Mark Parinas, founder and CEO of software development company CuraeSoft.
According to Parinas, accountability is one of the most important factors for organizational success. Regardless of where employees stand on the company’s hierarchy, if they are not accountable, it destroys value. Since founding CuraeSoft in 2015, Parinas has been passionate about fostering accountability within the organization, and he believes the most important step in achieving accountability is transparency. In a buy-and-sell transaction, transparency is very important, where the buyer needs to be sure that they’re getting what they’ve paid for, while the seller needs to get a fair price for what they’re selling. Parinas says an employer-employee relationship is no different since, at its core, the employer is buying the employee’s time and expertise.
CuraeSoft’s flagship product is coAmplifi, a workforce management software that places emphasis on transparency rather than surveillance, empowering the remote and hybrid workforce. Parinas shares that CuraeSoft has been using coAmplifi internally since its inception and that it actually began as an in-house solution to foster transparency and accountability, even before the pandemic and CuraeSoft’s transition to permanent remote work for its team.
According to Parinas, successful organizations build blueprints each year laying out their objectives, strategies, and tactics (OSTs), and, at regular intervals, leadership evaluates whether the strategies and tactics being used by the organization are sufficient to achieve its objectives. Every leader’s task, he says, is to make sure that the organization’s plan is executed correctly by the boots on the ground. If the plan is not successful, then resources are wasted, and the organization may suffer a loss.
To provide a holistic view of the organization, its OSTs, and its workforce, coAmplifi provides an interconnected modular solution, encompassing timekeeping, project management, business analytics, employee evaluation, collaboration, and payroll. It functions as a virtual headquarters, connecting the entire organization and guiding it in the execution of its strategic blueprint.
coAmplifi divides the blueprint into objectives and strategies, which are subdivided into programs, projects, and initiatives. Then, those are further broken down into deliverables, which are assigned to specific members of the organization.
By having all deliverables visible and trackable in one place, coAmplifi allows data-backed and objective, data-supported assessment of the organization’s progress and each employee’s performance. Management is then able to identify the specific areas where productivity bottlenecks exist, as well as team members who are underperforming, allowing them to take action. On the other hand, it also shows the individuals who are performing well in their deliverables, creating a solid and transparent basis for accolades, promotions, and other rewards.
Depending on an organization’s structure and needs, the coAmplifi platform has transparency settings, controlling the information each employee can see. Within CuraeSoft, coAmplifi is set to full transparency, meaning that everyone, from the CEO to the junior team members, can see each other’s calendars and workload.
According to Parinas, coAmplifi eliminates guesswork within the organization and promotes transparency, accountability, and meritocracy. These enable management to make the best decisions for everybody involved and create an atmosphere of trust, allowing a seamless transition to and maintenance of a remote working arrangement.
Parinas believes that remote work is here to stay and that more employers will realize the importance of transparency and accountability in their organization, which are crucial in attracting the best talent in the industry. Once this happens, the popularity of remote and hybrid working will rebound, resulting in better productivity and work-life balance for everyone.
Published by: Khy Talara
