Our association did it. We took the leap: ARMA International converted to a completely virtual "workplace" in October 2016, and we learned a lot along the way. We adjusted as we moved, making the workplace more flexible for our staff and those we serve. If your organization is considering going virtual, there's likely a lesson or two that you can learn from our experience.

Intrinsic to our transition was following change management processes, which included defining and explaining the nature of the move—from the big picture to how the change would affect employees' everyday work environment, as well as how it might affect our members and customers. We planned for change at both the macro- and the micro-level. While the transition wasn't without its hiccups (and we're still adjusting to this day), we were successful because we approached the change with a team mindset. We gathered input from every staff person, considered their feedback, and regularly went back to employees or departments to provide updates.

The decision to go virtual was made easier because our technology already supported a partially remote environment. Employees had the option to work virtually up to three days a week by coordinating their schedules with supervisors. While our IT director designed and implemented substantial changes to our technology infrastructure and practices (servers, phone systems, cloud storage, and so on) to enable a virtual office, our existing culture eased us into this transition.

We assembled a Virtual Transition Taskforce, led by our IT director, who was a true hero throughout the process. This cross-functional group identified and analyzed every item that needed to be considered for the transition and grouped them into several categories: logistical, technical, processes, policies and procedures, and culture. Each person on the team was assigned a category of focus and was responsible for leading the work on the items on his or her list. This was a significant investment in time, sometimes requiring daily meetings.

Things to Think About First

Beyond ensuring that the technology was in place to support a virtual environment, the challenges we worked through varied. For all employment and human resources issues, we worked with our third-party HR provider to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. As the authority on governing information as a strategic asset, we leaned on the expertise of our in-house subject matter expert and publications to transition our records into digital formats. This effort updated our internal records management practices, provided a taste of a "day in the life of members," and taught us the importance of an organization's records retention schedule.

The decision to go virtual was made easier because our technology already supported a partially remote environment.

The following is a sample list of topics we considered, from how we would use technology to how internal policies and practices would be affected.

We tested technology and set guidelines and expectations about collaboration:

• The transition team began meeting and collaborating virtually early in the process. After working through kinks, departments were asked to hold a few standing meetings virtually and to report back on their challenges and recommendations.
• We provided guidelines, not requirements, for using communication platforms. For example, the chat function is recommended for items that require simple and quick answers between two people, and video chat is best for discussions involving more than two people. We made clear that using unscheduled video chat is similar to dropping by an individual's office space.
• We created a virtual water cooler for things like book recommendations, baby and animal pictures, and guess-what-just-happened-to-me stories. We asked staff to check and contribute on a regular basis.

We made updates to the employee handbook to address several issues that remote work raises:

• what to do in the case of an internet outage at the remote employee's work location
• whether travel to local in-person meetings would be considered work time
• policies for employees who may be primary-care givers

We made decisions about important internal business practices to ensure both staff and member needs would be met:

• how to send and receive physical mail
• under what circumstances equipment, like printers or shredders, would be provided to employees (defining the business need)
• how our bookstore would fulfill orders
• how to maintain consistent customer service coverage
• guidance from our insurance representative on how the transition could affect staff's personal insurance policies—for example, savings on car insurance—and on what the association's policies cover

Benefits and Challenges of Going Remote

As you can imagine, employees appreciate and take advantage of the flexibility that a virtual office affords. Not every staff member was initially excited about this transition, but most have come to appreciate the benefits of the new work environment. In fact, one of our team members relocated to the Florida Gulf Coast, a dream realized well ahead of her predicted retirement time frame. Remote work is now considered a benefit of working at ARMA International. At the same time, every staff member is expected to work with a supervisor to ensure consistent coverage of his or her job responsibilities.

While I appreciate working within a virtual environment, I've found it has its challenges. For me, one of the most obvious has been effectively collaborating on projects. Luckily, we've eased into this transition, as most of our employees remain in the same metro area. In fact, my team recently held three in-person meetings in a two-week period to finalize an update to a large volunteer resource. Given that we felt more productive in person, it was clear we have some progress to make when collaborating virtually.

We learned that going virtual is an all-hands-on deck effort. It required support from every employee. And we have come to know that the transition is just the starting point. Continuing to foster and evolve the organization's culture and employees' skill sets is as important as ever.

It's easy to put those priorities on the back burner without a plan in place because association life moves fast. While our transition is complete, the evolution of our "office" culture and our practices for serving our members is just beginning.