Cactus Communications (CACTUS), a technology company has announced its transition to a remote-first company for all its 1,200 employees across nine locations globally. It is among the companies in India to join the growing list of firms across the globe to embrace remote-first—companies that have office locations but do not require their employees to work from them. As part of this transition, it has also appointed Jason Morwick to lead its remote work strategy.

The New Future for Workplace

Through this move CACTUS is aiming to reach a wider talent pool and tap into smaller towns where such opportunities might be scarce but talent would be available in abundance.

Yashmi Pujara, Chief Human Resources Officer at CACTUS said,“We are now no longer restricted to specific geographic locations, and we can provide opportunities wherever we find the right talent.” 

Currently spread across 14 countries and 165 different cities, CACTUS looks to further strengthen its remote team. 

Why Remote-First?

To develop a remote-first model, the company surveyed employees to better understand their work preferences and challenges. The results found that 86 per cent of employees wanted flexibility in how and where they worked, with 38 per cent preferred full-time remote work. A core team then approached other remote-first companies and spoke with industry thought-leaders to learn best practices. 

Based on the gathered insights, CACTUS has been experimenting with several work practices including virtual whiteboards, creating a communications charter, designating remote champions, developing guidelines on asynchronous communication, and launching a remote-first handbook.

Will more companies appoint a Head of Remote Work?

The pandemic has pushed companies to rethink their working practices. Post-pandemic workspaces no longer look like the traditional office space with designated cubicles for employees. 

Jason Morwick, the newly appointed Head of Remote-First at CACTUS stressed on new working practices saying, “Businesses cannot replicate what they used to do face-to-face over a video call. Before the pandemic, people would gather in a room in front of a whiteboard to discuss an idea or problem, but that rarely works over a video call. Now, we are revising the process – how we are developing solutions. If done correctly, we believe that we can accelerate our business decision-making while engaging a larger number of employees.” 

With companies pushing for remote work, it is possible that the position of ‘Head of Remote-First’ will become the new recommended addition to the team.