Building a True Community Through Remote Work with John Riordan
This week on The Work Well Podcast, we welcome John Riordan. John is Chairman of Grow Remote, a not for profit organisation on a mission to enable us to work, live and participate locally. He recently retired as Director of Support for Shopify, having also served as Chairman of Shopify International Ltd.
As we’ll hear during the conversation, the majority of teams John has managed worked from home, a business model he has been an evangelist for over the last 20 years in the US, UK and Ireland. In addition to chairing Grow Remote, John also serves on the board of the Sanctuary Runners, the IRFU Commercial & Marketing Committee and he’s also on the board of three start-ups.
So much value to be found in this episode, so enjoy our conversation with John Riordan.
Obstacles turned into opportunities
More than 30 years ago, John emigrated to the US during the recession, and he soon found himself working in the airline industry. At that time, the concept of remote work was pretty much non-existent, nor was the approach trusted.
On one occasion, John was forced to work from home for a few days and learned first-hand the benefits of remote work, that was 19 years ago. This was a serious eye opener for John, he had the possibility of actually having quality work time for himself at home, without neglecting the professional aspect.
Shifting the concept of remote work
Through his work at Apple initially and later at Shopify, John developed a reputation as a man who could develop a remote work strategy, build a remote team and run that team successfully.
In 2017, Shopify came knocking. The Ireland-based arm of Shopify was already 100% remote at this time, being one of the first and largest companies in Ireland to have no office. One of the main challenges they had was how to engage with employees in this model.
“A lot of people think remote as in distant, far away from the centre, not involved, not engaged. So, I think people should talk about or think about a distributed workforce. In other words, these are people who are working, but they're distributed away from the centre.” Says John.
To tackle the engagement issue, Shopify hosted monthly and quarterly working meet ups where those close to a certain location were invited to come and work for the day alongside their colleagues. These meet ups were optional and the intention was that the remote team could get to know their colleagues, team and company a little bit better, creating community and a sense of belonging.
Building a community
Then Grow Remote entered the scene. Grow Remote is a non-profit organisation that strives to enable us to work, live and participate locally. John spoke at the launch event in Tralee in 2018 and has been involved and engaged ever since.
“We want people to be able to live in the community and also realise that they're not the only remote worker in the community.” John states
How does the world benefit from remote working?
John agrees that remote work can and has significantly decreased the carbon footprint since it is no longer necessary for people to use cars to get to work and that the same personal tools such as the phone and laptop are the tools used to work, no matter where you are. Although there is a long way to go with respect to ‘right to disconnect’ policies and employment legislation, in 10 years we could be living a totally different reality where remote work is the norm and is benefitting employers, employees and communities.
Sport as a tool for inclusion
Sanctuary Runners brings together Irish residents, refugees and asylum seekers to run, jog or walk on the same Sanctuary Runners team. It is an opportunity to meet people, go for a run, have a good time, and achieve that level of unity and connection that we are all looking for. Not just in the act of sport, but in the togetherness and sharing at the end of each run, which makes us feel part of something more important.
As Brian and John agree, it is the social connection, the physical activity and also the mental wellbeing of initiatives like Sanctuary Runners and parkHIIT that is so important at this time.
You can listen to this episode in full by clicking play above or by searching for ‘The Work Well Podcast’ wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d prefer to watch this episode instead you can do so on YouTube through this link.
If you liked this episode, and you'd like to know more about John Riordan and his work, follow him on LinkedIn.
You can also read more about Grow Remote and participate in your local chapter if you want to be part of that community.
About Your Host
Brian Crooke is a wellbeing educator, speaker and adviser, empowering organisations to promote and sustain wellbeing within their workplaces.
He is the founder of The Work Well Institute and the Work Well Community and is Course Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Workplace Wellness at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin. He is the host of The Work Well Podcast.
If you’re looking to bring sustainable wellbeing to your workplace then check out The Work Well Institute’s flagship programme, Developing a Workplace Wellness Programme that Lasts.
In his spare time, Brian is bringing free resistance training to every county and community in Ireland through his parkHIIT social enterprise.
If you have any suggestions for future topics you'd like to hear on the show, email Brian directly, brian@workwellpodcast.com