Remote Work Proficiency

As a leader in remote work training, Utah State University Extension’s Remote Online Initiative program has identified six key areas that are necessary to effectively operate a hybrid to fully remote organization. Find out how remote proficient your organization is with our 3-5 minute assessment.

How it works

  • Take our interactive, 3-5 minute assessment.
  • Discover your organization’s current level of remote work proficiency.
  • Download a PDF report summarizing our recommendations for your organization.
  • Speak with one of our experts about your results.

Measuring organizational proficiency in remote work

Our remote work proficiency system evaluates an organization's overall ability to work remotely, taking into account factors such as organizational culture and technological capabilities. By assessing your organization's current level of remote work proficiency, our system can provide recommendations for building and maintaining a successful remote work environment.

Areas of Evaluation

Our system evaluates six key areas crucial for the success of a remote organization.

Hiring, Management, and Engagement
Managing and retaining employees is vastly different when working with a distributed workforce. Organizational leaders must be willing to adapt their management style and methods of monitoring progress. Cultivating a culture that prioritizes trust, independence and a diverse range of abilities is crucial.

Technical Infrastructure
Utilizing the right software is essential for effective technical teams. Whether it's utilizing external software or developing internal systems, implementing best practices for remote development, design, and management empowers organizations to thrive in a remote work environment.


Remote Strategies and Leadership
To achieve success as a remote organization, leaders must be ready to establish a culture centered on values such as trust and openness. In order to accomplish organizational goals, it is essential that leaders and teams are in agreement.



Policies and Compliance
Having the right policies and procedures in place to work remotely lays the foundation required to meet organizational objectives. By adopting the appropriate strategy to reduce risk, it is possible to work safely and securely without the limitations of a physical location.



Communication and Collaboration Tools
Conventional technology is created for teams that are physically co-located, but there is new software and tools that facilitate seamless communication and cooperation among teams that are geographically dispersed.



Security and Privacy
To be successful in the long term, it is necessary to take into account specific security measures and privacy laws for remote work. Trust from customers and preservation of the brand's reputation can be achieved through risk management strategies tailored for the remote working environment.


Levels of Remote Work Proficiency

Investigation (0-25%)

Organizations at the Investigation level have numerous opportunities to adopt new technologies, tools, and processes that will enhance the productivity and cooperation of teams, reduce risk and security concerns and significantly enhance the organization’s capacity to work effectively and efficiently in a remote environment.

Adaptation (26-50%)

Organizations at the Adaptation level may be uncertain about their ability to succeed in a remote work environment. While some steps have been taken to make systems and processes adaptable to remote work, many aspects of the organization are still closely tied to a physical location.

Maturation (51-75%)

Organizations at the Maturation level show a level of confidence and progress toward increasing their ability to thrive remotely. There are usually specific areas that can be improved upon to enhance their remote work efforts, particularly in areas such as technology, tools, personnel and operations.

Advancement (76-100%)

Organizations at the Advancement level have confidence in their ability to work remotely and have discovered that incorporating suitable technologies, adjusting people and operations management, and prioritizing a culture based on trust are essential for success. There is still room for improvement in important areas such as remote leadership, communication, efficiency, and risk management.




Experts in Remote Work

Since 2018, USU Extension’s ROI program has thrived as a fully distributed team, helping over 400 people across rural Utah find remote jobs and training hundreds of business leaders in the best practices of distributed operations to create and convert over 2,000 remote jobs. We have done all this from rural Utah and without a central office.

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