Building a Remote-First Organization

With the advantage of being a 100% online business school, California Intercontinental University prides itself in its smooth transition to becoming a remote-first organization. Remote-first refers to the primary option for all employees to work from home with a choice of coming into the office if needed or preferred. CIU aims to establish a remote-first culture, which influences employees to adopt working from home as a norm rather than a temporary process. While the COVID-19 pandemic suggested this transition, CIU was quick to add remote work to its protocol. Staff members are now more likely to work from home on a typical day rather than come into the office.

Technological Advances

In today’s era, it is more than possible to create a successful remote-first organization. Advances in technological software have allowed many companies to work from the comfort of their homes. CIU has adapted quality chats and video calls into their daily interactions with students and employees. Meetings are held virtually, saving students and employees time, and allowing more flexibility with one click of a button. Believe it or not, the university had begun adapting these platforms before Covid-19 hit in January of 2020. In being a 100% online international school, CIU found it necessary to adapt these technological standards as early as possible. That is why California Intercontinental University is advantageous compared to other online programs.

Remote-friendly Education

Being up to date with technology allows ABA, BBA, MBA, and DBA students to make the best out of their business program while studying in a virtual setting. Applications like Microsoft Office and the CIU Learn Center, allow the University to make an online program as stress-free as possible. Students already go through the stresses of reading, studying, and catching up on homework, and in a difficult time like this, we want to alleviate students as much as we can. Therefore, a remote-first organization is crucial to providing students one-on-one support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff and faculty can attend to student needs at any hour of the day from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, being remote-first allows CIU to employ renowned professors and staff worldwide and across multiple time zones to align with our global student population.

Productivity

Many studies have shown that working remotely can increase productivity in the workplace. One study was made with the Chinese travel website CTrip who allowed some of their employees to work from home daily and compared their productivity with those working in the office. According to Forbes Magazine, the remote workers made 13.5 percent more calls than the office workers, which equals a full day’s worth of work. CIU also finds that their productivity has increased, and employees have not lost their motivation to work amidst the current pandemic fluctuations. The student population has not decreased since COVID-19 hit but much rather has increased in number. CIU’s smooth transition to a remote-first organization has kept employees productive and motivated to help students do the same. 

CIU has continuously invested in updating communication tools and educational platforms, which has given the school extra time to help students get through environmental changes. While the world around them fluctuates, California Intercontinental University remains calm and ready to give all the support to get its students through this unprecedented time.