How to Advance & Get Promoted While Working From Home

“Depending on how an organization is structured and manages its remote workers will determine whether remote are being overlooked for advancement or if it just feels that way. If a company is fully remote, somebody’s got to get promoted so everyone is on a level playing field. If it’s a hybrid model or in-office and you’re one of the few remote folks, it gets so much harder.”
Amy Spurling, MBA, Founder and CEO of Compt (Fully Remote HR Software Company)

In the past five years, remote work has experienced unprecedented growth, significantly reshaping the workforce landscape. According to a report by FlexJobs, remote work has increased by 159 percent since 2009, with a notable acceleration following the Covid-19 pandemic as organizations adapted to new operational realities. This shift has expanded the scope of job opportunities for remote workers and led companies to reevaluate their policies around flexible working arrangements, indicating that remote work is likely here to stay.

While many people welcome this change, some downsides to the rapid transition to remote work cannot be overlooked. One significant concern is the potential for feelings of isolation and disconnection from colleagues, which can lead to decreased morale and collaboration. Many remote workers report missing the spontaneous interactions and camaraderie that come with a traditional office environment, especially the ones that can lead to growth opportunities or advancement in a company.

“Depending on how an organization is structured and manages its remote workers will determine whether remote are being overlooked for advancement or if it just feels that way,” says Amy Spurling, founder and CEO of Compt, an HR software company with an entirely remote staff. “If a company is fully remote, somebody’s got to get promoted so everyone is on a level playing field. If it’s a hybrid model or in-office and you’re one of the few remote folks, it gets so much harder.”

In fact, Spurling experienced this firsthand. “Back in 2009, one of my companies was headquartered in Arizona, but I was actually based in Boston. It was really hard to showcase what I did and to have people understand the value I brought to the table and what I was working on without being in the office in Arizona. I ended up having to spend every other week in Arizona, basically lived half my life in Arizona, even though my house was in Massachusetts,” she explains. “In a remote work environment, there is no buzz of activity from your co-workers. If you’re all just heads down working in your house, it doesn’t mean work is not getting done, but you don’t feel the collective momentum. It’s just a very different environment.”

In this context, it is essential for remote workers to understand the career advancement opportunities available to them and how they can leverage their unique skills and abilities to achieve their professional goals. Keep reading to learn ways that remote workers can tap into growth opportunities and make their skills known.

Amy Spurling is the founder and CEO of Compt, an HR software company that enables companies to offer personalized employee perks that adapt to remote and hybrid employee needs while being fully tax-compliant and inclusive for global teams.

Spurling’s experience as CFO and COO managing HR and finance at early and growth-stage companies before Compt drives her belief that companies and employees can achieve so much more together when employees are fully supported. Named Boston’s “CFO of the Year” by the Boston Business Journal in 2016, she is a seasoned executive with nearly 20 years of experience in leadership roles at venture-backed companies ranging from early start-up phase through high growth and ultimately exit.

Over her career, she has closed over ten rounds of financing totaling more than $200M and managed two acquisitions to close. Spurling received her master’s of business administration from the Simmons School of Management and a bachelor’s of arts from the University of Rochester.

Remote workers can often feel invisible and disconnected from their colleagues, especially when it comes to career advancement opportunities. However, it is essential to be proactive about getting noticed by your team and superiors. This can include taking on new projects or tasks that showcase your skills and abilities, actively participating in virtual meetings and discussions, and being vocal about your achievements.

For Spurling, it is equally important for management to be aware of this problem as it is for remote employees to work against it. “If you’ve got somebody on a small team whose project is kind of in their own world, there’s not a lot of cross-team collaboration by design of what their work is, and they just go heads down and don’t share their day-to-day work, then you’re basically only judging them on very narrow outcomes,” she says.

She continues, “It can look like nothing’s happening. Instead, if that same person is sharing along the way the calls that they’re getting set up and the meetings that are being scheduled, you can see that momentum, which has a very different impact across the organization. Designing a communication flow where people are sharing things more regularly is pretty key to getting advancement within a company and a good remote culture.”

Effective management is vital in a remote work environment, and it requires a concerted effort from both managers and employees. Managers must establish systems that facilitate the sharing of wins and progress and create a culture of recognition. On the other hand, employees must take the initiative to ensure their contributions are visible. Proactivity is essential in a remote setting, as it is easy for valuable work to go unnoticed without a physical presence.

“While it is important to be having career conversations with employees, it’s also critical to ensure they understand how and when to communicate that so it’s less about advocating for your career and your advancement,” explains Spurling, “The same outcomes can be perceived entirely differently if people understood what it takes to get to that outcome. If you see the level of effort it takes to close one deal versus if it feels like nothing happened for weeks on end and you finally closed the deal, it is the same outcome but on very different paths. You got to show those wins. You got to show that momentum along the way. And it’s even more critical in a remote work environment where people don’t just see you.”

Communication is vital in any remote work setting. It helps bridge the gap between physical distance and allows employees to feel more connected and involved. When it comes to career advancement, communication is critical in ensuring that managers are aware of employee goals and aspirations.

This can include setting up regular check-ins, sharing progress reports, and actively seeking feedback on performance: “I have a woman on my team who is absolutely phenomenal. It comes very naturally to her to share what’s going on. She’s very much on her own, managing one partner all by herself. She can easily go heads down and just work with them day in and day out, but by sharing those wins across the team, it gives that sense of feeling of momentum and understanding across the team of everything that goes into every single win,” shares Spurling. “Otherwise, honestly, she’d probably be fired if she didn’t do that because what I would see would be the outcomes, which is she’s not moving as fast as I would want. But I know why that’s the case because she’s done a wonderful job bringing me along on her journey. She’s my grade-A corporate communicator.”

To advance in a remote work setting, it is essential to understand what the company values and prioritize those areas. This can include soft skills like communication, adaptability, teamwork, and technical skills specific to the role or industry. Knowing what the company prioritizes allows employees to align their efforts and showcase their strengths in those areas.

“If somebody wants to advance within a company, it’s important for them to understand where their skills and the things they want to develop intersect with what the needs of the company are, “ explains Spruling. “Just because you’re at a stage of your career where you want to advance doesn’t mean that there is that role or that function within a company. Instead, maybe you could develop a skill on that path within the company. So look at it like building blocks rather than needing a certain title that may not be available. It’s open communication with your manager about what you want in your career, whether it’s title, skills, or whatever, and then find a way to put yourself on that path.”

Actions speak louder than words. Rather than simply stating your career goals and aspirations, it is essential to actively demonstrate them through your work and contributions. There is a fine line between good communication and bragging: “Nobody needs to know your task list. Saying, ‘I have ten emails I have to send today,’ is just communicating for the sake of saying something. It’s not information anyone needs. It doesn’t advance a project. It’s just you micromanaging yourself publicly. That’s useless,” says Spurling.

“What is valuable is when you share that you got off a sales call and what you learned. You are telling me you just had a sales call, that it went well, and that you learned something. You’re communicating very similar information, but now you’re doing it in a helpful and much more valuable way.”

“It’s seamless,” she says. “It’s not braggy. It’s just sharing information, and that is very collaborative and authentic. If somebody posts stuff in Slack to look like they’re showing up in Slack, that’s as bad as you just showing up in an office. To me, it’s got to be meaningful.”

For Spurling, the employees who are ready for a promotion don’t have to say anything are following the idea of show don’t tell: “Staff that are ready for a promotion are coming to the table either with interesting ideas that advance their current skill set or taking on something and moving it in a slightly different direction, giving them some space to run with it. Then I see them having weekly one-on-ones where they highlight what they are doing.”

Management is also responsible for noticing and prompting conversations about advancement: “We often talk to folks about what they want from their careers. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that’s where they want their career to go, so having that conversation is critical. If there are places, somebody wants to explore their career, get them a project, or help advance that skill set, as long as it’s a company fit,” explains Spurling.

For many individuals, excelling in the nuances of communication and self-promotion in a remote environment might not be an inherent skill. Acknowledging that these abilities can be cultivated with practice and intention over time is important. Just as technical skills are developed through training and experience, soft skills such as effective communication or proactive management of one’s career require similar attention: “If you haven’t worked remotely, you may not have shared information in these ways before. It’s on managers to work with their employees to help encourage them to showcase their work because if everybody sees managers and leadership doing it, they will do it too,” explains Spurling.

“This doesn’t mean you need to be an extrovert. I have lots of introverts on my team and many different communication styles. You have to find the place that works for you. Not everyone wants to speak up in a meeting, and that’s okay, but find a way and a place to share your thoughts.”

Kimmy Gustafson

Writer

Kimmy Gustafson is a freelance writer with a passion for sharing stories of bravery. Her love for world-traveling began when her family moved to Spain when she was six and since then, she has lived overseas extensively, visited six continents, and traveled to over 25 countries. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French. When not writing or parenting she can be found kiteboarding, hiking, or cooking.