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Remote Work Initiative

The percent of remote workers is expected to double in 2021 with more than two thirds of employers planning for remote work to be a permanent part of their staffing plans. As the future of work evolves, the Colorado Workforce Development Council, CDLE, Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Economic Development Council of Colorado have teamed up to launch the Colorado Remote Work Initiative.

This multi-tiered initiative will ensure Coloradans are equipped to compete in remote work environments by strengthening Colorado's ability to attract jobs, secure talent and retain a location-neutral workforce. This website serves as a hub for remote work information across the state and will highlight innovative approaches, best practices, and share resources for individuals, employers, and communities to adopt remote work strategies.

What is remote work? 

Remote work refers to an employment arrangement in which a worker does not work at an employer’s place of business, but at a separate location. Other terms for remote work include location-neutral, flexplace, distributed work, and telework. There are many types of remote workers and jobs in all industries. Each remote employer will have their own policies, standards, and requirements for remote work.

Woman at home in a virtual meeting on computer

Given the significant role that remote work will play in our evolving workforce, the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC), CDLE, and OEDIT have enlisted the online expertise of CSU Global to help prepare workers and employers to thrive in a virtual team environment.

Two separate online certificate programs have been designed to help workers and employers alike prepare to succeed in a virtual workplace environment.

  • Worker certificates provide participants with strategies for successful productivity, collaboration, and advancement within remote and hybrid work environments.
  • Employer certificates equip managers and leaders with the best practices, tools, insights, and skills needed to effectively lead remote individuals and teams in any industry.

These certificates will keep Colorado’s workforce connected, productive, and prepared for evolving work environments. Enroll in the remote work courses. Note: Job seekers and students who are eligible for WIOA, DVR programs, or adult education support should contact their local provider for further information on discounted courses. You can find your local provider on the map below.

 

Remote Work Certificate Program FAQs

COVID-19 is transforming the workplace, and accelerating remote work trends. Employers across Colorado, the United States, and around the world are adopting remote-friendly policies. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, 83% of companies worldwide plan to increase their remote work adoption. A recent study placed Colorado as the 2nd best state for remote work in the country based on the levels of remote employment, home broadband access and job growth. Whether you currently work remotely or plan to, these skills will make you more competitive in an increasingly hybrid workplace in the future of work.

CSU Global is a respected, public educational institution. Additionally, several agencies within the State of Colorado including the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment are using these courses to train their staff. Participation in this course will signal to employers that you have the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in a remote work environment. When it is complete, you will see your digital certificate, and we encourage you to list the certificate to your resume and LinkedIn profile.

There are two courses available: Remote Work for Workers and Remote Work for Supervisors and Leaders. Learners successfully completing each course may earn a Certificate of Completion. The Course for Workers is designed for workers currently in or pursuing remote work to learn best practices for long-term full-time or part-time remote working arrangements. The Course for Supervisors and Leaders describes best practices for working remotely, and includes information to develop and support remote workers and team culture. More details on the topics covered are in a later question. 

The courses are $75 each if you pay on your own. Job seekers and students who are eligible for WIOA, DVR programs, or adult education support should contact their local provider for further information on discounted courses. You can find your local provider on the map below.

The worker course has 7 modules: 

  1. What is remote work?
  2. Strategies and mindsets to work from a remote location
  3. Effective communication
  4. Overcoming remote work challenges
  5. Tools and technology
  6. Mitigating IT risks
  7. Assessing your readiness

The supervisor and leader course has 8 modules: 

  1. What is remote work?
  2. Organizational culture and preparing a remote workforce
  3. Six factors for remote worker success
  4. Establishing policies and processes
  5. Effective communication
  6. Performance management
  7. Creating an organization that facilitates worker success
  8. Applying knowledge of change management to a remote work transition

Each course takes about 2 hours to complete. For those who spend more time with each exercise in the course, it could take up to three hours. 

On CSU Global’s Remote Work Certificate Program site you can click the “Register” button below the course you’re interested in taking. This will take you to the catalog where you will click register, then click enroll on the next screen. At this point you’ll either register for a Canvas Catalog account or log into your existing account. You’ll then be able to pay for the course and jump right in to complete it.

Job seekers and students who are eligible for WIOA, DVR programs, or adult education support should contact their local provider for further information on discounted courses. You can find your local provider on the map below.

While many of us transitioned to remote work in response to the pandemic, there wasn’t the opportunity to learn best practices. These courses will help improve the practices, habits, and skills that you began to build in the pandemic, and will provide new insight into how to remain effective post-crisis. 

This course will teach you valuable skills to succeed in a remote environment, but the course itself does not discuss remote job search strategies.  For more information on remote work job sites, career coaching resources, and other information on finding remote work check out the Other Resources section below.

Prepare for Success in Remote Work

Managing Remote Employees: Best Practices from Doist’s Head of Marketing: This blog post describes the assumptions, realities, and best practices related to managing a remote employee from a completely remote company, Doist. 

Working from Home? Managing a Remote Team? Maintain You and Your Team's Productivity with These Best Practices: This article, published at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado compiles best practices, tips, and resources to support a transition to remote work. 

Workplaceless Insider Newsletter: Workplaceless, a leader in remote work training for companies and teams, has a 2x/month newsletter with insights, lessons learned, and resources on remote work.

Questions to ask in a remote interview about Remote Work Culture: This article from Built In shares key components of a great remote work culture and has interview questions you can ask your potential employer to gauge their remote work culture. 

Remote Work Readings and Resources for Workers and Resources for Supervisors: These documents are part of the CSU Global Certificate and provide additional reading and resources to support remote workers and their supervisors.

Connect with other Remote Workers

Join a Meetup group: there are 290 MeetUp groups for remote workers

Leverage social media: LinkedIn and Facebook groups provide great opportunities to connect in person and virtually with workers in your community and industry

Workplaceless Networkplaceless: Workplaceless, a leader in remote work training for companies and teams, has a monthly virtual networking event for remote workers. 

Give coworking spaces a try: in addition to office space among other remote workers, there are often community and networking events open to members.

Find Remote Work Career Opportunities

Remote work jobs in Colorado

 

 

 

 

Understand the benefits of remote work

How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely: A 2019 Harvard Business School Study provides an overview of the key benefits for employers to adopt remote work

Learn how to make remote work useful in your organization

The CWDC and CDLE Office of the Future of Work partnered with three businesses to develop case studies exploring the transition to remote work for a small, medium, and large business. The case studies, which were published at the end of June 2020, aim to raise awareness about remote work, share promising practices that support a smooth adoption of remote work, and promote the location-neutral incentive made available by OEDIT. Each case study highlights key insights the company learned during their transition and links to tools and resources the employer leveraged. 

Reimagining the post-pandemic workforce: This article from McKinsey provides a guide to building a hybrid virtual model that best fits your company, and the considerations that should inform your company’s planning. 

We Work Remotely Hiring Guide: This resource from one of the largest online remote work communities combines best practices from leaders in the Remote Work space to inform your remote hiring process.

Remote Work Managers Guide: These guides from Twist provide best practices for starting, managing, and scaling a remote team from the world’s most successful distributed companies.

Managing Remote Employees: Best Practices from Doist’s Head of Marketing: This blog post describes the assumptions, realities, and best practices related to managing a remote employee from a completely remote company, Doist. 

How to Build Trust in the Remote “Workplace”: This blog post from Doist describes how you build a high-trust remote culture from the hiring process onward.

Connect with funding, guidance, and other resources for remote work

OEDIT Location Neutral Employment Incentive: Provides companies that will be approved for a Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit (JGITC) with an additional cash incentive for each remote worker employed in an eligible rural county outside the county where the JGTIC project is based.

Energize Colorado: Energize Colorado was founded to focus on activities and initiatives that mitigate the immediate financial impact of COVID-19 on businesses to help stabilize Colorado’s economy. As a next step, Energize Colorado is offering tools and resources to enable entrepreneurs and small businesses to rebuild, innovate, and grow to prosper in the next normal of our economy. In January 2021 Energize Colorado held its first Remote Work Employer Spotlight to highlight opportunities for remote employment in rural communities.

Training for Career Coaches: In partnership with Skillful, A Markle Foundation Initiative, CDLE will be providing training for career coaches to support job seekers in connecting with remote opportunities. Interested? Complete this interest form to be notified when the training for career coaches is scheduled. 

OEDIT Location Neutral Employment Incentive: OEDIT provides companies that will be approved for a Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit (JGITC) with an additional cash incentive for each remote worker employed in an eligible rural county outside the county where the JGTIC project is based.

How communities can attract and retain remote workers: This March 2020 report from Emsi provides an overview of key considerations for communities to consider as they include remote work as part of their economic development strategy.

 

Training for Career Coaches

In partnership with Skillful, A Markle Foundation Initiative, CDLE will be providing training for career coaches to support job seekers in connecting with remote opportunities. Interested? View the training below and/or complete this interest form to get training at your organization.

Join the Skillful Coaching Community of Practice, a virtual support network for career coaches to build their coaching skills through webinars and peer-led calls, share resources and content with their peers, and discuss how to best serve job seekers.

Remote work jobs in Colorado

The Remote Work Resource map currently shows locations of public workforce centers, vocational rehabilitation offices, and adult education providers who can support job seekers in finding remote work and accessing the Remote Work Certificate Programs. For businesses looking to hire remote workers, the business service teams at the public workforce center can help you find talent you need. As the RWI evolves, we will add new resources to the map. Complete this form to add a resource to the map.  The Remote Work Calendar highlights events from the RWI, its partners, as well as events related to remote work open to the general public.  Complete this form to add an event to the Remote Work Event Calendar.

RWI Partners - CWDC CDLE EDCC DPA CDE CRO CSU Global Energize Colorado CSU Extension