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Most training and assessment practices in remote work contexts remain grounded in traditional, on-site work models, which creates a gap between new work realities and human resource management practices. This gap has important implications for productivity, engagement, and performance across industries and organizations.
This project advances evidence-based management practices for contemporary remote work by systematically identifying critical incidents in remote work contexts as well as competencies and behaviors that distinguish effective remote work performance. The objective is to develop a remote work case repository and build a competency model to help guide human resource practice.
Researchers
Dr. Xiaowen Chen
Xiaowen Chen’s areas of research include cross-cultural management and training, job analysis, teamwork effectiveness, leadership assessment, and applying machine learning techniques to leadership competency modeling.
Dr. Chen received her Master’s and PhD degrees in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Florida Institute of Technology.
Saint Louis University (SLU) – located in St. Louis, Missouri, with a campus in Madrid, Spain – is one of the U.S.’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities.
Founded in 1818, SLU is recognized for world-class academics, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.
Saint Louis University is committed to life-changing research and is recognized with the highly revered “R1” designation by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This designation highlights universities that demonstrate sustained investment in research infrastructure and high doctoral output.
IRC® + IRC4HR® Project Publications and Learning Materials
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Project Details
The rapid expansion of remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the nature of job roles, team interactions, and performance expectations. Accumulating evidence suggests that remote work differs significantly from traditional work and requires distinctive competencies or demands more of specific competencies. Yet, the assumption that remote work is functionally equivalent to on-site work except for work location is prevailing in literature and practice.
Most training and assessment practices in remote work contexts remain grounded in traditional, on-site work models, which creates a gap between new work realities and human resource management practices. This gap has important implications for productivity, engagement, and performance across industries and organizations.
This project advances evidence-based management practices for contemporary remote work by systematically identifying critical incidents in remote work contexts as well as competencies and behaviors that distinguish effective remote work performance. The main objective is to develop a remote work case repository and build a competency model.
Using the Critical Incident Technique – a method used to investigate what positively or negatively affects an experience or activity – researchers will systematically collect and analyze real-world remote work situations in which responses differentiate high, average, and low performers.
Effective remote work cannot be achieved simply by transferring HR and other work management practices designed for on-site roles into virtual settings. Differences in work structure, coordination, autonomy, and social interaction create unique situations with different challenges that require context-specific competencies beyond those typically identified through traditional job analyses. Remote work is not merely a relocation of the workplace; it reshapes how work is experienced, regulated, performed, and managed.
By identifying these unique requirements and translating research findings into practical tools – including case repositories, training materials, and assessment instruments – this project will support organizations, HR professionals, people managers, policymakers, and remote workers in improving the effectiveness and sustainability of remote work practices.
