What do you do if you’re a self-respecting bureaucracy? Come on. You got this. Right! You add layers.

According to this post from the BBC — “The rise of the ‘chief remote officer‘” — the latest layer is the addition of the chief remote officer (CRO), whose duty it is to … well … that’s a little fuzzy right now. But that’s okay. As long as the bureaucracy isn’t shrinking or becoming more efficient, it’s all good.

An excerpt:

In the new world of work, business needs have shifted. One of the most pertinent issues has been how to establish best practices around remote set-ups … While some employers have taken an ad-hoc approach, others are being proactive: appointing high-ranking leaders solely dedicated to making remote work thrive throughout an organisation … chief remote officers.

And so it is that the bureaucratic tower of Babel grows ever higher and more dysfunctional.

Who’s On First?

In typical bureaucratic fashion, the addition of the CRO is adding more confusion and indignation. The CRO (chief revenue officer) wonders about the extent to which the CRO (chief remote officer) will impede his ability to manage his remote (or remotely manage) salespeople — you know, the folks whose job it is to generate revenue of which the CRO (chief revenue officer) is chief.

Similarly, the CRO (chief recruiting officer) is curious about the ways in which the CRO (chief remote officer) will impede her ability to remotely recruit remote recruits for the remote work of which the CRO (chief recruiting officer) is chief.

The More Things Change …

On the other hand, if you happen to be the CRO (chief redtape officer), you’re happier than a pig in shit right about now. With the addition of the CRO (chief remote officer), you can rest assured the bureaucracy will continue (A) to extend itself, (B) to justify itself, (C) to perpetuate itself even as it confounds its own operational coherence, and (D) to continue to pay your salary for ensuring A, B, and C remain true.

And if you happen to be the CRO (chief redundancy officer), you have one and only one mandate:

Feed the machine.