More
employees are factoring in remote work capabilities when deciding where to take
their next job. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2030 the demand for remote
work will increase by 30% because of Generation Z being fully integrated into
the workforce (full content
available to Gartner clients).
Remote
work is becoming a requirement instead of just a perk, and that will continue
to be the case moving forward as jobs become more global.
If you’ve
never considered how your business would handle remote work, you should think
about your policies now so that you’re not losing potential employees to a more
attractive offer.
You
also want to have a remote work plan in place in case of global health crises
or other emergency situations.
To make
sure your business is remote-work ready, develop strong habits around these
three things:
·
Communication
·
Trust
·
Technology
Communication is key during remote work
Communicating
key imperatives while your team is working remotely is crucial to the success
of your business because it helps establish and build trust between management
and your employees.
It’s
true that you can lose some of the more open communication that being in an
office brings, but with collaboration software or
free chat software, you and your team won’t need to be in the dark. Just make
sure you establish policies which require remote workers to be available and
communicative.
Having
a policy that encourages a worker to ping their manager whenever they’re
leaving their computer for a significant amount of time (lunch, appointments,
etc.) is a good start. It’s less about keeping track of your staff’s every
movement and more about building good habits and trust.
If your
business is switching to remote work as a cautionary measure due to an
emergency or a health crisis, it’s extremely important to be candid with
critical information and keep employees informed about the impact of the crisis
on the business. By being the primary source of information about the impact on
your business, your employees won’t turn to other, less reliable sources of
information to draw their own conclusions.
Whatever
the case may be, open and clear communication both at a macro and micro level
is crucial to any successful remote working solutions.
Trust employees to work productively when remote
Whatever
the reason you’re implementing remote work policies, it’s absolutely imperative
you trust your employees to be productive and perform their jobs even when you
aren’t near them. It’s easy (and natural) for managers to worry about their
direct reports being productive when they can’t see them, but these concerns
are often overblown.
If you
or your managers are resistant to allowing remote work because of productivity
concerns, you might want to think about shifting your focus to outcomes instead
of pure productivity. If you focus on outcome-based performance instead of
productivity-based performance, you’ll ensure key initiatives are still
accomplished without having to stress about productivity as a key metric for
success.
As long
as you encourage collaboration, build employee networks, and train management
on how to evaluate processes and performance remotely, your team will continue
functioning at the same level.
Technology ensures your team succeeds while working remotely
Increases
in the availability of cloud-based productivity tools such as video conferencing
software, remote support software, project
management software, or collaboration software has
made remote work more possible and accessible than ever before.
However,
if you’re a small or newer business, you’re likely concerned about your
technological infrastructure when it comes to remote work. You might not have
the budget for some of these systems that help enable remote work.
The
good news is that you can develop best practices on effectively using email or
free instant messaging services to help with communication.
If you
do have the budget or are looking for collaboration software, you’ll reap some
useful benefits such as helping remote workers remain productive, enhancing
communication between peers and management, increasing team morale, and
exchanging information more quickly.
For
instance, collaboration software allows you to set up group chats that are
focused on one objective. Have a project due? Make sure communication is open
and flowing by having a dedicated space to disseminate information or answer
questions.
Remote work is the future, and you should be ready for it
Eliminating
commute time and increasing the ability to more easily handle family
obligations makes remote work attractive to potential employees, and
introducing remote work policies will increase retention and drive confidence
for your current employees.
It’s
important when developing your policies to have hard and fast rules, because
most organizations simply leave it up to managers to decide whether to allow
their employees remote work which can lead to discrepancies between employees
and tank morale.
When
planning your remote work policies, be open and communicative with your
employees about the goals and expectations, and don’t be afraid to adapt new
policies based on feedback or some trial and error. Every business is
different, and you understand the needs you’ll face better than anyone.
If
you’re thinking about introducing new software to help with remote work and
don’t know where to start, our advisors are always here to help you develop a
feature shortlist or recommend some of the best software solutions for your
individual needs. Schedule a free,
15-minute consultation with an advisor to narrow down the list
of products that fit your specific business needs.
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