While many aspects of life are starting to return to normal, there are many businesses that won’t be going back to traditional office working and instead will adopt remote or hybrid working options for employees. If you’re considering making remote working a permanent feature of your business, you’re going to need a firm strategy to ensure its success.
Consider the following ideas to help your business make a smooth transition to permanent remote working.
Invest in the right equipment
If working from home is going to be the new normal for your business going forward, then you need to invest in the right equipment to make it happen. Employees need technology that’s efficient, secure and can be transported if needed.
You’ll also need to ensure that your technology infrastructure supports your business aims, with security given priority now that your employees are working from different locations. With outsourced IT support, you can ensure your systems are managed effectively, no matter where everyone is. By investing in your tech and team, you can help make the transition to remote working a much smoother one.
Set clear guidance for employees
The transition to remote working can be a difficult one for employees. It also requires careful management to ensure that employees remain productive, while feeling supported to do their jobs. You’ll need to provide clear guidance and set out expectations from the beginning. Another key tip for successfully managing remote workers is to provide flexibility. Typical office hours may not be as effective in a home setting, but as long as your employees maintain performance and work their set hours across the working day or week, the work of your business shouldn’t suffer.
Communicate regularly and constructively
Regular communication is also essential to ensure your business can adapt to remote working smoothly. But instead of scheduling hours of meetings in the diary, keep things short and constructive. You can also take advantage of other communications channels such as instant messaging to keep teams connected. As well as team meetings and communicating in a group setting, you should aim to provide more individual attention to employees, checking in on their health and wellbeing. Where possible, try to arrange face to face meetings and events to help maintain that social contact that can help people feel happier in their jobs. Leaders and managers should explore the best software for remote teams and find the software options that will help their teams stay connected, even when each member of the team is based in a different location.
There are a lot of considerations to be made when making the switch to remote working. From making sure your business is fully equipped to make the adjustment, to helping employees stay productive, you will need a firm strategy in place. As remote working becomes the new normal for many businesses and industries, there will more developments and lessons to be learned that can help make remote working even more successful in the future.