Business owners during the last 2 years, likely had to adapt to some or majority of their workforce working remotely. Like anything, remote work has its benefits and drawbacks. Just last month (in December 2021) more than 32% of people reported working from home at some point within the last 7 days. Naturally some business owners may have found this more challenging than others, but it doesn’t have to be.
Below we list 5 best practices we think will help you overcome some of the biggest challenges. Making work from home more effective for your company.
1. Communicate Clearly and Frequently
Communication is key. Lacking the benefits of face to face communication, it is important you are clear and concise. Miscommunication can often result in delays, reduced productivity or even incorrectly completed tasks.
This is also why it is important to communicate frequently. Catching up with your employees frequently will help ensure everyone understands their tasks and stays informed. Additionally any misunderstandings can be quickly corrected.
2. Use the right Technology that enables Remote Work
Implementing the right technology is important. Luckily there is plenty out there that will enable your employees to work from home seamlessly. Collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams has been increasingly popular. Last 2 years companies like Microsoft have put a lot of emphasis on improving and adding features to their collaboration services. You can gain access to an arsenal of collaboration tools with one of the Microsoft 365 Plans.
A good working internet connection is crucial for remote work. Even if some of your employees have unreliable connections at home there may be affordable solutions available like 4g internet. Making and receiving calls using a company number may also be a feature you’ll need your remote workers to have access to. This can be easily solved with a VoIP Phone System, allowing your employees to use it wherever they are as long as they have an internet connection.
3. Set Clear Goals
As a business owner or manager you are likely familiar with SMART goals and objectives. This is especially important for your remote workforce. Setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic goals with set deadlines will help you maintain a desired level of productiveness.
Clearer goals leave less room for confusion and misunderstandings which can take longer to resolve depending on how well you stay connected with your employees. It also means you can very easily track productiveness. Identify struggling employees, get in touch with them and figure out how you can help.
4. Allow a level of flexibility.
You should allow your remote workers a level of flexibility. Your remote employees will have various working conditions and family situations. Doing so can reduce some of the stress involved in juggling strict working hours and attending meetings while working from home.
This can be achieved through simple means. Offering flexible working hours or working out meeting times that are suitable both for you and your employees. It is also important not to micromanage your off-site workers. By setting clear goals, realistic deadlines and maintaining good communication, it should be easy to measure productiveness. There should be no need to constantly micromanage employees if projects are being completed and deadlines are met.
5. Recognise Good Work
Last but not least. It should go without saying that good work deserves recognition, this includes remote working. Remote workers may feel increasingly disconnected and that their work does not matter. This may occur if they are consistently overlooked and good performance is not acknowledged. Therefore, hosting regular feedback sessions might be a good idea. This might help keep everyone in the loop and give employees the opportunity to share what they’ve achieved.
We hope the above tips will help your business adapt to, or adopt remote work smoothly. You might also find our ‘Practical Guide to Working From Home‘ useful if you yourself are a home worker.
Our highly rated support team can advise you on available technologies and services you can take advantage of. We can help set up everything you need with ongoing professional support that your business deserves. Fill in the contact form below or call us to get in touch now.
