Tips to prepare your team to work remotely
Remote working was still a futuristic plan until the pandemic hit. It has forced most organizations around the world to have their employees work from home. Thanks to the advancement of digital technology, people can be well connected even without being in the office. Many have found that this system works and have started to eliminate the traditional way of going to the office.
Set clear policies
As your employees will not be having much of a face-to-face communication, messages can be sent incorrectly. When this happens, it can cause problems such as not being able to perform tasks correctly or on time. Hence, it is important for companies to make changes in their policies. One example could be employee KPIs, expectations might differ while working online. One of the most common practices that is done by the current modern workforce is for employees to have an online clock in or as simple as sending a WhatsApp message to ensure that everyone is working during the office hour. This could also be done by the Netiquette Payroll module which allows your employees to clock in and out online.
Focus on culture
There will be challenges, especially during the adaptation phase. The process of building trust from the top management to lower management is not an easy task as the upper management might require immediate attention and results. It is a normal concern for organizations to lose track of employees from time to time. However, culture starts from the top. The behavior of employees is highly affected by the higher management and managers should guide and encourage a positive culture in the organization. For example, keeping the communication open instead of pointing fingers at each other when problems occur, encourage teamwork, give them credibility, and so forth. This way, employees will feel empowered and trusted when getting their job done.
Virtual meetings
Investing time for virtual meetings will definitely help in the long run. Have a virtual meeting at least once a week to follow through with everyone’s progression and updates. This allows employees to update on their current challenges faced, as well as accomplished or pending tasks. There are a number of different online video meeting platforms available in the market such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Team meetings, or Google Meet. You are also allowed to share screens or record the call for future use.
Digital collaboration
There are also collaboration tools available such as Trello, monday.com, Chanty, Nextiva, and so forth that could help with improving work efficiency. In addition, for projects such as presentation, writing, and designing tools, Google Slides and document and Canva are available for free to use and for the team to work on the same document at the same time. There are many platforms available and the organization just had to find the right one that the team is comfortable in using.
The future is now, many organizations are still slowly transitioning to working remotely while some have already adapted to the current trend of working style. There are definitely pros and cons to any kind of working style however your team can be as productive when they are equipped with the tools and support needed in the long run.
