As the new strains of the virus continue to ravage the world in 2021, a large number of businesses have decided to embrace the work-from-home model for the long run. It makes sense, considering everyone is comfortable with remote work, and it will keep your team safe. Moreover, it will keep your business running without disruptions even amid the surges. It may be a smarter choice, considering you can save up on office rental and infrastructure expenses by sending your employees to work remotely.
But it isn’t easy to keep track of a remote team, which means that you may always be worried about the value they deliver to your business. So you must go the extra mile to empower your team so that they can become more productive and make fewer errors. It is equally important from the IT security perspective. The best way you can achieve it is by leveraging the right technologies. Here are some measures that can help.
Go 100 percent remote
Right now, businesses are operating on a hybrid model, with a part of the team working from home and the rest from the office. Going 100% remote with the entire team is the key to ensuring smooth communication at all times. Make daily remote meetings a norm, even for those who are physically present at the workplace. Let everyone participate and collaborate using the same tools and applications.
It will make people feel included naturally as they feel at par with those working from the office. The initiative will enable your business to be future-ready because it may have to go 100% remote at any point if the virus resurges again with full strength. With everyone on the same page, long-term WFH has great chances of delivering the success you expect.
Invest in additional infrastructure
Remote collaboration is the biggest reality for all organizations today, and it is going to be around for the foreseeable future. The best thing to do is invest in additional infrastructure for WFH employees. Providing the latest laptops and tablets is a good idea. Ensure that they have the best-quality microphones, cameras, and web conference platforms that keep them giving their best for the long haul.
Have a good look at the current networking and cybersecurity applications and assess their efficacy and viability for the long term. If something seems to be inadequate, you shouldn’t wait to upgrade the systems and technologies. The sooner you invest in the latest remote infrastructure, the better it is.
Reduce barriers to tech
While investing in the best remote technologies is vital, you must also make conscious efforts to remove barriers that curb the benefits they deliver. For example, if your team uses Mac devices, you may encounter speed issues due to clutter and duplicate files in its storage. But it is easy to identify and eliminate duplicates and get rid of clutter as well. You only have to provide the tools and apps that pick duplicates without manual work.
Training and educating the remote team can help reduce the barriers to tech. Even as you make your employees tech-savvy, your IT support team should still be available at all times because remote employees cannot resolve more complex issues on their own. Having technical support to back them is imperative to keep them working without hindrances.
Prioritize video tools
When it comes to empowering your team to deliver their best while working from home, prioritizing video tools can make all the difference. Videoconferencing technology eliminates the communication gaps and facilitates better collaboration. People can see visible cues on video calls, and it makes them communicate better with colleagues and clients.
Further, video tools prevent team members from multitasking when they attend remote meetings, so you can expect them to focus better on the agenda at hand. Your managers will be able to monitor team members through videos and ensure that they are doing their best even when out of the office.
Foster a culture of online collaboration
Since WFH is the new norm for the long haul, you need to foster a culture of online collaboration. Moving the operations to the cloud is the first step as it brings a common platform for everyone, where they can share suggestions and add comments, regardless of their location. Encourage the use of messaging tools at all times, even when people are in the same building.
Cloud collaboration tools eliminate the restrictions on devices or locations, which means that your people can work as digital nomads from home or even while traveling. They can access, store, and share important files and documents with team members without worrying about security. The sync function lets them seamlessly switch between devices when they have to go out or travel.
Ensure a happy workforce with a better work-life balance
When it comes to managing a remote team for the long run, you cannot overlook the significance of achieving a better work-life balance for them. It is a challenge for most companies because people have loads of distractions to deal with when they work from home. Thankfully, you can utilize technology to help them cope and maintain the highest levels of productivity even amid the distractions at home.
For example, time-tracking tools enable them to manage their working hours and break times without stressing about losing their productivity. You can go the extra mile by using gamification for employee engagement and performance incentives. A better work-life balance makes them happier and curbs the stress and anxiety of working remotely for the long haul. A happier workforce is an asset for any business.
Happy employees stay and make efforts to contribute to the growth of the organization. On top of providing tools to help remote employees manage their work-life balance, it is also beneficial to add positive experiences into the work environment to promote positive mental health. Those managing a remote team have benefited from utilizing tech sites like Escapely, offering virtual escape rooms to help reduce stress and drive team productivity.
Embracing work from home for the long-term requires complete digital transformation for your organization. The right technology can make the initiative successful and even drive growth even as people work remotely. It can also help businesses to overcome the apprehensions related to extended WFH operations so that your company can easily adapt to the pandemic challenges.