Are you thinking about making the switch to remote working with your business? This is a consideration many companies are making after seeing what can be achieved on a temporary basis in the last few years. From saving on expenses to employees having a better work-life balance, there are many advantages to remote working for everyone.
But, you might not know where to start when it comes to the transition from office life to remote working. Here are some ways you can ease your employees into this change and make sure the switch is successful.
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Phase Out Office Hours
One mistake that many companies make is simply switching all of their employees to remote working immediately. This can be a shock to the system and it can mean that projects freeze for a couple of weeks until everybody is settled in. It can lead to your business falling behind, which is not what you want.
Instead, it is better to phase out office hours slowly. In other words, start with transitioning some teams and you can do this a few days a week to begin with. Then, you can gradually make sure everyone is working remotely. This can ensure that there is no standstill or delays.
Get a Digital Workplace
Next, you need to make sure that all of your employees are able to communicate and work on projects together. This has to be the case no matter where they are. Sometimes, emails just do not cut it. So, you may want to hink about investing in a digital workplace. This is something you can get from Clear People. This is going to provide a place where employees can find data, information and tools they need for their daily working tasks. There is going to be no confusion when it comes to remote working.
Just make sure that you teach your employees how to use a digital workplace. They are fantastic assets to a company that want to go remote. But, this is only going to be true if everybody knows how to work them. So, spend some time with training so everyone can feel comfortable using a digital workplace.
Encourage Freedom in Working
Not everyone works the same. There are people that are early risers, as well as those that enjoy working late at night. You want to be more accommodating when you run a business remotely. This can lead to better productivity from your team and you can see better results when it comes to projects.
Once everyone is working remotely, you can encourage some freedom when it comes to working. In other words, allow people to communicate what hours they would like to work and what they like. You can monitor productivity and see if this makes a difference. Indeed, employees seem to be happier in the workplace and get more things done when they can work to a schedule that suits them.
Have Ways to Check-In
It can be quite a shock for employees and employers to transition to remote working quickly. For example, employees can be used to having a team around them. Suddenly, they are working from home all alone. Then, when it comes to the employers, they like the fact that they can check up on their team at any time during the day. Now, this is not the case with remote working, and it is down to trust.
But things do not have to be this way. In fact, good practise is to make sure that you have ways to check-in with remote working. This should be something that you are doing all the time. For example, you can hold video calls with all of your employees and you can set goals. This way, they know what they are working on. Find ways you can check-in and communicate with everyone so that you can feel like there are people around you.
Still Hold Meetings
Just because your business has moved to remote working does not mean that you will never see employees again. You are still able to hold meetings from time-to-time and this is something that is recommended. It allows you to still have a working relationship with your team and allows for proper interaction.
So, do not be afraid to set up regular monthly meetings with your team in person. This can be good for everyone and lets everyone know that there is support there when they are in need of it.
