Remote working is a workplace trend that’s growing in popularity. According to the New York Times, in America, about 43% of employees spend at least some time working remotely. Remote working is a great option for many reasons including better flexibility for employees to manage their work-life balance and getting back time lost from long commutes to work. Many organisations from across different industries have already experienced the wonderful advantages of offering remote working in their work culture.
Without planning and preparation, things can go south. Here are some tips to help you launch a remote working scheme in your company successfully:
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Know your needs
Consider all aspects of your business needs to figure out whether remote working will help or hurt your business. Remote working can help your company reach a larger talent pool by eliminating geographic restrictions. It can offer greater flexibility for your existing staff and improve employee satisfaction. Remote work can reduce your company’s office space needs leading to office space cost savings.
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Which departments?
Remote working may not be suitable for every department. Go through each department to identify which operations can be gain from working remotely. Having a solid understanding of each department will help you determine which policy to adopt (full time, part time, occasional, or other).
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Invest in new technology.
It’s important to find a solution to keep your team connected and accountable for remote working. There are many options for businesses of all industries and sizes which means your investment doesn’t have to be a heavy dollar investment. The right option might be merely time and effort in adopting new application. Spend the time to research the right software or hardware upgrades needed to make your change an easy one.
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Provide Training.
Never underestimate the importance of giving a proper introduction to the new software, hardware, and work style that you are putting in place. Training will ensure that your team can make the most of your hardware and software investments, as well as, understand the business rationale for the changes.
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What’s in it for me?
Despite the growing trend, not every employee is keen on working from home. Changing from the traditional office model is no small change which is why it’s important to answer the question of what’s in it for me? Highlighting the benefits to your employees will help them to understand what they can gain from these changes, as a result, it will enhance your team’s enthusiasm and encourage constructive feedback.
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Testing, testing, testing.
Remember that converting to remote work isn’t an all-or-nothing kind of project. You can poll your employees and run a pilot program to help you gauge interest, and as a result, improve your rate of success when rolling it out to the rest of your company
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Cybersecurity!
The security of your business’s data has never been more important. Ensure that remote work doesn’t expose your company to any online security risks and that your data is backed up appropriately.
Implementing remote working in your company doesn’t have to be difficult. With a well-planned and thoughtful strategy it can be smoother than you think. Just in case you’re still on the fence, you can always consider a coworking space!
