Ready Or Not – Your Business Must Be Ready To Work Remotely

Life before COVID-19 – can you remember what it was like? You were allowed to leave the house, and you did it without fear of contracting an illness that’s shut down the planet. Back then, remote working practices were cute. Employees wanted more freedom and you wanted to give it to them, but you needed a balance, too.

Fast-forward a couple of months and you need to be ready to work remotely whatever the costs. With people unable to make it into the office, you run the risk of not selling a bean if you fail to make a smooth transition.

So, are you ready?

Below are the areas you’ll need to cover.

Tech Efficiency

There is nothing more annoying for workers than dodgy hardware and software. And, you shouldn’t take their grievances lightly. Advancements in technology have made employees more productive than ever, with tasks that used to take hours now taking minutes.

So, a cheap Windows VPS will maintain high levels of output, which is essential. Still, there is more to investing in quality tech. In an unpredictable period, morale is going to be pretty low, and waiting for basic functions to upload will only add to frustrations. Therefore, ensuring processes run effectively will prevent attitudes from plummeting.

Situational Slacking

This is when employees slack off because there is a valid excuse. Sadly, you can’t police every task the same way you do in the office. It’s almost impossible because of resource restrictions, and some workers know this too well. Of course, encouraging them to work as hard as usual is going to be key to success, especially when you may have to put in more energy to get the same results.

A basic-yet-effective option is to use Zoom to hold daily meetings. If people aren’t pulling their weight, drag them out over coals for everyone to see. They’ll soon get the message.

Remote Leadership

Keeping spirits high and making sure everyone is maintaining high standards is a test of your leadership. During this period, you’re going to need to be a strong and reliable boss who pulls others along with him/her.

As a result, you may have to change your leadership style to suit the new surroundings. For instance, it is hard to see when team members are struggling as you can’t speak face-to-face. So, it could be worth introducing video meetings where you touch base and try and ease any concerns.

Scalability

The crisis isn’t going anywhere quickly.

Depending on the country, social distancing measures are billed to be in place until 2022. Even when everything goes back to ‘normal,’ the pandemic could have a considerable impact on the way businesses work, i.e., working from home. Therefore, it’s wise to set up your practices for the long-term and add scalability. At the least, this will give you the option to enhance your employee’s experience and create a healthy office atmosphere. 

Whether you’re ready or not is beyond the pale. You’ve got to be if you want to increase your chances of surviving this crisis, now and in the future.

© New To HR