Tactics and Tools to Support Remote Workers and Flexible Work Arrangements

Thanks to the digital age, it's possible to work remotely. Almost everyone experienced it during the pandemic, but many companies decided to utilize remote work even when it's not fully necessary. It can offer employees many benefits and even boost their performance. However, thriving remotely is only possible if you can prepare them properly and set clear goals and expectations.

Establish Clear Goals

One of the most important rules of remote work is to manage your people well. Employees should be confident about tasks that need to be completed and have clear instructions. Don't let your employees waste time figuring out what to do. Confusion and uncertainty are significant risks when working remotely, but you can easily eliminate them with proper management.

Give employees clear tasks and tell them your expectations, so everyone can fully and confidently focus on their goals.

Don't Lose Connection

People need to communicate even when working remotely. Being physically present in the office can help you access certain people or get help when needed. With the proper preparations, you can replicate this effectively through online chats, voice calls, or facetiming. People will have the opportunity to contact each other when needed almost immediately.

Having frequent meetings is essential as well. Of course, meeting in person is the most effective way to discuss the next steps thoroughly and give everyone a physical connection. However, meetings can also be done online via certain applications like Skype or Zoom. You can also let employees participate in virtual social activities, such as lunch and learns, coffee breaks, online exercise classes, and happy hours. Ensure they are regular, as you don't want your employees to lose their connection to your company.

Proper Training

Before utilizing remote work, you must ensure people are well trained in their job and managing remote work. Decide your training method and get all essentials, like good wi-fi, provide video-call software, etc.

Give your employees the needed equipment and let them learn to use it. Then, establish which way you want to communicate and how to integrate the finished work.

Allow Flexibility

One of the most significant benefits of remote work is flexibility. Set deadlines and expectations and let your employees decide their working hours. This allows people to focus on other important things in life, like raising children or nursing elderly. It can also contribute to a better life/work balance. According to a survey by Cisco, 78% of respondents said that remote and hybrid work improved their overall well-being.

Many people tend to be more productive at certain times, which doesn't necessarily have to be the typical working day. This will allow them to focus on work when they're most productive.

Establish clear deadlines or synchronization hours, and trust your employees to create the most effective schedule possible.

Monitoring Progress

It's crucial to keep track of progress and evaluate effectiveness. You need to make sure people can do their best and have an opportunity to improve.

When handled properly, remote workers are 35-40% more productive than their office counterparts.

This is where good software comes in handy.

Utilize the Right Software

Whether it's a task management tool to let your employees keep track of their schedules or a cloud where they can upload data, it's very important to have good software for remote work. It will keep you in better contact, make sure tasks are being done, track progress, get notifications and share updates.

Find a suitable timesheet software that will help you track progress and monitor all actions, and you won't miss anything. Even when your employees work elsewhere, you will see who's working, how tasks are progressing, if there's any trouble, etc. The software will send you notifications in real-time, giving you all the information as if your employees were next to you.

Of course, it’s also essential to let your employees get comfortable with the software before you let them use it remotely, and take all important steps to protect yourself from ransomware attacks, DDoS attacks, malware, spyware, and other types of breaches.

Unique Collaborations

With remote work, location doesn't matter. The only thing you need is a communication device. Collaborate with people all around the world, and create unique teams. With remote work, you can achieve things that wouldn't be possible otherwise. Many workers who had previously experienced bias and high barriers of entry into the workplace get to access new opportunities.

All it takes is adequate management and software to help you keep the good work up.