The COVID-19 outbreak has
forced many companies to start working remotely. And while remote work has been
gaining popularity in the last few years, especially in the tech industry, not
all companies were ready to implement remote work policies. This means that
now, all of these companies are faced with new challenges. Additionally, many
of the business owners are afraid that remote work will negatively affect their
productivity.
No matter if your company
has done remote work before, working remotely during these conditions isn’t
ideal.
That’s why in this article
we’ll be taking a look at some of the ways your employees can stay productive
and be successful when working remotely.
1. Define Your
Company’s Working House
Even though remote
companies are known for having more flexible working time arrangements, you
still should set the hours you and your employees are working.
With pre-set working hours,
you minimize the risk of overworking or underworking your employees.
Predetermined working hours will also help everyone more easily adjust to
remote work, because now you know when you get on and off work, just like in
the office. This can also be useful for readjusting back to the office once
everything returns to normal.
2. Communicate Often
Communication is very
important for all businesses, with remote companies, it might be one of the
most important aspects of the business.
Establish communication
rules – everyone’s availability, the best way to reach one another, the
platforms you all prefer, and the frequency of communication. Communication
rules are likely to change as you make other adjustments to remote work.
Also, make sure you
encourage your employees to communicate with each other as much as possible. By
sharing all the important info you have, you’ll more likely be able to stop any
misinformation or double work from occurring.
3. Don’t Forget to
Track Time
If you want to be sure your
employees are doing the work you’re paying them to do, you need to have them
track their time. To track time, most remote companies rely on some sort of a
time tracker.
In addition to helping you
monitor if your employees are staying on track with their time, time tracking
software is also useful for your employees, as it allows you to see who is
accountable, visible, and most productive. A time tracker can also help introduce
a much-needed structure for your remote company.
4. Track The Progress
On All of your Project
You need to encourage your
remote employees to be more proactive now that everyone is working from home.
By tracking time on all
your projects and generally keeping track of what your employees are doing, you
minimize the risk of overwork or double work for your employees. This also
helps reduce the stress your employees feel if they know that someone is
looking after what they’re doing.
5. Encourage Your
Employees to Socialize
With everyone working from
home, the usual office chit-chats and banter are gone. However, you still can
encourage your employees to continue with their usual social interactions, just
over the internet.
This will help your employees
feel more connected with each other, less lonely, and it will help work feel
less monotonous for everyone.
6. Don’t Forget To Have
Fun
An additional way you can
combat the usual monotony of everyday work is to introduce fun activities in
which everyone can participate in. Play online games together, start a book or
a
moviesflix club, send each other fun GIFs over Slack, and if you can, volunteer
online together.
There is almost an infinite
number of fun things you can do while working remotely, so we’re sure you’ll
find something for your employees to enjoy!
Final Takeaways
While remote work has been
gaining popularity in the tech world for the last couple of years, not all
companies were ready or willing to embrace it. However, with the coronavirus
outbreak, many business owners now have to work remotely and some of them are
afraid that remote work will negatively affect their organization’s
performance.
However, if you clearly
define your company’s working hours, communicate often with your employees and
encourage them to communicate with each other, track time on all tasks, keep an
eye on the progress of all your projects, encourage everyone to socialize and
have fun, you’ll have much better chances to be productive while working
remotely and be successful in working from home.
