During the COVID-19 pandemic, employers around the world learned that they could keep their companies running as their employees worked from home. Not only does this allow workers to follow flexible schedules and get work done from home, but it ensures that they are as productive as you need and that they are happy working for you. Far too many business owners make some mistakes when sending their employees to work remotely, including not giving them the resources that they need and not checking in as often as they should. You can find some easy ways to improve your employees’ experiences as they work from home.
Give Them the Right Supplies and Equipment
Giving your workers the right supplies and equipment is one of the best things that you can do to make their lives easier. Though you might expect to send them home with laptops, you need to make sure that their computers have the same processing speeds that they would have in the office. If you want employees to attend team meetings and/or client meetings from home, they need good webcams and microphones too. Scheduling software helps them schedule meetings and appointments and view a shared calendar with other employees.
Hold Regular Meetings
A common problem that affects those working from home is a lack of supervision. When you’re in an office setting, you can visit employees at their desks or call them into your office. You can also keep an eye on the ways that they waste time on the internet such as visiting social media sites and playing games. Remote workers do not have as much supervision. Holding regular meetings allows you to keep connected with employees and to see if they need help with anything. You can also use those meetings to talk about any updates to the company.
Check-In Daily
In addition to regular meetings, consider asking for a daily check-in. Remote work allows employees to set flexible schedules that work around doctor’s appointments and any other obligations that they have. While you might work a standard 9 to 5 schedule, some employees may log in later in the day or work later at night. With daily check-ins, you can keep an eye on their work and make sure that they do everything that you need them to do. You can ask them to send an email or use video chat to check-in or use scheduling software to log them in and out of the system.
Use Shared Resources
Working as part of a team can seem impossible when working from home, which is why many companies now look for the best screen sharing online tools. Screen sharing allows two or more employees to view the information found on a specific screen. You might show a presentation on your primary computer and send that presentation across a shared screen to let all employees view it. Shared screens also come in handy when employees need to work on a project together. It allows them to make the changes that they want and view the changes that others made in real-time.
Rely on Tech Support
Traditional offices have tech support departments or workers who can help employees quickly. When a problem arises, you simply send in a help ticket and wait for an IT worker to come by and fix the problem. Employees cannot do the same thing when working remotely because those workers can’t stop by their homes. That is why you should establish a virtual tech support department. Employees who need help can set up a virtual chat and get support from an IT worker. This can assist them with challenges ranging from email accounts that don’t work to software that runs slowly.
Helping Remote Workers Helps You
Using remote workers can help you save some money. Employees can live in areas with a lower cost of living and will often expect to make a smaller salary than if they lived in a larger city. You don’t need as much dedicated office space or as many supplies as you did before either. Before letting employees work remotely or hiring remote workers, you need to make sure that you know some easy ways to improve the experiences that those employees have as they work from home.
