4 Ways To Support Your Remote Workforce
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The business world is ever-growing, and new ways of executing operations are emerging. Thanks to digitisation, your workers don’t necessarily have to come to the office physically to work. They can work remotely in the comfort of their homes or wherever they are and still meet your deliverables.
As a business owner, you can decide to adopt an entire remote working system or have a hybrid system, where some work in the office with others working remotely, or even both.
As previously stated, your remote team can still fulfill its duties and responsibilities wherever they may be working. However, for this setup to be successful, they may require support from you. With that, here are some ways you can support your remote workforce:
1. Provide The Necessary Tools
As technology continues to revolutionise how businesses operate today, there’s a high probability that you’re using various modern tools to run most of your operations.
And generally, while your physical office space may have all the necessary tools and equipment to help your team fulfill their responsibilities, your remote team may not have access to those. And as a result, they might find it challenging to accomplish their work. Hence, you may need to avail yourself of these resources to help them meet their deliverables.
If possible, provide them with tools such as a desktop or laptop. That way, you can ensure maximum productivity, considering you’re providing them with quality equipment to help them fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Along with a computer, you can also equip your staff with communication software to promote seamless and efficient collaboration while working remotely. Utilising cloud systems can also be an excellent approach. That way, files and documents can be easily accessed whenever and wherever your team members may be.
But like any other system, your team might also experience issues and problems with their equipment. As such, they would need assistance. Your tools may also need monitoring to ensure productivity and no downtime due to technical failures.
As a company, you may have limited resources to handle potential IT issues. In this case, consider finding and working with the best IT services in Providence or one in your locality to resolve such concerns. They can help you manage system problems and ensure your remote team works efficiently without any technical difficulties.
2. Allow Flexible Working Schedules
Remote working is quite different from working in the office physically. Several distractions may come with working from home. For instance, some workers must cater to young children, do house chores, etc. As a business owner, it may be helpful to acknowledge this concern and accommodate these workers by allowing flexible working hours.
Perhaps you can set guidelines where your remote team doesn’t necessarily have to work from 9 am to 5 pm. You can allow them to work whenever they want, whether day or night, as long as they meet the minimal working hours and accomplish their tasks. Along with this, you can also set up a weekly virtual alignment meeting where all of the team members are required to be present. That way, even working remotely, you can all gather virtually to cascade or discuss announcements and align on the expected outputs from them for the week.
To help you implement a flexible setup, consider using time management tools. Such apps can track the number of hours each member has worked, and this could ensure all workers meet the minimum working threshold. It may also help to use tools with features that take random screenshots of your workers’ screens as they work. This way, it can show you the sites they visit or applications they use during working hours. You can maximise these tools to monitor them and ensure productivity.
3. Appreciate Them
An appreciated team can yield better results than one that’s neglected or taken for granted. Therefore, it’s best to take steps to show that you recognise each of your workers for their efforts and contributions to the team. It is not only good, but it is proper.
You can set goals which, should any worker meet them, you can reward them. It doesn’t have to be monetary. A simple acknowledgment can go a long way than no appreciation. On the other hand, if the budget allows, you can send them a care package or even food as a token of appreciation. Such rewards can help motivate and inspire your team to put in the effort. In turn, work productivity levels can increase.
Appreciating a team member for their contributions and showing that you care can help boost their morale. This way, your employees could feel valued, connected, and motivated even when working remotely. After all, one is likely to stay in their workplace where they’re appreciated and respected.
4. Maintain Contact And Professional Relationships
Maintaining contact with your remote workforce is essential. You want each team member to feel connected, and they belong to a community despite the distance. But how do you ensure this?
For one, you may consider holding regular virtual meetings. Instead of having your team members send their work to you, especially projects, you can hold virtual meetings through video calls where they can present their assignments to the rest of the team. Such presentations can show that they are not forgotten, and they play a vital role in the company.
Besides holding virtual formal meetings, you can also host virtual social parties or activities where your remote team can take time off work. Virtual games, for instance, can help your team bond on another level that may bring about teamwork and unity. Holding these events can also break the stress and pressure from work and promote productivity.
Furthermore, your managers can take it upon themselves to check-in with each worker regularly to inquire about progress. You want to show that you care about them and their overall well-being. As you do this, it’s good to be intentional about it rather than doing it for its sake. However, you may want to limit these check-ins to once or every two months. Too much, and it might come off as micro-managing. Micro-management doesn’t sit well with most workers, and you might create negative emotions and attitudes towards this agenda.
As part of maintaining contact, consider planning physical meet-ups every once in a while. They can be in the form of team building where your remote workers interact and get to know each other. You’re likely to get more productivity from a team familiar with each other, especially on group projects, unlike where they’re strangers to each other.
Give this a spin: Raise Your Game: The Power of Team Building
Conclusion
The remote workforce is an essential part of the team. They can help you to meet your bottom line at minimal costs. The discussion above has shown some ways you can support them to ensure they’re productive, connected, and deliver quality results. Consider implementing these tips, and your remote team may thank you for it. Not to mention, your business can also significantly benefit from it.
About Author: John M. Zeringue is a Business Management graduate and runs a small business. He’s passionate about incorporating innovations in the workplace. He holds seminars quarterly to enlighten entrepreneurs of the latest technologies they can adopt in their organisations. During his free time, John loves to play video games and watch live football.
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This article is published by the editors of Leaderonomics.com with the consent of the guest author.
