The spread of COVID-19 – also known as the coronavirus – is affecting how organisations do business on a massive scale. In the United States alone, tech companies and government officials have been asking employees to start working from home.
- Seattle’s King County is encouraging companies to allow remote work.
- Amazon has asked employees to test virtual private networks (or VPNs), which may mean that they may have to telecommute.
- JPMorgan has started a pilot program called “Project Kennedy, “which asks about 10% of its staff to work remotely as part of the financial institution’s resiliency testing.
Remote work is no longer a novelty
While the abrupt work-from-home growth is expected to be temporary, know that the overall trend of telecommuting isn’t. According to a FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics study, there’s been a 91% growth in remote work in the past ten years (which has nothing to do with the coronavirus).
The sudden demand for remote work, however, will likely bring permanent change. Jennifer Christie, Twitter’s head of human resources told BuzzFeed News:
“We’ll never probably be the same. People who were reticent to work remotely will find that they really thrive that way. Managers who didn’t think they could manage teams that were remote will have a different perspective. I do think we won’t go back.”
What your team will need
However, switching to a telecommuting setup will pose challenges to newcomers. For your team to function remotely, you’ll need the following:
- Proper hardware – Each team member expected to work remotely will need laptops.
- Software – The list includes cloud integration, remote access VPNs, remote desktop, and team management tools (e.g., project management software, time-tracking software).
- Training – Each team member expected to work remotely have to be trained in using the hardware and software.
- Sufficient bandwidth – It’s not enough for remote employees to use public Wi-Fi; they need high-speed internet connectivity to do their work correctly.
- IT support – Employees working from home will also need IT support when they encounter hardware or software issues – particularly for the remote newbies.
- A change in mindset – Telecommuting isn’t like regular office work; employees and leaders must change the way they approach it. When remote work starts, both should be more conscious of their collaboration and communication efforts.
Remote working tips
Remote Workmate has been running a distributed workforce for several years now, so we know a thing or two about telecommuting. Here are some tips to help further along with your team’s transition to working from home:
Continue developing rapport with your remote team
Why? Because Communication is one of the significant challenges in remote work, and moments that happen naturally in a traditional office (e.g., sharing cake, chatting by the cooler) never occurs in telecommuting.
And still, rapport is crucial in leadership. It motivates your employees, makes them more receptive to feedback, and fosters a positive environment. Here are a few ways how you can develop rapport:
Use video whenever you can
Because a significant part of communication is non-verbal, you and your team are missing out a lot if you get in touch only through voice calls or emails. You won’t see body language, mood, and immediate reactions.
To get around this, have meetings via video whenever possible. Don’t forget to record sessions so those unable to attend can catch up.
Set up a dedicated workspace and establish boundaries
Each team member will need a dedicated space to do their work remotely. Otherwise, they’ll keep getting distracted by domestic concerns during work hours. Plus, having a home office will help them:
- Get into the proper work mindset.
- Get out of the work mindset when necessary. This helps people establish boundaries between their work and home life.
Build your remote team with us
If you’ve decided to wade deeper into remote work, then you’ll eventually need to hire a virtual assistant to reduce your recruitment and salary costs and gain access to a larger talent pool while enjoying the reliability of in-house staff.
To make your recruitment more comfortable and more effective, partner with Remote Workmate. Unlike freelancing marketplaces where you do everything yourself, we handle all the heavy lifting for you, including processes like screening, recruitment, and payroll.
You can choose from our pool of notable candidates right away. Simply visit our Hotlist at https://remoteworkmate.com/hotlist
You can browse a wide range of profiles on our Hotlist page. Once you find a qualified VA, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the page, and we’ll get in touch with you ASAP.
In an age of apps, we can get everything we wish for, right at our doorsteps.
Every industry is getting digitized.
On-demand grocery delivery is not an exception.
With easy-to-use mobile applications like, InstacartShiptGrofersBigBasketPeapod Now, we don’t need to stand in queues for billing.
And people prefer this mode of online shopping these days.
Entrepreneurs who wish to start a new business can always prefer this industry as it is lucrative in the upcoming years.
It’s the internet that has really managed to capture our day to day lives in many different ways.
There is a wide range of works that we use to accomplish while using the internet.
But when you are using the internet, you also need to consider a few points.
Things like speed of the internet, what sort of internet connection you can avail, the price you pay for taking the internet connection; all these things must be considered before you opt for an internet service provider and take the internet connection.It’s a fact that we are now able to access the internet on the go.
While using the handheld devices like mobile phones, we are able to access the internet even on the go.
But this is something which is not going to bring much help for you when you want to access the internet at home or office.
And when you communicate via text messages, the people you are talking to might not always understand what you mean to say.
Over the past few years, emojis have formed a universal language across different platforms, which helps express excitement, sadness, amusement, or emotions that can’t be expressed in words.Emoji originated in Japan in the late ’90s, and now the whole world uses it.
Use Discord or Slack for Emoji CustomizationIt is recommended to use Slack or Discord messaging app for creating an emoji of your choice.
Discord also lets you communicate via voice calls, video calls and enables you to share media and files in private chats or servers.
We would recommend using Pixlr as it is a web-based application and is available for free.If you have some excellent artistic skills, it would be easier for you to create an emoji using the app mentioned above.
If you want to draw a typical old emoji with a hint of personalization, then start with a yellow circle on a transparent background so that the emoji is visible.
Usual workplace routines like commuting, walking to meetings and having water cooler chats are all gone.Your home has become your office nearly overnight.Seasoned telecommuters shouldn’t have any problem with such a setup, but the novices in your now-remote team will have to get used to a new normal when they make the shift.
That’s because we’re surrounded by distractions: kids, pets, significant others, video games, and the new Netflix show that’s just begging to be watched.When we get distracted (and we inevitably will) our productivity suffers.
To keep your team accountable, implement the use of time-tracking software, which would allow you to monitor their:AttendanceProductivityHours workedPlus, time-tracking software comes with the ability to periodically take screenshots of one’s desktop.
This will likely be based on your original office hours, enabling all members to collaborate in real-time.You can also allow others to follow different schedules, especially if their work requires it (e.g.
Because a large part of communication is non-verbal and everyone is missing out a lot if your team is limited to instant messaging, email or voice calls.Without video, you won’t enjoy the benefit of meaningful details like eye contact, body language, and facial expressions – all of which are important in building rapport.Be responsiveAt the traditional office, it’s easier to be more available for colleagues because everyone is physically there.
But when working remotely, you have to make the extra effort to let colleagues know they can depend on you.
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