You don’t need us to tell you that we’re in a remote working revolution. The chances are that team members come to you requesting this job perk every other day. As can be seen from articles like this one on https://www.cnbc.com, 70% of workers worldwide now operate remotely at least some of the time. That’s a significant shift, and it’s one you should be considering in light of the fact this is a set-up around 80-90% of the workforce would prefer.
Keeping employees happy is, after all, vital for productivity and retention. Not to mention that studies show individuals able to work from home take less sick days and are more likely to burn the midnight oil than if they were chained to a workspace. And, that’s before we even broach the money-saving benefits of a remote approach!
Despite all this, your response to remote queries is always a non-negotiable and straightforward ‘no’. It isn’t as though you don’t want to enjoy those remote perks, it’s just that, if you’re honest, you feel ill-equipped to deal with them.
You wouldn’t be alone, but this is an issue you need to address if you’re to retain your staff as 2020 gets underway. With that in mind, we’re going to look at why you aren’t ready to go remote right now, and what you can do about it.
You have no clue how to keep track
Losing control is, perhaps, the most notable management-remote work concern. When your team is there with you, you can make sure they turn up on time, complete tasks by their deadlines, and generally perform as expected. However, this sense of order can seem impossible if your team is working from here, there, and everywhere. Luckily, there are now plenty of communicative tools explicitly designed to suit remote needs. Slack and other such programs even allow you to delegate and check on progress for each project, meaning control could become even easier than when your team was in the next room!
You haven’t even considered accessibility
Many managers still fall back on outdated filing methods, or computer system storage that relies on team members being in the building. If you fall into this category, then you may have no real idea of how remote work would even be possible. Again, though, solutions here aren’t as tricky as you’d think. By considering a simple, outsourced migration to cloud computing, for instance, you could ensure accessibility from across the world. Equally, investing in static IP-led business-specific broadband as found on https://www.lingo.com/business/broadband/ ensures team members can access business info as it arrives from anywhere they might be. As simple as that, you can share files with your team just as you would if they were on the same computer system as you.
Get on top of these issues and others like them, and you should soon find that remote work is actually a beneficial option for everyone. Just like that, you’ll be able to meet employee needs at last and simplify processes on your end simultaneously.