Pandemic conditions have been leading business owners and HR professionals across the globe to wonder if working from home is here to stay. Companies in technology, media, insurance, consulting, and financial services have already invested in tools to begin working remotely. Thousands of employees across the globe are working their everyday jobs from home, with no sight of when they will be returning to the office.
While many employees find working from home to be an inconvenience, other businesses have already reported increases in productivity along with reduced overhead costs. This contrast of opinions leaves one crucial question for business owners across the globe, is working from home here to stay after the Coronavirus pandemic?
How Remote Work Can Improve Productivity
In analyzing the potential long term implications of working from home, it is essential to first consider how remote work can improve employee productivity. One of the largest factors is obviously reduced overhead expenses for business owners. Without operating numerous office spaces or meeting centers, you can greatly reduce your required monthly expenses.
At the same time, remote work can have a number of additional benefits on employee productivity. Employees who have long commutes are no longer required to do so. Similarly, employees with familial commitments are more accessible to their home when their presence is needed. The combination of these factors has often led to employees who are more comfortable, happier, and increasingly productive.
The Remote Working Resources Available
In transitioning to a mobile, remote workforce, it is essential to consider the resources available for employees that are working from home. Remote workforce management is unlike supervising a traditional team of employees. In order to enhance your mobile workforce productivity, you need sophisticated resources that allow you to run your remote teams without missing a step.
One of the most popular resources is time tracking software. Remote employees can use a time tracking app to clock in, take breaks, request time off, and clock out. These time tracking applications are essential to help you make quick roster changes, view staff attendance, capture timesheets, and communicate with your employees.
Experiment With Remote Employee Onboarding
Just because your team is working remotely without any end in sight doesn’t mean that recruiting and training new employees needs to remain frozen indefinitely. While many companies are less keen to commit to new hires amid so much economic upheaval, others are growing rapidly, and in cases like these, it’s pivotal to have fresh talent ready to contribute right away.
For example, the ClickMeeting video conferencing and webinar platform has been seeing so much increased demand during the coronavirus crisis that the company has expanded its headcount by 12% since the beginning of lockdown and is planning to hire another 10%. Any time someone starts a new job without the benefit of meeting co-workers in person, there are going to be challenges involved. But working for a webinar platform company does have its upside in this regard, since the team uses its own software to conduct trainings, share resources and hold regular meetings.
Reflect Your In-Office Culture From Home
One of the best ways to guarantee a smooth, productive transition to working remotely is to reflect your in-office culture from home. Company culture is an essential tool that keeps employees motivated, focused, and productive. At the end of the day, working remotely should be no different than working in your office. When you ensure adequate employee motivation, collaboration, and incentivization, you enable a productive, powerful resource.
Look for software packages where employees can chat with each other, switch shifts, and collaborate on projects. Commonly, many of these features are available in popular time tracking software programs. Utilize these resources to share important documentation, record and post announcements, or create a video to illustrate new procedures.
Assess Your Remote Workforce Preparedness
As you consider how the Coronavirus will impact modern office culture, it is essential to consider your remote workforce preparedness. Businesses that are prepared and proactive about managing mobile workers can ensure a smooth, productive transition. For a business to remain successful remotely, its services must be informational rather industrial.
Your business must be fueled by a proactive workforce, and open culture, and a team of motivated managers. At the same time, you need to be able to establish clear, distinguishable links between staff, functions, and time. To consistently be successful, businesses need to invest in sophisticated tools, resources, training, and techniques to make remote working incentives successful.
The Potential Threats Of Working From Home
As you transition your workforce and weigh the long-term implications, it is integral to consider any potential threats of working from home. Many business owners are worried about reduced productivity from employees. In order to resolve this concern, integrate sophisticated time tracking software that can record employee hours, document daily tasks, and verify records for approval.
At the same time, many business owners are concerned about the potential social implications of working from home. If you are worried about an uncollaborative work environment, encourage frequent meetings, video chats, phone calls, and group sessions to ensure everybody still feels ‘together.’
Staying Home For Now
With the pandemic conditions rising to their peak, many business owners are concerned if working from home is here to stay. If you are concerned about the potential long term implications of working from home, there are several integral points to consider. First, you need to consider how working from home can increase productivity. Research the remote workforce management resources available to you. Before you can fully convert to an at-home workforce, you need to assess your mobile workforce readiness. Finally, you must consider the potential threats, and develop possible solutions to the long term impacts of working remotely.
With these concerns addressed, it’s quite possible that working from home is here to stay after the Coronavirus pandemic