The concept of remote work is one that is becoming increasingly important in today’s climate. With justifiable fears still looming about pandemic protocols and the safety of coming into the office everyday, everyone from Silicon Valley tech firms to LA employment law attorneys is looking at ways to implement more remote strategies into their workplace for the long-term. It’s something that needs to be built into the culture of your company, of course, but if you’re dedicated to giving it a try, here’s how your organization can get a head start on developing its own remote work system.
First You Need The Technology
Needless to say, you’ll be remote working from nowhere if your organization doesn’t have the right tools in place to facilitate telepresence. In addition to having the proper hardware in the office and at your employees’ homes, you’ll need to have the right video communication software so that your team can collaborate. We’re not talking about piecemealing a solution with Skype or Hangouts here. You’ll need a dedicated solution that can accommodate your entire team in the vein of Zoom or Microsoft Teams. With Zoom you can have a meeting with up to 100 participants. You can also add a teleprompter app for zoom which will make your conference more meaningful.
Now Build Remote Work Into The Program
Chances are you’ve only been experimenting with remote work in the short-term up to this point. Now it’s time to build remote work into your company at the base level by developing telecommuting contracts for your employees. These contracts should lay out some of the reasons for adopting remote work policies, and clearly delineate responsibilities for maintaining high-speed internet connections, a suitable computer for work, employee hours, and the like.
Set Your Goals And Metrics
You can’t rightly telework and not set any sort of benchmarks for measuring progress. Performance management is going to be a big part of any long-term remote work plan, so you’ll need to determine what metrics are important to watch for and how you’re going to track them. Additionally, you’ll need to find a way to clearly communicate your expectations to your workforce, and figure out a way to integrate remote work metrics into your performance reviews.
Full Steam Ahead: It’s Time To Streamline
Once you’re in the swing of remote working with your entire team, you can start to invest in ways to streamline the process for all parties involved. Be sure to train your managers and other team leaders so they’re up to snuff on all the best remote team practices. Beyond that, be sure to fine tune your apps and programs for maximum performance, then let your team get into the swing of doing their thing.
