Struggling to care for your employees and keep your business from falling apart?
Many companies have already asked employees to work safely from the confines of their own homes. More and more businesses are trying to cut down their in-person workforce and prioritize employee safety. Around 46% of the businesses in North America are including new policies for remote work due to the CoronaVirus.
However, such a sudden change in business operations is bound to throw some of your employees off track. It can take some time for employees and management to get accustomed to this new way of working. Instead of holding meetings together in a conference room, employees are now being asked to stay connected online, complete their everyday responsibilities and work with the same efficiency as before.
Such a transformation requires organized processes and guidelines to make the transition as smooth as possible. This blog is an educational guide for all the companies trying or planning to implement a remote workforce.
Guide to Remote Workforce Plan: CoronaVirus
A large part of the world’s workforce is now forced to adapt to the work from home strategies. With organizations having no time to enforce proper regulations, it can be a struggle initially to get everything straightened out. There are a few practices that can make your transition to the remote workforce smoother, easier and quicker.
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Make Complete Use of Online Space
You can no longer physically watch over how the employees are working, what they are doing with their time or when they are interested, irritated or happy. On the other hand, it can be difficult for employees to express themselves when they are in different parts of the city or country. So, it’s time to break these barriers by taking the maximum advantage of tools available online.
Promote the digital culture and help the employees create and maintain interpersonal relationships. Employees joke around, celebrate and have fun when they are together. You can encourage them to do the same through online forums, private chats, video calls and group messaging options. Don’t let personal relationships dwindle as it can negatively impact your at-home workforce.
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Create a Central, Integrated System
You may have a lot of tools and software for general operations of your business. You cannot avoid using such tools, but instead, you can create a central system where all the primary operations happen. Employees can form teams and discuss together on this platform, the progress of a project can be identified easily, inter-departmental coordination can happen and employees can keep up-to-date with each other.
There are several online platforms like Slack, Trello, Asana, Fleep and many other such apps that you can use for this integrated, central operations. You can get some assistance from your internal IT team or an external IT service provider to choose the right platform on which all your business operations will be conducted.
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Get External IT Help to Facilitate Remote Working
Setting up a remote workforce for an entire organization will take a considerable time. Now, when time is of the essence and you need to implement remote working facilities overnight, it can be very tough.
You can request the help of an external IT consulting firm to set up the remote working facilities, including installation of the required software, enforcing security on your devices and a lot more. These firms have a lot of experience and will be an immense help to your company in order to quickly make the transition to a remote workforce.
Layer One Networks provides IT support for remote workforce setup with cloud computing features, software integrations and data security. You will get a dedicated manager to work with you to come up with the right technology strategy to implement a remote workforce system. Easily hire one of our experts for seamless remote workforce setup now.
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Reinforce the Company’s Values and Missions
The mission and vision statement of the company have been created for times such as these. It’s time to revisit the mission and vision of the company as well as the values that the employees should abide by. In such times of crisis, employees may need a little more motivation and guidance and the mission statements will give them that clarity. Direct your employees towards these and help them keep themselves on the track.
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Motivate Your Employees from the Top
During this CoronaVirus pandemic, employees may need some extra motivation to feel secure. This must come directly from the top administration, preferably CEOs and founders of the company. The CEO should be present, if possible, in all the online communication channels and continuously keeping in touch with the employees. It’s not just enough to be professional; showing a bit of your personal side will also help calm your employee’s fears.
As time passes, employees will need more guidance and will look up to the top management. Praise employees adequately, encourage them when it gets hard and give them some space when they have personal difficulties. It’s time to rise above and show employees that you care for every one of them.
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Create a Streamlined Process Personalized to Individual Teams
It is challenging to keep track of everyday activites or follow-up on the previous tasks. This is why every team should have a short opening meeting, either online through video call or chat or through a conference call. Every team member will review what they accomplished the day before and what they on their list to do today.
The manager can allocate new tasks, make suggestions or modifications and keep track of the progress being made. At the end of the day, you can create a system where every employee should update the workday on a specific day, add notes or any follow-up requests they have which will be reviewed the next day.
Similarly, have separate streamlined processes for managing in times of emergencies or any crucial updates. Have specific guidelines for the employees when they are working, like the log for the number of online hours, the do’s and don’ts when they are online and so on. Don’t be too hard on employees. Give them a little space and tighten only when it’s necessary.
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Handle Conflicts and Issues Delicately
Conflicts are bound to arise in any company, no matter the mode of operations. Even in remote workforce culture, there can be some conflicts that may go unrecognized. It is the responsibility of upper management to manage such disputes effectively. These are times when people may be more sensitive and insecure about their positions and it’s is a time to show compassion when possible. Don’t try to resolve the issues and conflicts through chats or emails. Talk directly to the respective employees through normal phone or video calls.
Handle issues delicately and resolve the conflicts as quickly as possible. Interact with both the parties separately and make them feel important and try to find a middle ground.