As a concept, remote working certainly appears to be great on the surface. After all, it’s cheap, and it allows you to work in the comfort of your own home. But time and again, there have been difficulties in harnessing our employees’ talents by remote working alone. But if you’ve got no other option, and you need to make it work, what are the fundamentals that need addressing?
Set The Template
One method of working is what needs developing. Everybody works in their own specific way, but because communication is a major barrier, if there are members of the team that works in their own way and on individual projects, they can feel like they are the exception to the rule. You don’t want to discourage people from working their own way, but you still need to set a certain template, because remote working is such a different beast. Having a morning meeting via Skype, even just for fifteen minutes gives everybody the opportunity to check in with each other, and see if there are any pressing problems, so everyone is able to get on with their day. The other added benefit of having a meeting via Skype is that it’s a lot quicker than sending an email! Sending an email means that you’ve got to wait for a reply, but if they add something extra that you need to answer, this back-and-forth will waste so much time.
Get The Right Tools For The Job
It all depends on what you do. If you are sending large files, the Jetdrop file transfer program can help, but also if collaboration is a crucial component, finding ways to make it feel like everyone is in the same room is as important. Tools like Evernote have been shown to be more than useful in this respect. And while there are plenty of tools out there, it’s not about getting the most expensive, but it’s about the ones that will really suit you and the team.
Share
It’s in the name, remote working. People can feel on their own, which may be good in terms of focusing on the job, but if everybody is working in an isolated fashion, certain self-absorbed habits can creep in. This is why it’s important, not just to have a meeting at the very beginning of the day, but to give people the opportunity to share information as and when is necessary. If you run the team, giving others that opportunity to open up if they have any misgivings will always benefit. But by giving them the chance to do it in a more personal manner, rather than in an email, will help to build bridges.
Remote working is one of those essential components now, but there can be a lot of mistakes made. Sometimes people go into it for the wrong reasons, thinking that it will just save money, when in fact, remote working is most definitely a cheap approach, but you can still use it to bring out the best in people.
