The past few years have been very challenging. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a lot of impact on our lives, both private and professional. With the lockdown happening all around the world, companies and schools have been forced to start working remotely.
And although there are many benefits of working from home, this also brings some difficulties that need to be settled. It has been shown that working remotely can sometimes have negative physical and psychological side effects. These problems need to be acknowledged to provide your employees with proper support.
That is why we have prepared five tips to help you improve your remote business environment.
1. Focus on learning and development
Learning and development are essential for employee growth. Those who complete training courses acquire skills that can help them in their careers, getting the knowledge and expertise that helps them be more efficient. It’s a great way to provide your team members with an opportunity for development and boosting engagement.
Learning and development benefit more than just employees. This also contributes to the whole company’s success. While encouraging employees to earn new leadership and managerial positions, you guide potential future leaders that are invested in your company and familiar with the business. This brings more benefits to your business than having to search for external candidates.
In a stressful work environment full of shifts and changes, your employees must acquire new skills to adapt to the technology and remote work more easily. If they feel comfortable and able to adapt to changes, they will have the motivation to do better and feel valued and appreciated, even when working remotely.
2. Use an FMS tool to manage freelances
Companies often count on freelancer jobs, consultants, and independent contractors to fulfill their needs. But managing all of them isn’t always easy.
That is why implementing a freelance management software tool is a great solution. This tool is very easy to use and it’s capable of handling numerous projects simultaneously. It gives you a chance to hire freelancers more quickly, without a lot of paperwork, and it decreases the number of phone calls and emails you have to send back and forth.
You can benefit from using this tool as it reduces administrative work and saves you a lot of hours. Combine it with your accounting software and enable freelancers to focus more on their tasks than plain paperwork. Using a tool for managing payments ensures that everyone is paid on time, without human mistakes involved in the process.
You should also use an FMS tool that offers multiple payment options. This way you won’t miss a chance to work with a freelancer just because you can’t agree on a particular payment method.
3. Nurture employees’ well-being
With a remote working culture, a social connection between employees is significantly reduced and it can lead to people feeling lonely and isolated. It is your job to provide emotional support for your team members and boost their productivity. This will enable them to reach their full potential, both professionally and personally.
However, this isn’t easy if you have employees all around the world. An inclusive culture and live meetings give your team members a chance to meet and communicate better. Increasing a sense of belonging builds a stronger community in which colleagues can trust each other and become more engaged and motivated to work.
Asking for feedback can be very helpful in building trust with your employees. As a result, the projects will run more smoothly and you’ll be able to remove the unnecessary tools and tasks, optimizing your everyday processes.
4. Keep everything transparent and regulated
You should consider implementing tools that enable your remote employees to manage their time and control their schedules more easily. This helps in keeping a healthier work/life balance. Keeping everything transparent and regulated helps to see the priority tasks, who does what, and the time spent on each project.
A lot of tools can help you keep everything on schedule, like planning apps, to-do lists, and time trackers. These tools allow you to share everything with the team, making it transparent and organized. By seeing the time spent on tasks, you can use that knowledge to improve schedules, avoid working overtime, and prevent burnout.
5. Use screen-sharing software and live meetings
A screen-sharing software tool is crucial for remote employees. It allows team members to see what is happening on other devices and collaborate if needed. It’s much more practical than having to email constantly and it helps fix technical issues faster.
Live meetings, from short daily calls to weekly meetings, allow people to socialize and brainstorm while working remotely. They must be easily accessible, so adding captions (if someone has hearing problems) can increase engagement drastically.
Everyone must understand what you tell them so that they don’t have to message everyone else for clarification.
Final thoughts
To make your remote businesses more efficient, acknowledge and appreciate good work. If your team members are praised in front of everyone, this positive work environment helps your whole team work better.
Remember that your remote employees should have the same benefits as their colleagues working at the office. Use these tips to make them feel connected and valued and it will boost your remote business environment in no time.
