Working from home has many advantages as it has disadvantages.
Working from home has many advantages as it has disadvantages. Keeping your employees working and encouraging teamwork can be difficult when you’re not there to guide them. That’s why it is integral to hire self-disciplined people and encourage others to work responsibly. Implementing strategies and eliminating distractions can lead to your employees working harder and more effectively and so it’s important to keep the following suggestions in mind when encouraging your team so that you reach your company’s goals.
Checking In
Just as if you were in an office, make sure to check in with your employees and see if they are on track with their tasks and are well informed about what they have to achieve. You can achieve this by tracking how many hours are worked and how attendance is carried out by each of your employees. While some of your workers can be self-disciplined and can successfully work without guidance, others may need more looking after. This is not to say that your employees aren’t working hard but keeping an eye on their progress will encourage them to work better in a remote setting.
Time Management
Even when working from an office, time management can be tricky to maintain as some tasks can take longer than others while some employees can procrastinate. From home and in remote workspaces, managing employees time can be even harder when you’re not there to oversee the work. To improve time management, offer your employees resources to have tasks completed in a good amount of time. These resources can be external books, guides, blog posts and even webinars for better time management. Time software is another resourceful way of tracking how much time is being spent on a project and who is working and spending more time on it.
Creating A Home Office
Separating your workspace and personal space is integral for maintaining a work life balance. Encourage your team to limit distractions and work in a space where they can work solidly. “While working remotely it’s important to have a separate workspace or home office so you maintain your professionalism,” writes David Graf, team manager at OXEssays and Revieweal. “Meeting clients and other business partners via video call from your room will make you look like you’re not working or focused. Encourage employees to create this space, organise them better and equip them so they have increased productivity.” If they have a family or children, making a space will mean less time distracting them too.
Communication
Communication is key, especially for encouraging your team and letting them know if they are doing a good job. Communication also enhances opportunities to collaborate and reach out for help when problem solving. To continue communicating with your team encourages both informal and formal conversations. Do this by implementing chat rooms, keep these open for questions team members may have and someone will be able to answer or start a discussion about an upcoming task or meeting. Team members may feel lonely whilst working from home and remotely, encouraging discussions will eliminate this and increase sociability. Implement this with video chats, screen sharing tools and emails for increased communication.
Ethos
Whilst working remotely employees and team members miss out on community culture. This can be tricky to maintain, using video chats and conferences to communicate is a good way or promoting and creating this culture. Inspiring your employees to work better can be achieved through video call and other mediums. Nurture and improve your employee employer relations through sharing your vision for the future. Expressing how your team members can achieve the company’s goals by encouraging them to perform specific tasks will push them forward. This is why work communication as well as non work communication is integral to building a meaningful relationship with your team members, you need to show that you value them, people want to feel that they belong to something meaningful.
