The Future of Remote Work Is Coming



Transitioning Your Onsite Positions to Virtual Ones

Once you have compiled your checklist, it is time to go about enacting the change to virtual work. Ensure each element of your business’s essential functions is addressed in your transition plan. All the questions in your checklist should have a clear answer before the transition begins so no one is confused before the company goes virtual.


Foundation: The Right Technology

Technology is what allows businesses to work virtually. Without home computers, laptops, and smartphones or Voice Over IP (VOIP) working from home would not be possible. Giving your employees the best tools to do their job from home must be considered a foundational element to success and productivity.


If your employees use technology daily in the office, they will need comparable technology at home to continue fulfilling their duties. Allow employees to take their company-issued computers home so they can continue using the programs and logins they are accustomed to without being forced to download programs on their personal computers.  Many Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers offer group licenses for businesses so all your remote workers can keep company data safe while working on home network connections.

Transitioning Your Onsite Positions to Virtual Ones
Structure: Solid Policies

Rules and expectations that make perfect sense in a communal office might not be feasible or may create unnecessary complications while working remotely. Before you take your business virtual, clearly establish what is expected of each of your employees.


Communication is key. Do not make the mistake of sending your employees home without everyone being on the same page. In uncertain times, your employees will be looking for structure and clarity. Not every question has an easy or instantly available answer but do your absolute best to keep your staff informed as the situation changes.


  • If employees are to maintain their standard hours while at home, tell them.
  • If your employee’s hours are going to be different, inform them of the change as soon as possible.
  • If you will be calling periodically to check-up on your employees, tell them how often to expect calls.
  • If there are rule exceptions for unusual or unforeseen situations, clearly explain what events qualify for accommodations.

When creating new policies for remote workers, it is important to remember that each employee has a different work from home setup. One person may live close to a grocery store and will take less time to make a store run than someone else who lives further away. An employee that has kids at home may need different accommodations than an employee that lives alone.


One policy that should not be flexible is security. Before employees work from home, they must understand how to protect company information. If employees want to work outside of their home, they should take protective measures to obscure their screens from curious eyes. Privacy filters are thin sheets of plastic film easily placed in front of laptop and desktop screens so only the person sitting directly in front of the screen can see what is being displayed. Employees that opt to use personal computers instead of work-issued machines should use existing logins for company programs, rather than create new ones, in combination with a VPN and a privacy filter to maximize company security.

Flow: Sustainable Process

Technology and policy will keep your company functioning, but there is one more area that must be addressed before your business goes virtual to keep your employees happy. Moving from a traditional office to virtual work is a stark change for most people and employees may find they miss face-to-face communication more than they anticipated. Designing new processes for offsite work helps ensure communication does not break down and your company culture remains strong.

 

Recurring meetings barely warrant a second thought in an office, but when an entire company works virtual, meetings become more complicated. Communicate meeting schedules well in advance during virtual work so employees can plan accordingly. Video conferences are generally the preferred substitute for face-to-face meetings but setting up video conferences requires basic technical skills not everyone has. Every employee should receive basic training on whatever conferencing program your business will use so each employee can confidently join meetings from home. Training should be completed before the office closes so meetings are not held hostage or disrupted by technical difficulties.

Flow: Sustainable Process

If the majority of your team is new to working virtually, more structured guidance may be needed. Consider a quick course like Josh Bersin’s “The Remote Work Bootcamp” for more in-depth discussion on dealing with virtual work issues.

How to Get Started: Using the Right Resources

Transitioning to virtual work can be awkward, especially for people who are not technically inclined. Outside consultants, experienced virtual workers, or tech-savvy employees can help make the change easier. Tech-savvy employees and experienced virtual workers have the best understanding of your business and can use that knowledge to suggest what options for virtual work would best suit the business. . Outside consultants can help with transition strategy, setting up eLearning courses or Virtual Instructor-Led learning, suggesting programs to make the transition easier, and offering their professional advice.

Benefits of Working from Home
Telltale Signs Telecommuting Isn’t Working and Possible Solutions

Working remotely can be successful, but not every employee rises to the challenge. Without sitting in an office surrounded by coworkers hard at work, the pressure to stay on task can wane. There can be far more distractions in a home than there are in an office for some employees. If an employee is missing deadlines, late for meetings, or their work quality has dipped, they could be struggling with telecommuting. As soon as these warning signs become noticeable, have an honest conversation with the employee and ask about their difficulties. Just because an employee’s performance is sliding, that doesn’t mean they are doing it on purpose. Did they miss the meeting because their kid was sick or were they truly slacking off? If an employee admits they are easily distracted, suggest organizational or productivity apps. An employee responsible for childcare may need flexible hours to accommodate their family needs.  Not every employee may be honest but try your best to understand why they are struggling and offer solutions for their unique problems.


Once you have exhausted possible solutions and done your best to help your employee succeed while working remotely, the responsibility falls on them. Not everyone is wired for offsite work, but after collaborating for answers, it’s the employee’s job to incorporate them and keep their work at the expected quality.


Feed Your Employees’ Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

At the end of the day, we are all wired with the same fundamental human needs. Maslow famously created his hierarchy of needs and as your business moves to virtual work, it is important to ensure your employee’s needs are being met. Happy employees work better, so keeping your team’s needs met helps your business, especially during uncertain times.

Feed Your Employees’ Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Moving an entire company to remote work is difficult and presents many challenges, but with proper planning, the transition can be successful with minimal disruptions. Work with your team to develop the best strategies for creating a new sense of normal so everyone can get back to work in their new environments.


List of Resources

Patrick Lencioni offers great resources to help teams function more effectively, in particular a webinar series on coping in times of crisis with wonderful insights on serving your clients:

https://www.tablegroup.com/capa/


Becoming Your Best presents a podcast on The Principles of Successful Leaders – How to Survive and Thrive During Hard Times. There are many others on their site that are great.

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nick-palkowski/becoming-your-best-the-principles-of-highly-successful-leaders/e/68255059


Here is information about Appian’s free COVID-19 Response Management Application. The webinar and app are great.

https://www.appian.com/covid19-response-management/



This discusses market transformation during COVID-19:

https://www.mattranen.com/blog/2020/4/7/transform-now-while-market-confusion-gives-you-air-cover


These are free Remote Working Reports to Help Individuals & Businesses from Bestwork Data: 

https://corp.bestworkdata.com/


This article is about the difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning from EducauseReview:

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning


Focusmate helps bring accountability to remote work by providing a platform for virtual coworkers to meet and get things done: https://www.focusmate.com/


The Josh Bersin Academy offers training called The Remote Work Bootcamp available their subscribers.

https://bersinacademy.com/the-remote-work-bootcamp


Steve Shallenberger explores The Art of Pure Listening in his podcast on becoming your best self.

https://www.becomingyourbest.com/episode-223-the-art-of-pure-listening/


eLearning Industry discusses What The COVID-19 Pandemic Means For Workplace Training in this article.

https://elearningindustry.com/what-covid-19-pandemic-mean-workplace-training


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