A Guide To Managing Work-From-Home Employees

Being capable of managing remote personnel necessitates a mental leap, particularly for traditional-minded supervisors.

At first, company executives who are used to measuring productivity based on employees’ “desk time” and apparent activity levels may find the transition to remote work strange and cumbersome. Employees may sometimes feel disoriented at first as they adjust to substantial changes in their daily routines.

Moreover, while everybody seems to understand what telecommuting is, not everyone has had the opportunity to use it.

The way you handle a remote workforce will also have long-term consequences for your company’s development potential. Productivity and efficiency will suffer if you’re doing a poor job; if you succeed, a remote staff may create loyalty and improve engagement. Here are some tips to help you to deal with the problems of handling remote personnel, and also the advantages and drawbacks of maintaining a remote workforce. But, before we get to the solutions, let’s first understand the common problems that remote workers face. 

Common Challenges Every Work-From-Home Employee Faces

Working from home has many advantages. There will be no morning commute. The capability to operate when and where you want. There is no formal dress code (unless you already have virtual meetings!). It does, however, have certain drawbacks. It can be difficult to stay motivated. You are not collaborating with your colleagues. And you don’t have any coworkers with whom to interact.

Here is a review of a few of the most common difficulties encountered by remote employees, as well as solutions to them.

1. Staying Organized

While you work and live in the same location, it’s natural to be unorganised while maintaining your work life balance. So, if you have the room, consider working somewhere other than wherever you spend your free time. This allows you to keep work and life separate. If this is not possible, make an effort to maintain your work station (desk, counter, etc.) orderly and neat.

2. Managing Your Time 

To help you plan things, software provider Hubspot advises organizing your day like a typical day at the office. So, to remain on track, plan out what you’ll do and when you’ll do it throughout the day. Create customized events and notifications in your online calendar to alert you when to change gears and begin on new tasks.

3. Interact Socially 

Communicating with other individuals is a benefit of many occupations. Yes, you’re there to work, however social interaction is also vital and can boost productivity. Establishing a feed on your preferred communication app dedicated to irrelevant work subjects might be beneficial.

Work-From-Home Risks To Be Careful About 

Nowadays, while most workers have no option but to work from home, they and their managers are beginning to recognize the numerous problems that remote work consists of. To ensure that you are aware of the three issues and dangers associated with remote work, we have outlined them below:

Home Wi-Fi Security

Unlike at the workplace, where IT professionals could monitor the safety of all Wi-Fi connections, workers’ home networks are likely to have weaker standards (WEP instead of WPA-2, for instance). This makes it easier for hackers to get control of the network’s data.

Phishing Scams

Phishing assaults are largely acknowledged as the leading source of data breaches. Hackers may simply send ostensibly genuine emails with harmful URLs and files. A hacker gains access to the employer’s equipment when an employee clicks on this fake site.

Weak Passwords

Basic and easy passwords are extremely simple to break, and if a vulnerable password is being used across numerous platforms, hackers may obtain illegal access to several accounts in a relatively short amount of time.

Work-From-Home Solutions For Remote Workers 

Teamwork is one of the most difficult elements of remote work, yet your team may still be productive while socially isolated. Here are five pointers to help you operate better together while you’re away.

1. Use A High-Quality Project Management Tool

When your entire team was below one roof, an ungainly project-management software was fine. You could put up with the odd interface, repetitive or missing chores, and the fact that it never appeared to be in sync through what you’re attempting to do. However, now that you are participating in projects remotely, you want a platform that is more suited to your requirements.

2. Provide Support To Your Staff

Collaboration does not automatically imply that you are continuously working together. Workers sometimes require quiet time to get into — and remain in — the zone.

Workers at an office can grab on to minor social signs like “headsets in, head down,” but similar cues aren’t there in a remote-work scenario. This is worsened by regular virtual check-ins as well as real-time chat technologies like Slack.

3. Ask For Regular Check-Ins

When most contact takes place via email, it’s common for struggling members of the team to go unnoticed. Prioritizing one-on-one check-ins between workers and their team leaders through phone or video is an excellent idea.

These conversations may be a great method for team members to share difficulties and solve issues front on. They are also an excellent opportunity to check in on individuals’ mental wellness and promote team bonding.

4. Be More Understanding 

Working from home may be an isolated and frustrating experience. Your crew is most likely already dealing with familial difficulties caused by the pandemic. When you’re tense, you’re more inclined to take a rude email personally or strike out at your coworkers. It’s simple to lose perception of the point that you’re dealing with other individuals who are inherently built to socialize.

Conclusion

The pandemic has caused havoc in virtually every job. Many individuals want to go back to work as soon as possible, but as the virus spreads, many businesses are adjusting to a “new normal” that involves some sort of remote work. Whether your team intends to gradually come back to work or go all-in with a remote workforce, knowing how to interact more effectively from a distance would only benefit you in the long term.

So, if you’re looking for advanced work-from-home solutions that can help you run your team or business smoothly, consider booking an appointment with us at Accops today!