Remote work is a growing trend and it’s changing the way we do business. From tech to education, from fitness to healthcare – jobs that allow you to work from anywhere are increasingly popular.
One of the biggest challenges for remote teams is communication. Without clear guidelines and policies, it can be hard to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Flexibility
Remote work is a form of flexible work that allows employees to complete job tasks outside of the traditional office environment and schedule. Employees can be more productive if they have the flexibility to complete their tasks in a way that fits their schedules and needs.
In addition to increasing productivity, remote work can also help companies retain their employees by preventing absenteeism. Studies have shown that working from home can lower stress and improve personal relationships among employees. And working remotely can help employees avoid the social isolation that often accompanies long commutes and busy work schedules.
While enabling remote work is essential for companies to maintain a healthy and productive workforce, it is important to remember that implementing flexibility takes more than just sharing online tool kits, surveying workers’ preferences or hiring consultants to become “phygital.”
A company’s flexibility policy should be clear and consistent. It should be written in a way that clearly lays out expectations and focuses on equality.
If your company hasn’t already implemented a flexible work program, you may want to begin by piloting it with a small group of staff. This will give you an idea of how much your remote workers prefer this kind of arrangement and how well it works for them.
Once you know the interest level of your remote workers, you can move forward with a formal, centralized flex-work plan that will enable your entire workforce to work from home on a regular basis. If your company is large enough to support this type of change, it is recommended that you establish a companywide meeting to discuss flex-work arrangements and to decide which positions would benefit from a flexible work arrangement.
Then, you can begin training the rest of your staff on how to use these tools to communicate with each other and share information about projects. Once your staff is familiar with these tools, you can begin experimenting with them to see which ones are most effective.
Leaders can also increase transparency about flex-work hours by asking employees to document their planned versus actual work hours and ensuring that they understand how these changes impact their work performance. This will encourage employees to develop work routines that they can follow and will foster accountability on their part.
Productivity
Remote work is a flexible working arrangement where employees can execute their projects and goals outside of a traditional office setting. It’s a growing trend that has come about because of advances in technology, the changing demographic of the workforce, and the rise of the gig economy.
Millennials have become the largest generation in the workforce, and their demands for work-life balance are high. This has led to many companies offering remote work to attract this talent.
Although a significant amount of work is still done in traditional offices, allowing employees to work from home has many benefits for both the employee and the company. It can save employers money by reducing commuting costs, and it provides employees with increased productivity and satisfaction.
Studies have shown that remote workers are able to increase their productivity by working on their own, and they can focus on the tasks that need to be completed without the distractions of daily meetings and personal conversations. It also helps to establish a healthy work-life balance and reduce stress.
The flexibility offered by remote work can also help to reduce absenteeism. As a result, employees are less likely to take time off due to illness or other personal issues, which can benefit the company’s bottom line.
A 2014 study found that employees who work remotely have higher levels of job satisfaction and are less likely to leave their jobs. This leads to lower staff turnover rates and reduced hiring and training costs for companies.
In addition, remote employees are more productive and efficient than their counterparts who are on-site. They spend an average of 48.5 minutes more each day on their work than in-office employees. This adds up to 193 additional hours in a year, and it means that they are able to achieve more in their daily job duties than the average office employee.
In addition to allowing employees to be more productive, remote work also allows managers to assess their employees’ performance from any location. This can give leaders a much clearer picture of how their employees are doing, which is invaluable in helping them to make decisions regarding staffing and hiring.
Community
In the context of work, community refers to a group of people who share a vision and perform impactful work together. In the world outside of work, a community can be a small town, city, village or region whose citizens have shared a culture or nationality.
Remote teams can benefit from a community that connects them to each other, their peers and the company they work for. Creating a sense of connection is vital to productivity and employee satisfaction.
It also bolsters morale and improves team performance. It’s important to create a community that reflects your company’s values, so that remote employees can exemplify those values in their everyday interactions with each other.
Goals are a great way to build a culture of purpose in a remote team. They should be measurable and relevant to the team’s mission, but they should also be motivating and meaningful.
For example, Verizon used goals to promote teamwork and a positive work environment in their remote employees. They published a full product roadmap with their goals for the year, which allowed employees to see where they were working and how they could contribute to the overall mission.
The company also encouraged managers to check in with their remote teams on a regular basis and scheduled video calls to keep communication flowing smoothly. These strategies helped create a strong culture among the company’s remote team, which is now one of their best in the industry.
Regardless of whether you’re running a traditional business or a start-up, your employees need opportunities to connect and network in order to thrive. For remote workers, this can mean joining a local meetup or joining a chamber of commerce’s startup program.
Communities are the glue that holds an organization together. They’re the place where everyone can feel like they belong and where they can grow as a person.
To cultivate a sense of community in your remote team, consider implementing a community calendar or a weekly check-in with all members. You can also add personal touches to meetings, like a video call or designated time during meetings to get to know each other better.
Accountability
Accountability is an important element in any work environment, but it is especially crucial for remote workers. It involves taking responsibility for a task, working on time, and producing quality output. It also means that employees are accountable to their managers and the company as a whole.
Creating an accountability culture in remote teams and organizations is critical for establishing teamwork and collaboration, improving productivity, fostering trust among teammates, and ensuring that everyone can be counted on to deliver projects on time. In addition, it can help ensure that the team has a common set of goals and expectations.
One way to ensure that everyone is on the same page is through team check-ins. These can be done on a regular basis to give employees a chance to get to know each other and ask questions. In addition to checking in on how they are doing, a check-in can also help ensure that team members have a common understanding of project goals and how their individual contributions fit into them.
Another way to foster accountability in remote teams is by setting smart goals. This can be done by determining what each employee needs to achieve within the next week or month. It can also be accomplished by creating a schedule that ensures that every member of the team has a set amount of time for work.
Lastly, it is essential that leaders and managers communicate clearly with their teams and show that they care about them. This can be done through one-on-ones, a weekly all-staff meeting, and other formal check-ins.
In addition to these communication methods, there are many other ways that remote workers can be held accountable for their work. These include using accountability software that can track how long they spend on a particular task, making it easier for managers to see how well their remote employees are performing.
Developing an accountability culture in your remote team and organization isn’t an easy task, but it’s worth the effort. When it is achieved, it can lead to a healthier and happier work environment for all involved.