From Office To Remote Working: Ensuring Your Business Can Thrive Forevermore
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For many entrepreneurs during this unprecedented situation, many have realized that they can actually run a business from home. And when you are looking to build up a business or find a new way of working, this lockdown has certainly forced us all to change our mindset. We have had to find different ways of working and in fact, some have been able to make it work in their favor, far better than they thought!
For those people who have realized that they don't need a physical office to run a business anymore and are looking to set up a remote company, what are the best approaches every business owner should take on board?
Don't Neglect The Tech
Everybody is either working with a device issued to them or they are using their own laptops. As we can struggle to oversee our employees in a personal sense, we've got to protect them in other ways. When it comes to phishing scams and viruses, we've got to make sure that our employees are clued up in spotting these issues but we've got to make sure that the tech is in place. While it may be cheaper to incorporate a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy where people use their own devices, this can prove troublesome when it comes to accessing sensitive business data. This means that we've got to invest in appropriate VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). And for many people, they don't know how to setup a VPN on a router or have any technical knowledge at all. As such, we've got to hold their hands through the entire process. But ultimately, it is our responsibility to make sure that they have the tools to do their job.
Communication Is Paramount
A lot of people feel that working remotely benefits them more than the typical office setup. For others, it can be an incredible shock to the system. This is why you have to make sure that your abilities to communicate with your team are better than ever before. Giving your employees the numerous options to communicate, whether this is through email, instant messenger, or the old fashioned phone call, your employees need to feel that they are in the loop. As people that work remotely can feel isolated, you've got to work doubly hard to include everyone.
You Need In-Person Meetings On Occasion
And while you can improve your abilities to communicate you can't underestimate that people need human contact. Look to those companies who have been working remotely for years. They work hard keeping everybody in the loop but they also make sure that everybody meets up once or twice a year, either for team-building exercises or as a way to enjoy some quality time together. This can help employees to see the bigger picture but it also works wonders for morale. When employees work from home full-time, there's a lot of positives but when you remove the option of an office, a lot of employees can miss that human contact.
While many businesses are, no doubt, considering remote working forevermore, and have yielded positive outcomes as a result of the current situation, you may have to put a lot more work into it further down the line.