Remote Work - Empowering Talents

Initially, working remotely held a bad reputation but with the passing time and the pandemic have taught us and the companies to adopt work-from-home policies. Most of the employers believed that it becomes easier for the employees to get distracted and less focused when they work from home and with no direct supervision from their managers, it was difficult to understand the productivity of the employees.

Remote work was a rare concept a decade ago and many of the organisation were not even aware of or did not have provisions to proceed with it. Working from home was a luxury and could be availed only special scenarios to accommodate specific needs. With the advancement of teleconferencing and telework technology, there are many businesses that thrive with completely remote teams. Due to this many businesses are thinking of reformulating their business strategies. Businesses are looking to tap into latest technology to enjoy optimum advantage. The main focus here should identify the issues with regular working from office that might not be benefiting business in terms of overhead cost, work-life balance and then determining how technology can be used to enhance profits. Digital solutions will open the doors that were rarely used in businesses previously.

How effective is remote work

Remote work has led to the unconventional belief that working remotely will cause a loss of productivity. The common question was how productive and efficient an employee can be when they are not under the constant supervision of co-workers and managers. For this there had been many studies and interestingly, studies showed that remote workers are actually more productive that their office going counterparts. The statistics from the studies encouraged employees and employers to implement remote work program and with correct implementation, remote work increases employee satisfaction.

Evolution of remote work

Due to the non-existence of the technology required for remote work, it wasn’t even a possibility some time ago. If your colleagues and manager wanted to get in touch with you when you were out of the office, they could not email, text, or direct message you. For this, you would’ve needed to provide alternate number, pager, etc to have work related conversations.

The most helpful technology for seamless remote work is video conferencing. Live video helps remote workers see and speak to one another in real-time, remotely with an internet connection and this exactly seems like having face-to-face meeting. This also became possible with widespread of broadband internet across the globe.

This advancement of technology happened so quickly that many companies have done away with traditional office spaces and have started using co-working spaces to accommodate largely remote workforce.

How to do remote recruitment

Remote recruitment or virtual recruitment is a process that businesses use to source, pre-screen, interview, and onboard new employees on a completely remote basis, with all remote tools and methods. In remote recruitment, virtual meeting software such as Skype, Zoom, Teams, Google Meet allows face-to-face meetings which give experience of in-person meeting. Even onboarding can be completed remotely with the utilization of virtual documents review and e-signature for new hire paperwork.

Also, the technologies, such as applicant tracking system (ATS) and client relationship management systems (CRM) allows all the processes and information to be stored in a singular location. These implementations allow co-ordination on a global scale.

How to manage remote staff effectively

A solid plan and effective communication between the employer and employees can bridge the gaps in remote working and overcome the obstacles. An important thing to remember is that a one-size-fits-all plan does not work for all businesses, but with the following guidelines, we are sure that managing remote staff would not be as challenging as you might think.

1. Treat all employees as individuals and do not define them basis whether they work from office or remotely.
2. Communicate frequently and extensively to understand the employees.
3. Trust is the biggest asset when it comes to building relationship between business and employees. Businesses need to have the trust your remote staff is up to the task.

Advantages of remote work

Below are few benefits that employers and employees both can enjoy while getting the work done.

1. Advantages for employers

• Overhead expenses reduce significantly.
• Productivity increases.
• Less turnover.
• Hiring can be done across the globe.

2. Advantages for employees

• Save time and cost on commuting.
• Increase in autonomy.
• Work-life balance and employees can actually look after their health.

The takeaway is that organization should go with the flow and can work on improving their remote work policies and capabilities. In case, you are concerned about productivity, always create KPIs for both management and employees. This way, both the parties are aware of their responsibilities, expectations and their performances.