16% of companies in the world are fully remote. Many employees believe that remote work gives them a better work-life balance. Remote work is done remotely, like an employee’s home, library or shared workspace. The most significant reason employees prefer this type of work is that they experience less stress and their productivity increases. Remote work solutions enable companies to achieve successful remote working environments. These solutions include reliable internet connections, good collaboration platforms, secure access to files, cyber security and cloud-based solutions. The right tools help make work-from-home effective and increase the efficiency of the employees.
How to get the best from remote work
Communication
While working remotely, people don’t get an opportunity to communicate in person with each other. But they need ways to communicate clearly and effectively. Effective communication is the pillar of success. It is done in several ways, like team meetings, video conferencing, emails, messaging and virtual communication tools.
Clear expectations
Clarifying the details of work can eliminate frustration and confusion. And the efficiency of a team improves by keeping everyone aligned. Conflicts in the workplace are avoided through communication, recognition, workflows and setting goals and missions.
Healthy boundaries
When people work from home, the boundary between personal and work life blurs. Remote workers tend to work for longer hours than office workers. They experience additional stress and burnout. Employees require regular breaks, limited working hours and self-care to stay healthy physically and mentally.
How employees benefit from remote work
- Remote work boosts productivity. People spend less time travelling and more doing office work.
- Working from home has fewer distractions like small talk and office gossip, which reduce productivity.
- Remote work allows employees to have a flexible schedule. Morning people can start working early, and late owls can schedule their work for the night.
- Remote work keeps employees healthy and happy. It saves time, reduces stress and allows employees to spend more time with their families.
How do employers benefit from remote work?
- Remote work helps companies to reduce their operating costs. It saves money on rent, furniture, stationery, coffee, and other utilities.
- Remote work increases productivity and brings in more revenue to the organisation. Moreover, employees are less likely to take leave. Employees work extra hours and put extra effort into completing tasks.
- Working from home has increased employee engagement. Companies that allow people to work remotely have a 25% higher retention rate. Employees engage better, and the organisation spends less on recruiting new people.
Tools to help people work remotely
Document management tools help teams to collaborate, manage, track and share documents and files. It keeps all information in one place. Some tools allow real-time collaboration, which helps to keep teams under one virtual roof.
Healthy communication is essential for every remote team. Communication tools help people make voice calls and video calls and send messages. They help to reach the employees in real time and share information. Employees engage better and share their opinion by providing feedback.
Cloud storage apps help to access information from any device in a remote location. Sharing information is essential when remote teams need to collaborate. Information stored in cloud storage is available to all employees with the latest edits.
Security tools are essential tools for remote offices. Generally, employees store information on their laptops and smartphones. Online backups, encryption and passwords are needed to keep information safe and protect it from hackers.
Conclusion
Remote work solutions help organisations to get the best from their remote teams. Efficient remote tools benefit employees and employers, and a happy workplace increases revenue and keeps people satisfied.
Author : Kate Howard
