There are many benefits to working remote or being a telecommuter. No commute, costs/time savings and work/life balance to list a few. This has often been a perk or benefit offered to attract and/or retain talent. But given our new situation, most are now being encouraged if not ordered to be 100% remote.

While the modern workplace and technology have enabled employees to be just as productive working remote as they would being in an office, for some it can be an adjustment. Employers need to have the right leadership skills for a modern workforce. Being able to communicate, delegate and trust employees to get their work done can sometimes challenging. The employees on the other hand need to be engaged, focused and committed to the requirements of the job and adapting those in a remote setting.  

One of the biggest challenges for employers/employees is to stay connected to their team. Everyone needs to communicate and collaborate. Without the proper infrastructure in place, it would be difficult to accomplish what needs to be done. We recently wrote about how companies can get up and running with Microsoft Teams quickly.

The following are some recommendations for employers and employees to stay connected and productive while remote:

• Schedules & Routines – create a daily/weekly schedule to provide structure. Maintain your daily routines (Ex: exercise, shower, breakfast before getting online at 8am) minus the commute.
• Stay in contact – Have weekly or daily team meetings. These can be done via Microsoft Teams with chat, phone calls, and video conferencing.
• Utilize the Cloud – Microsoft SharePoint, and Teams are great for sharing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
• Collaborate with coworkers – co-author Microsoft documents and utilize OneNote.
• Pick up the phone or webcam – E-mails, instant messages, and text messages are easy to misinterpret. A phone call or video call and help get people on the same page and feel connected.
• Provide feedback – It is important for employers and employees to offer encouragement and feedback on daily task and projects. Microsoft Teams is a great tool for one-to-one video calls.

These are just a few tips for employers and employees to stay connected and productive while working remote. Need to deploy new cloud tools to boost your remote workforce? Contact us below.