A lot has changed in the past 2 months for many companies. The move towards remote working was slow before the coronavirus but now companies were forced to take measures of implementing it.
More big tech companies in the Silicon Valley area are thinking giving employees the choice to continue their work at home. Today facebook joined Twitter in announcing that they will offer employees the option to work from home permanently. There have been studies that show the benefits of employees working from home such as it improves their overall productivity and can cut cost.
For the company to follow through in having success with employees here are 5 ways to improve working from home.
Establish Expectations from the Beginning
Make sure company rules and regulations are set from the beginning before having employees start working at home. Let them know the times that are of most importance so that they are committed to showing up virtually. Set meeting times, dress codes, goals and any other company policies that employees can read over to know what they are commuting to.
Keep Social Interactions
When employees are working at home have them keep an open communication with their team members. A lot of times employees will feel left out and isolated if they are not informed of anything. This can happen in the office as well but even more so when the employee is alone at home.
A way to keep employees communicating is to host a fun meeting time where everyone can come together to share a little about themselves. You can have questions that can reveal a little more about a person, similar to that of an ice breaker. Having these interactions develops trust among the team members and encourages them to work together.
Look at Results of Productivity Rather Then the Hours
To know if employees are actually working on what they need to view the results rather then the hours and time spent. If results are not going so smoothly, discuss with your employees about the lack of progress and what needs to be done to improve.
Eliminate Distractions
Encourage employees to eliminate distractions at home. It can be that their environment space is filled with distractions like tvs and books to even their own children. Make sure your employee has a designated space they can comfortably work from without affecting their task productivity.
Show Employees Your Appreciation
Keep employees feeling valued by not only showing appreciation with fun virtual celebration meetings but also sending them physical things. Gift cards and coupons to help make the employee continue to feel they are apart of the company even though they are working remotely.
At the end of the day both the company and employees must work together for a healthy interaction to make working from home enjoyable and productive.