If there’s one good thing that came out of the pandemic, it’s that we now know that remote work is the future. It’s easy to see why: it gives us freedom and flexibility, saves time and money on commuting, and helps us achieve a better work-life balance. Not everyone prefers remote work, but the ability to work remotely is becoming a common requirement for many job-seekers.
Remote work has plenty of advantages for businesses as well. It lowers your overhead, increases staff productivity, and helps you retain and recruit employees. If you’re thinking about offering remote work, here are some tips that will make this shift easier to implement.
1. Create an Intentional Culture
In an in-person office, company culture is easy to establish. Looking for a “fun” vibe? Get a ping-pong table for the break room. Want to focus on self-care? Have daily yoga classes!
You can create a strong culture in a remote work environment as well, but you need to be intentional about it. Think about what makes your company culture unique, then come up with ways to celebrate it remotely. If you’re serious about proactively nurturing your remote culture day in and day out, you can build a positive experience throughout the employee lifecycle.
2. Take Advantage of New Tech
One of the main advantages of remote work is the abundance of useful tech. By now, we all know about Zoom, but there are many other tools that can help your remote business:
- Slack: Think of Slack as the control room that allows your team to work asynchronously. It can keep communications channels open across different time zones and work schedules.
- Google Workspace: This is a virtual document system that allows your team to work on the same document in real-time. It allows for comments, suggestions, and other useful features.
- Buffer: Buffer allows you to execute your social media strategy as efficiently as possible. It allows you to schedule posts ahead of time, work as a team asynchronously, and more.
3. Trust Your Teams to Succeed
Trust has always been a key component of company culture, but it’s even more important in a remote work environment. Without trust, it’s hard to achieve true productivity.
The best way to show your team that you trust them is to set clear expectations and leave them to manage their own schedules. As long as you allow employees to work in a way that suits them, they’ll feel empowered to prioritize the tasks they’re given. Once this method starts leading to achieving business goals, your trust in your employees will increase as well!