Is remote working failing businesses?

As a result of COVID-19, countless businesses have been forced to implement a remote set up in response to government restrictions. While some are embracing this new way of working, many businesses say that their staff are struggling to remain productive and stay engaged.

Why are some succeeding and others barely surviving?

Why businesses are failing in a new remote setting

Having an inefficient work from home set up can be a major barrier to your business succeeding in a remote setting.

A lot of businesses sent staff home with a computer to complete their job as if they would in the office. What a lot of businesses failed to realise is, it’s not that easy.

Let’s break it down.

If you’ve never worked in a remote setting or never managed staff in a remote setting prior to COVID-19, then chances are you lack the knowledge required to make a remote set up successful. But don’t worry, you’re not alone

What is required to make a remote set up successful?

1. Access to resources and technology

   Do your staff have all necessary resources required for them to complete their job to an acceptable standard? This comes down to things like equipment, internet connection and speed, technology, software and any other materials they need to do their job. If your staff are restricted to what they can access in their home environment, their output will be dramatically impacted. If you’re worried about data security, lean on your IT team to secure your work from home security to ensure your data is protected. Here at Beepo, we implement our very own Beepo secure system and single sign on so that all passwords are protected.

2. Regular staff check ins and WIP meetings

   How often are you checking in with your staff? Are you conducting work-in-progress meetings? When working in a remote setting, it becomes absolutely crucial that you touch base with your staff on a weekly basis at minimum. Utilising project management tools like Monday or Asana, will also help you track deadlines and deliverables to ensure the productivity of your team and keep people accountable. At Beepo, we conduct weekly meetings via Zoom and keep track of our teams output using Monday.

3. Expectations and KPIs

   Do your staff know how they are going to be managed in a remote setting? Have you put KPIs in place? If your staff don’t know how they’re going to be managed then they have the potential to lose focus and become unmotivated. Your staff need to know what your expectations are during this time and how you are going to measure these expectations throughout.

4. Keeping your staff engaged

   How are you ensuring your staff are staying connected and engaged during this time? Considering they aren’t seeing their work colleagues every day, you can assume that they will begin to feel disengaged and unconnected. This is why it’s crucial for you to conduct virtual staff engagement activities to ensure the well-being of your staff. For example, since lockdowns here at Beepo, we’ve run virtual quizzes, karaoke, drawing competitions and a number of webinars.

There is a lot more to successful remote working then people realise.

If your staff are feeling unmotivated and disengaged chances are, your setup needs improving.

Tips on how to ensure your staff remain productive when working remotely

Managing remote staff can be challenging. It’s why we’ve created the following blog to help businesses manage their staff in new work from home set ups.