Many companies today are increasing their adoption of remote working strategies, enjoying the operational benefits that come along with them. In order for you to take advantage of these benefits in your own operations, you need to be sure you have the tools needed to optimize remote work. Here, we’ll review what you need to make the most of your remote worker strategy.
#1: Communication and Collaboration Solutions
Let’s face facts… you’re going to have to be able to work with your remote workers in order to accomplish what needs to be done, so you need to make sure you have a solution that maintains open lines of communication between you and your staff. All of the solutions that a business should use to enable communications while in-house should also be leveraged by a remote workforce, including email, chat platforms, video conferencing, and Voice over Internet Protocol.
On top of that, your line of business apps and the everyday software your staff needs should be available to remote workers. A prime example of a necessary solution for your remote employees is a file sharing platform that allows your team to work side-by-side on documents and data… whether or not they’re actually side-by-side.
#2: Project Management Tools
Time management is one of the biggest challenges inherent in remote work, so giving your staff direction through project management software can help your remote workers stay on task, while keeping the team as a whole apprised of progress towards a shared goal. In this way, project management solutions can help your team more efficiently reach their objectives – while keeping all members more accountable for what they need to accomplish.
This can be a considerable benefit, especially if an employee is going from a structured office environment to the more laissez-faire arrangement that remote work provides. Looming deadlines, combined with a fluid schedule, have been known to increase work-related stress. A reliable project management solution can return some of the structure to a remote worker’s day, giving them the purpose, they need to accomplish their goals.
#3: Cybersecurity
Any of the benefits of remote work are rendered moot if this remote work leads to a breach or some other security incident. This means that your remote workforce needs to be equipped with the same cybersecurity measures that you should have protecting your business’ on-premise infrastructure.
As a result, you will want to be sure that you’re having your remote workers utilize multi-factor authentication measures, and that their solutions are equipped with fully up-to-date security software. In order to connect back to your business’ network resource, they should also be leveraging virtual private networks to fully ensure your business’ data remains secure while in transit.
In many ways, a password management system would also be classified as a cybersecurity need – especially where remote workers (and thereby, remote access) are involved.
#4: Time-Tracking Software
Finally, you need to make sure that your remote employees are spending their time effectively, as well as that you are properly reimbursing them for their time. There are many tools to help track how time is being spent while in the office, and these tools work equally as well for remote workers.
Whether you need to track how long a task took for billing and invoicing purposes, you’re trying to optimize your workflows, or you are simply ensuring that your team is being efficient and productive, understanding how time is spent during the workday is crucial. Implementing time-tracking software for remote workers can simplify payroll, allowing you to focus on other pressing business matters.
GeekBox IT can help you out, by introducing the solutions that will make your remote working strategy far simpler. To learn more about what we can accomplish for you, reach out to us at (336) 790-1000.