by Haris Quintana
We’re fast approaching the end of 2020 and, for many of us, the way that we run our businesses has changed more this year than ever before. Most of our companies were thrown out of routine by the emergence of coronavirus back in March and, since, we’ve had to adapt to running things in a way that minimises contact between people - whether those people are employees, customers or anyone else. It’s not all too surprising, that the number of remote workforces around the world has skyrocketed. Remote working is reigning supreme at the moment, as it ensures that your workforce don’t have to come into face to face contact with anyone other than those they live with. But managing a remote workforce has posed its own set of unique challenges. A key challenge? Keeping your workers happy. Sure, remote working comes with its perks for employees - no commuting, more comfortable lunch breaks and a shorter working day - but other aspects of remote working are proving challenging. You need to maintain your workforce to keep things ticking over and to minimise recruitment costs. Here are a few tips that can help you to achieve this!
Survey Your Workforce
Often, employee discontent is kept quiet. People don’t want to come across as unprofessional or negative by loudly voicing gripes, concerns or disappointments with their work. But it really is important to know whether your staff are happy or not and - if not - what is causing issues. Otherwise, how will you be able to put things right? You need to identify problems to resolve them and an easy way to achieve this is to encourage employee engagement with staff satisfaction surveys. Often, it’s best for these surveys to be kept anonymous. This will give people more confidence in giving honest feedback.
Ensure Everyone Knows What They’re Doing
Working from home limits communication. Sure, you can hold video meetings and conferences. But think how much staff confer with one another through brief chats and conversations in the office each day. When staff can’t have these small conversations, some members can begin to feel lost. So, make it a priority to ensure that every staff member knows what they’re doing. This will make people feel more comfortable and will reduce conflict between managers and other staff if work doesn’t get completed on time due to miscommunication. Setting KPIs and targets is a good place to start. This will ensure everyone knows what they need to achieve and when it needs to be achieved by.
Be Understanding
Times are hard for most people right now. Different guidelines and measures are leaving many in trouble in regards to childcare or care of other vulnerable family members or friends. Try to be flexible with working hours to ensure everyone can operate without having to leave to manage their home lives.
These are just a few suggestions that should help to keep your remote workforce as happy as possible right now. Organisation, communication and flexibility are key right now!
