Things to Consider When Setting Up a Remote Office
Setting Up a Remote Office. Over the years, remote work has become a major part of many business’ continuity plans.
Unplanned events happen, like the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in a sudden halt of a number of activities including the regular office hours and working style.
Businesses who had long realized the importance of remote work found it a lot easier to adjust to the new normal when compared to those who didn’t.
Thankfully, setting up a remote office for workers can easily be done when you know the right things needed.
Here are 3 things to consider when setting up a remote office to ensure your business succeeds against all odds.
A Communication Channel
When preparing your team to work remotely, communication is very important.
With so many communication channels to pick from, it is imperative you pick one that is efficient and easy to set up depending on how lengthy your regular meetings will be.
You also have to consider how many team members you have as the restrictions across these channels tend to vary.
Effective communication is especially important when working remotely because it equally maintains the relationships away from the office and it is a great way to pass information across.
You can make communication more structured by fixing specific meeting times which could be at the start and end of each day’s working hours.
This ensures that you don’t go a day without staying in touch.
Ensure Team Members are Well Equipped
Equipping team members to work remotely may cost some extra bucks but it is worth it in the long run when income generation is not halted due to the inability to access the office.
Even especially now that the Covid-19 pandemic has reached the million mark worldwide.
The basic equipment required for an efficient remote office includes the most obvious things like computers/ laptops and webcams and the not so obvious tools like anti-virus and digital surveillance software that enable screen monitoring and productivity metrics.
Reliable Internet Connection
A reliable internet connection is not something to be compromised on but a must-have for every team member.
Consider a reliable internet connection as the engine which keeps your virtual team up and running.
Without good internet, you and your team will not be able to accomplish a lot of things.
So, when picking an internet provider, ensure their services are not just reliable but fast and secure.
Security matters here because depending on the type of work you do, you may be dealing with a lot of clients’ personal data and important information.
Having them leaked will have a lot of impact on your company’s integrity and rebuilding trust after such an occurrence can be quite difficult.
So, save yourself the trouble by not compromising on reliable and secure internet.
When setting up a remote office for team members, it is important to have it at the back of your mind that there are four major challenges that can impair your team’s success and they are; lack of interpersonal connection, internet connectivity, communication gaps and culture mismatch.
We have addressed ways to go around these challenges by providing the above tips to consider when preparing workers for remote work.
