The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all the environments and has made all businesses change working conditions. Hundreds of companies were forced to switch to remote working and years later it has become the new normal and it isn’t inconvenient or strange anymore. Now some companies are still keeping their employees to work remotely, but are they working with the same productivity as they would do in the office?
With the new standards of the working environment there is still a question of employee productivity, so if you think about it, follow these four effective tips to improve your team’s productivity while working remotely.
1. Equip team properly
While working remotely, it’s essential to make sure that every employee has all the necessary tools and equipment to organize their work properly. Without the right tools, it would be difficult to succeed with daily tasks, especially while working remotely.
Provide your employees with all the necessary equipment, always check its technical condition and update it from time to time, if needed. The right equipment will increase the quality and speed of their tasks, therefore their productivity too. Besides that, investing in tools will also help the team keep in communication no matter their location.
2. Keep communicating within the team
Communication is key in every working environment. Maintain your presence on multiple platforms whenever someone approaches you via a given communication channel, be it best text messaging services or email for more detailed guidance on specific matters. Without proper internal communication, especially while working remotely, team members can’t be productive, as the work is connected to each other’s tasks. Also, communication is just a necessity to do the work properly without any mistakes or omissions.
Besides tasks, it’s also important to keep communications within the team about concerns, issues, questions, and other things to discuss together and find a solution. This will also help avoid any misunderstandings. So, team communication both working and on a personal level will only increase the productivity of employees.
3. Set relaxing hours
Remote work doesn’t mean working 24/7 without rest or breaks. Setting relaxing hours for remote working employees is so important, as they will separate the working and relaxing hours, will have time for personal things, and relax their brain and body. A relaxed brain works better so it will definitely improve productivity and increase motivation to work every day.
If your company has set precise business hours, you can also choose the time when you expect your employees to be available. However, if your employees are completing their tasks on a daily basis, allow them to relax and work when they will be the most productive.
4. Offer any kind of support
For many employees, remote work is happening for the first time and they can have some difficulties both related to work and also on an emotional level. Supporting your employees is a crucial part of a “healthy” and productive working environment. Your employees’ mental health and emotional condition will affect their productivity, so communicate with your employees, let them speak out, ask questions, and offer them emotional support if they need it.
Besides the emotional part, they would also have other concerns about work, not ending tasks on proper deadlines, not being clear about task purpose, so setting a friendly and open working environment will affect employee productivity. This is because they will feel their importance as a team member and also will always seek support from the team and managers.
Conclusion
Working remotely may seem challenging in terms of organizing work with the right equipment, management, and also emotional part, as the working environment is quite different and employees may be stressed or depressed about doing tasks right. So, the above tips will surely help you organize your remote work properly and not worry about employee productivity.
