While it might seem like the Covid-19 pandemic is slowing down in the United States, the effects will last for years to come. This includes how we run our businesses and our workplaces. When the pandemic hit, millions of staffers made the move to work remotely. This was a safe option to keep person-to-person contact to a minimum and prevent infections. However, even as the risk diminishes, many businesses have chosen to continue offering remote work options for their staff. For some, workers can still stay home full-time. For others, workers can work on a hybrid schedule that cuts down how often they have to go into the office.
While some companies may have gotten by for a year, if they continue to have remote workers they need appropriate software and technology solutions. Luckily, because of the proliferation of robot workers during Covid-19, there are more options than ever before to suit just about every need out there.
Meetings
With remote working, you can sometimes feel out of touch with the rest of your team. You can no longer have morning huddles or quick gatherings to get everyone up to speed and on the same page. However, with meeting technologies, you can not just have a version of your morning huddle, but you can do it over video chat. That means you can share your screen and notes for presentations or any videos or graphics as needed. During these meetings you need to improve voice quality and make sure you’re using a good camera for an overall great experience. Consider booking a meeting room at a flex space using coworking software to look more professional during your telecons. It is always better to see everyone’s facial expressions to reduce misunderstandings and talking over each other. These are both drawbacks of phone conference calls. Video conferences are simple and available on any device with a webcam, so you can have your team up and running right away.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging isn’t just for chatting with your friends. It can be a powerful tool to keep your team connected at all times. When working in an office, you can stop by your colleagues’ desks and quickly share a word or give an update. This isn’t possible when everyone is working off-site. However, with instant messaging technologies, you can quickly send off a message to your teammates to give them the information you need to spread.
Instant messaging services allow you to create private groups so that you can hold conversations within specific teams or departments. With the read receipt settings activated, you will always know who has seen every message that is sent, so you can be sure that everyone is up to date. It’s a quick and easy way to share thoughts, or even just for some light chit chat between co-workers.
VoIP Phone Services
Even when you are working remotely, you still want your customers to be able to reach your business. On top of that, you don’t want them to realize they are calling someone who might be sitting on their couch. With a VoIP phone service, you can make sure that connecting with your customers is seamless and easy, even when everyone is working remotely.
You can also have all of the functionality that you had at your office, such as active extensions, voicemails, and conference capabilities. The idea is to simulate an office environment for your staff and for your customers. With VoIP services you can do exactly that.
Cloud Storage and Sharing
Cloud storage is valuable whether you are in an office environment or separated from your team. It can make things more efficient and easier. When you have documents that need to be updated regularly, edited by several people, or require approval, cloud storage and sharing is crucial.
Whether you want to create documents using cloud services, or simply store already created documents, you can do it. Your documents can be downloaded by anyone with whom you share the link, or you can have a shared document that lives in the cloud and can be edited by the appropriate people, no matter where they are. You can opt for secure document sharing and collaboration services like ONLYOFFICE Workspace.
Project Management
When working remotely, it becomes more complicated to delegate tasks and manage projects. However, with a project management software solution you can make sure that everyone is on the same page and understands what is needed. As a manager, you can assign work, provide and receive updates, and set up due dates for everyone. This way, there will be no misunderstandings about responsibilities and timelines. You don’t need a big white board in a common area to keep everyone up to date. Everything can be stored and displayed in your project management tool.
It can often be the case that when working remotely, not all employees have access to the same resources due to what’s restricted in their part of the world. In such cases, geo-unblocking using a VPN can ensure that all employees have equal access to the same resources to complete a project.
Automated Processes
There are several business procedures that might require documents to move along from in-tray to in-tray in order to be processed. For obvious reasons, this becomes more complicated when nobody is working from their desk at the office. However, by automating these tasks, they will still get done even when everyone is separated. There are many solutions for automated business processes, including accounts payable and receivable, HR, and employee timekeeping. Approvals, signatures, data-entry, and more can all be handled automatically so that you will not be hindered by working remotely and everything can be done more efficiently. You can also use an employer of record service to hire and pay remote workers internationally.
Working remotely doesn’t mean that you have to lose your connection to the team. Everyone can be kept up to date and on the same page no matter where they are. The key is to use the right tools for your team that solve any communication gaps you might have. Use these suggestions as a guide and find solutions that work for you.
