It’s hard to deny the role COVID-19 has played as the main catalyst for remote work worldwide.
A global survey conducted by Gartner, Inc. found that 88% of business organizations around the world mandated or encouraged all their employees to work from home as the virus started to spread
Another study shows, 74% of companies plan to permanently shift to some type of remote work post COVID19, as seen with Facebook, Twitter, and Coinbase.
Yet, the desire for remote work is split down the middle, with 41% of people surveyed in a Gallup panel poll wanting to “return to working at your office as much as you did previously.”
Now as offices begin to re-open, it begs the question how successful was your remote work strategy in the first place?
Micromanagement, invasion of privacy and lack of trust are all traits for why remote frameworks fall apart.
Set clear expectations and proactively build trust. Some ways to do this include:
Relying too much on Zoom meetings, and a strict 9-5 schedule, can hurt productivity and motivation in the long run.
Develop strategies around asynchronous communication, and documentation to empower your team. Non-work events should be intentional and focused on meaningful relationship building. To avoid both extremes of isolation and Zoom fatigue, consider the following:
There are three critical components to being able to work remotely: A laptop, stable internet, and the ability to access documents. Overlooking the availability and security of any one of these three things will immediately hinder your team.
Create a comprehensive policy to ensure your team has all the necessary tools to do their job and understand security guidelines.
Here are some final things to keep in mind as you develop your post-COVID remote work strategy.
Despite your desire for an office return, or not, the shift brought on by the pandemic, means remote is here to stay (at least in some capacity). Now is the time to start re-evaluating, or creating, your own sustainable Remote Work Plan. What actions will you take to ensure your remote work plan succeeds?
Oyster is a distributed HR platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, hire, pay, manage, develop and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. It lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches or the expense.
Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.