Important Steps When Making Your Company Fully Remote
Working remotely improves many employees’ work-life balances and has been shown to improve production and efficiency for many businesses. For companies that have never been fully remote and are making the switch, knowing where to start with such a big change can be challenging. This article will discuss the important steps when making your company fully remote to help you create an atmosphere of flexibility and balance.
Communicate
As soon as your company decides to go fully remote, get the employees involved. They should know what’s coming up and have plenty of time to prepare for the change. Schedule meetings to discuss feelings and opinions, and reassure employees that remote work is a great benefit for everyone.
Have a System in Place
Employees won’t feel comfortable if you don’t have a system in place to make switching to remote work go smoothly. As the manager, taking care of employees’ needs looks different when everyone is remote. Before making the change, have a clear understanding of what systems will be in place during the transition and going forward as the company continues to work remotely.
Create Policies and Assign Roles
Roles may change a bit, and new roles are often necessary for a fully remote workplace. Assign those roles and then, as a team, construct your policies for remote workers. How flexible are the schedules? Will employees be clocking in and out? Are timelines for tasks changing or staying the same? These are some of the questions your employees will have.
Training
Even employees who’ve been with the company for a while need training when switching to fully remote work. Before everything changes, hold some helpful training sessions to introduce remote work. Then once it’s in full swing, some virtual training will be helpful as well.
Goals and Follow-Up
Set goals, both short-term and long-term, as you all begin the remote journey. Select time periods—daily, weekly, and monthly—to follow up with employees and see how things are going or if they’re reaching their goals. Every employee should have someone who holds them accountable and whom they can turn to with questions and concerns.
Keep the Culture
Your company has a certain culture, and your employees stay because they appreciate it and feel they belong. Remote work doesn’t change that. The culture can continue with some creativity and effort. Social events are still beneficial, as are daily check-ins just to say “hi” and see how everyone is doing. Use technology to your advantage to stay in touch.
As you can see, there are several important steps when making your company fully remote. As you implement each one, your employees will gain confidence that working remotely is the best choice for themselves and the company.
