As the world has experienced various benefits of working out-of-office during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder that multiple companies are still looking to transform their operations and leave the mundane offices behind.
Such changes bring various benefits, such as decreased business costs, since you’ll no longer need an office and can save on multiple office-connected bills.
However, the change isn’t without its side effects, and many remote companies are struggling to keep their office-like productivity levels with out-of-office teams.
That’s why we’ve created a short guide and included the five most effective tips for regaining that productivity and achieving effectiveness with remote work. Here’s what they are.
Improve Communication
The first and most obvious aspect of business that’ll suffer as you move out of the office is communication. Keeping it as it was in the office is impossible, but there undoubtedly are many ways in which you can work on it.
First of all, there are hundreds of business platforms that you can use as a company. These tools can increase communication, improve collaboration, and bring other benefits, such as quick file-sharing, faster-than-email responses, and effortless project management.
Moreover, such tools can also improve your company’s project documentation and allow for regular check-ins, video meetings, and even team games and other fun activities.
Implement DevOps
Another essential factor, which can also increase your team’s communication and collaboration, is DevOps. Namely, DevOps, a mix of development and operations, unifies these departments with others throughout your company, such as IT.
Training and ensuring your remote employees are skilled with integration, deployment, and automation, and experienced with JFrog or similar DevOps platforms, can go a long way in boosting your company’s productivity and effectiveness.
Moreover, it can be a step towards better communication since such platforms encourage and require collaboration and teamwork while bringing various benefits to the company’s table, such as reduced costs, higher-quality products, happy customers, higher profits, etc.
Invest in Remote Offices
Although you’ll save massive amounts of money because you no longer need an office for your employees, that doesn’t mean you should stop investing in them. Remote offices are still offices, and they’re essential to your company’s productivity and efficiency.
Of course, there’s no law forcing you to purchase ergonomic desks, chairs, or other equipment for your remote employees, but it doesn’t mean you should completely negate this aspect.
Namely, various remote companies invest in laptops for their employees, increasing their productivity and ensuring they stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and tools.
Moreover, investing in your employee’s remote offices can boost their loyalty, providing you with a team of people willing to work harder and work better, which can be a massive benefit to the company.
Create a Work-Life Balance
Even if you can’t control how your remote employees function outside the office, that doesn’t mean it has to be a rule-less business where everyone can do as they please. You should establish proper behavior codes and regular shifts and ensure your remote employees function like they would in an office setting.
Moreover, one of your requirements can involve a dedicated workspace where employees won’t be bothered during working hours. Although it seems impossible to regulate it, you’ll undoubtedly notice such disruptions during regular video meetings, which should be a part of the remote team routine.
A proper balance goes both ways and ensuring your employees don’t spend too much time behind a computer can be incredibly beneficial in the long run. That’s why you should implement various virtual breaks that mimic the ones you’d have in an office, which brings us to our following point.
Do Team-Building
Regardless of how often your team of employees sees each other, there’s a constant need for good relationships between them, and one of the best ways of achieving it is with various team-building activities.
Choosing the activity might seem like the most challenging part, but getting all your employees and organizing everything will prove even more difficult. Nevertheless, a company should still invest time and effort in these activities, as a communicative team of well-synchronized individuals can massively boost the business’s success.
Even if it seems costly and complex to organize such events, they should be a regular team for your remote employees, as they’re often one of the only chances for some of these workers to get out, wind down, and relax, which, although not your concern as the boss, can boost your productivity and increase your profits in the long run.
Fostering Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
Fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within remote teams is crucial for maximizing productivity and achieving successful outcomes.
Creating a culture that values and promotes collaboration starts with establishing open and transparent communication channels, such as chat platforms and video conferences, where team members can freely exchange ideas and information.
Encouraging regular virtual meetings, brainstorming sessions, and team-building activities helps foster a sense of camaraderie and trust among remote team members.
Additionally, implementing knowledge-sharing practices, such as creating shared repositories, organizing virtual workshops, and promoting cross-functional collaboration, enables team members to leverage each other’s expertise and learn from one another.
By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, remote teams can unlock their full potential and drive innovation.
Conclusion
As many companies are moving towards remote offices and outsourcing, a business’s productivity, efficiency, and morale can suffer. Controlling such workers and keeping the company successful and profitable can be a challenging task in such a case.
However, it’s not impossible, and with these five efficient tips, which include proper communication between teams, DevOps departments, work-life balance, well-equipped remote offices, and team-building activities, companies can increase their chances of succeeding.
Implementing such techniques and investing in these aspects can ensure your remote team’s productivity, efficiency, and loyalty and boost your company’s effectiveness and profits.
