How can remote work get even better?

Believe it or not, there are some ways remote work can be even better for employers and employees.

Remote work is a tough act to follow up. What’s better than getting to stay home and work where you’re cosy, away from the chatter, distractions and annoyances of the office?

But, as popular and beloved as working from home is, it’s not perfect.

There are some ways businesses can make remote work even better for their staff and their bottom line, and a lot of it can be easily implemented too.

The key is in support tools. Seemingly minor things like software use, availability of support and training and even equipment can all make a huge difference for remote teams.

After all, having the right support makes just about everything better.

Here are 3 ways companies can provide that support.

 

1. Be proactive

Questions of neglect and isolation come up often when it comes to remote workers. It can be easy for businesses to just hire them and then leave them to their own devices — figuratively and literally.

But skipping out on follow-up support can leave employees feeling frustrated and alone. This is especially for new hires who may not be comfortable with their peers yet.

Frequent communication and preemptive prompting will make the difference here. Things like checking in to make sure teams are comfortable with tools or asking for feedback to find out if something’s not working out.

Being proactive will help give employees a way to get extra support without feeling self-conscious about it.

 

2. Provide work-ready tools

At the same token, providing both software and/or hardware that is ready for use is also a small but helpful way employers can make sure their staff are prepared to maximise output.

The easiest way to do this is by providing company equipment that already has all of the necessary software downloaded, configured and ready to go.

This means employees won’t have to spend hours downloading everything manually and trying to get the set-up just right — or possibly having to spend more time on tech support if something goes wrong.

Work-ready tools may be a bit more challenging if a company’s remote worker is using their own equipment, such as a laptop, and has to access everything manually.

But even in this case, businesses can help to make the process easier by following our next tip.

 

3. Have an easy plan

Having an easily accessible guide or repository that tells remote teams which tools they’ll need, where and how to access them and what to do if something doesn’t work will help make things that much better for staff.

If there’s a tech support team available, making sure remote workers can easily and quickly connect with them when needed is another easy and doable plan.

This all translates into more productivity for employers and remote workers who are more empowered to do their jobs well.

It also makes the entire remote work experience that much better for everyone.

Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.