Healthy minds, healthier remote workers
It’s a strange new world that we’re living in, one in which the digitalisation of the traditional office is happening at a rapid rate. Many businesses are reaping the benefits of remote work in a society where going into the office no longer seems necessary (not to mention that it could present an array of health dangers).
It’s not all moonshine and roses, though. Some of the biggest challenges for businesses who have opted to experiment with remote work (or even implement it permanently) include managing productivity and cultivating corporate culture from a distance. There are, fortunately, a wide range of strategies that you can adopt to improve remote productivity while maintaining and growing a corporate culture.
Establish the basic productivity/communication tools
Using only email as a channel of communication in today’s corporate/commercial climate won’t cut it anymore. Encouraging better remote work relies on alternatives to the channels that make office-based work easy.
This means that you will need to make use of the following:
Project management tools – This provides an alternative to the standard to-do-list and constant check-ins about project progress. Not only are many of these tools great for online work, but we also find it difficult to believe that in-office work won’t benefit from such tools. If you can track the work being done by your employees, you can also be ready to jump in and help them if something seems amiss.
Instant messaging tools – You will need an alternative to turning your chair around and chatting to your colleagues, which makes instant messaging so attractive. Need to ask a quick-fire question to your used-to-be office neighbour? Just ping them a message.
Video calling applications – Out of the office you no longer possess the ease of access to a boardroom, which means that your meetings must be held virtually (no, not all meetings could have been an email). We are social creatures after all, so take advantage of the video functionality to ensure your employees don’t become faceless—that’s a big no-no for creating a strong company culture while working remotely.
Make sure to prioritise employee wellbeing
One thing that a worldwide pandemic has taught us is that remote work can be lonesome work. While many everyday workers have found their time away from an office-setting a lonely affair, it is hardly an unavoidable situation. There are a few ways in which you can improve your employees’ relationships towards one another—yes, we’re talking real interpersonal connection—and yourself even within a remote work setting:
Make check-ins a thing
One sure-fire way to protect against the onset of remote work isolationism is to check up on your employees without making it about work. Find out how they’re doing, what they’re reading, eating, listening to, enjoying, and what they feel anxious about. It is tempting to just let your employees continue their day-to-day activities with minimal contact, but there are better alternatives. Check-ins make your relationships personal and indicate that you care.
Go team-building
Once the pandemic subsides (and granted your remote workforce isn’t scattered across the globe) you might want to go run an obstacle course to encourage teamwork, but until then, it remains possible to do teamwork exercises and create a tangible company culture by digital means. Try your hands at a virtual escape room, play digital boardgames, host a trivia night. The possibilities are numerous and help your team become more comfortable with each other, reminding them that the people they work with are also worth getting to know.
Encourage productive spaces and productive mindsets
Take a moment right now to sit/stand up straight. Done? Puff up your chest ever so slightly. put your hands on your waist and put on a smile (even if you have to force it). Did you feel anything? A boost of confidence perhaps? Did your fake smile perhaps turn into a real one? There are a lot of psychological ‘life-hacks’ that can help you maintain a positive attitude. The same can be done to make remote work more welcoming for a productive mindset.
Encourage dedicated workspaces
Have you ever tried to commit to a whole day of working out of the bed? Was it a struggle to stay productive? Your environment has a massive effect on your levels of productivity. Make sure to encourage your staff to set aside a space specifically for work in their homes. If they can dedicate an entire room to work, there may even be tax-benefits for them if you encourage this practice. Speak to your tax adviser to see how it can be done and how you can help your staff out.
Dress for the job
It can be easy to get stuck in your pyjamas for the entire day if no-one is watching, but once again it does not have a positive psychological impact on your levels of productivity. Encourage your staff to dress appropriately for work and encourage good hygiene. These basic tasks can have a long-lasting impact on the mindset of your employees.
If you are able to implement all these tips and give your employees a feeling of satisfaction in their remote work while encouraging productivity, you stand in good stead to cultivate better people doing better work.
References
- https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/how-to-measure-employee-productivity
- https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/encouraging-productivity-for-remote-workers
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your financial adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)
2020 was an immensely difficult year. Because of the economic downturn in the country, it left a lot of businesses with insurmountable odds to make things work and so, many businesses have had to shut up shop. While this has been unfortunate for many business owners, it does present those who have been able to continue their business successfully with new opportunities and new questions to ask themselves.
Not least of these is knowing whether your business is scalable (even after a torrid economic year). In fact, scalability is often made possible because of economic downturn. Despite the disaster of 2020, it does look as though the economy will grow by quite a margin in 2021 (as is normal after a recession). There is no doubt that business will pick up and that businesses that have fallen away as a result of the pandemic have opened up space in the market, leaving clients ready to be picked up.
Here are some things to think about as you consider growing your business in 2021:
Scaling a business is an endeavour that should never be taken lightly, but should come as a result of good deliberation and forethought. That is to say that scaling for scaling’s sake is a risk that endangers all stakeholders in the business. Make sure that it is something you want to do and are ready for before taking the plunge.
The more opportunities you have to turn down shows that there is room for expanding your business in some way or another. You will have to evaluate what kind of opportunities it is that you are turning down – even if these are outside of the regular scope of your business. Is it perhaps an opportunity to bring in someone with greater superiority and experience in a related business activity? Is it time to increase the workforce with just one or two people to fill the gap? Are the opportunities you are turning down due to seasonal demand?
Note that there are many reasons why you might need to turn down an opportunity, but getting down to the root of the cause is the only way to determine what your next step should be (dissecting your finances is one way to assess your situation before you decide to proceed or not).
If you’re finding that your cashflow is strong but you are perhaps are unsure what to do next to take your business to the next level, a strategic financial review may do wonders to show you where you are over- and underspending. As soon as you are aware of the areas of your business where you can reasonably focus more attention (whether that is in infrastructure, staffing, product/service development, or somewhere else), you will be able give your energy to those aspects that lead to business growth. In order to make the most of this step, it is will be of great value to speak to your financial advisor.
One important consideration in and after a recession is that while there may be businesses that have closed, their customers will need to go somewhere to have their needs/wants met. This means that there is great value in rounding up the customers and clients who are looking for someone else to fill a gap that was created. Take time to find out who your target market is and how to reach them. Also, don’t be afraid to broaden your horizons: if the COVID-19 pandemic has proved anything, it is that new trends can form very quickly as people reprioritise their lives. The faster you move to engage with the lost consumers and clients, the more opportunity beckons your business’s growth.
If you do not have the necessary infrastructure in place (or if you cannot reasonably expand your infrastructure to increase your capacity), scaling can be extremely difficult, if not impossible. If you have assessed your available assets and resources and deem it to be a good foundation on which to expand your business, you may just have what it takes to increase your revenue by accessing a larger part of the market share in your industry.
Are you ready to assess your business and take the necessary steps to grow and take advantage of the gaps created due to the COVID-19 pandemic? If you do, the world may just be your oyster.
References:
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).