The past two months have contained lots of rapid change for a lot of business in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most prominent transitions is that of working from home instead of in the office. Many able businesses have introduced new remote processes and employees have established new ways of co-working. Adoption of remote working solutions is through the roof at the time of writing this; Microsoft Teams usage up by 12 million in the past week, hitting 44 million daily active users.
Following the government announcement on the 10th May, it looks like remote working is going to stay around for a little longer, maybe for the rest of 2020.
But it already seems that remote working is being embraced as the “new normal”. But the big question is, will things ever go back to the “old normal?” Or will normal mean something different when the COVID-19 pandemic is over?
Indeed, it looks like mass remote working is, in some capacity, here to stay.
AA president Edmund King says “anecdotal evidence from people lucky enough to be working during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown suggests that infrastructure funds might be better spent on broadband to support home working” and not on the HS2.
He also told BBC News: “Arguably in future, we should invest more in broadband because what this current crisis has shown us that the majority of companies can continue working from home, and it can be more efficient.”
THE ADVANTAGES
Remote working offers huge benefits to both companies and employees; reduced overheads, office rental cost and a more personalised work environment – to name a few. It’s likely that the use of hot-desk spaces and huddle rooms will increase, enabling employees to collaborate in person only when they really need to. Flexible working options like this offer opportunities for increased productivity backed up by a poll (The Independent) last year surveying employees who had flexibility in working time and location.
There are lots of strategies you can put in place to help your teams work productively from home. Things to consider include:
- How to provide supervision to staff
- How you will allocate tasks
- How to set clear goals, expectations and deadlines
- KPI changes to more outcome-based, and not activity-based
- How staff can access all the information (including highly sensitive) they need
- How to provide a support network so staff don’t feel isolated
- How to continue running meetings, huddles and catch-ups
- How to keep your data (crown jewels) secure
One system that can help you achieve all the above is Microsoft Teams. While many businesses have been using Teams within the office environment for years, the platform also offers major benefits when staff are working remotely. Do you want to deploy Teams more effectively within the business? continue reading Here
Whether you are for or against remote working long term, it is clear that the world has changed in light of the COVID-19 crisis. When the storm passes, “normal” won’t be the same as we knew it; even if the change is only in perspective on how to improve office spaces and work more flexibly
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