Here are some simple ways to enable your team to thrive while working remotely

Remote work used to be defined as working outside the traditional office environment, typically given as a perk of employment or to enable companies to hire outside their borders. This is now on the rise for obvious reasons but it has also given us great insight into the dilemmas facing remote workers – I know when I first started one of my first technology jobs more than a decade ago that allowed me to work remotely the consensus was that you had to work 200% harder than your in-office counterparts to get the benefit of the doubt on the same workload they had – the perception was that it was easier to slip into Netflix, or even just cleaning the house because you’re home given your manager wasn’t there to make sure you were on-task.

Luckily, things have changed for the better – there are thousands of amazing tools available to us to bridge the gap between the remote and office employees bringing everyone together again. Given all that has happened in the last year, there’s fairly strong evidence that remote work now benefits companies both financially and productively – providing you have the right tools at your disposal. Here are some of the key observations we and a number of others in the communications industry have noticed:

1. Done effectively, it can actually result in happier and more productive employees! Working from home has shown to provide employees a reduction in stress levels, and the lack of commute makes it easier to maintain a positive work-life balance.

2. Employment overhead tends to drop significantly when the necessity of keeping a common workspace around declines, and your employees will save on their commute.

3. The Wall Street Journal found that companies that allowed remote working at least 3 times a month were more likely to report revenue growth across a 12 month period.

4. Remote working forms a key element of your business’ emotional salary. Around 80% of U.S workers say they would turn down a job that didn’t offer remote working which is an enormous shift from the office-centric mindset we’ve seen as recently as 5 years ago.

The bottom line: don’t underestimate its sway on applicants during the recruitment process, and the benefits it can provide your existing workforce.

The success of your company’s transition to remote working in part or whole lies in the tools you have at your disposal and a provider capable of rolling these tools out to your organization quickly and efficiently, we’ve found the key to success in this area includes:

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1. A browser-based communications console to guarantee interoperability with any operating system. Our system enables you to access your company phonebook,  conferencing system, and collaboration tools wherever you are – all you need is an internet connection.
2. Video conferencing, so you can maintain those essential face-to-face interactions that keep us connected; you can also share files, create polls, collaborate on a whiteboard, and create classroom-style webinars to communicate with a large group of your clients together while maintaining their privacy as well as recording the session for later reference or distribution.
3. Live chat – if you are a customer-facing organization we know business doesn’t stop when you’re out of the office. With our live-chat plugin, you can let customers ask you or a group of employees a question from your website during office hours. Chats can be accessed via the web client or mobile app so there is no need for you to log in to a myriad of platforms from your home office.
4. 5. Mobile accessibility – Mobile phone usage has skyrocketed in the last year, so it is important that for those who need to work whilst on the move have a reliable method of communicating with those back at the office – we offer both iOS and Android apps at no extra cost so employees can call, chat, and video call using their office extension while on the road; perfect for sales reps or those with physically active roles who aren’t always at home.

If you’re ready to take the leap into remote enablement give us a call!

Call Us: 844-777-8888

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