best practiCes for remote working

Before the outbreak of Covid-19, many businesses may have been thinking of building a workforce with remote capabilities or investing in tools to help with more flexible working. In less than six months it's now not only a reality but now being considered by many companies part time or full time. Having best practice guidelines can give you structure and help you to enhance your remote team.

​Microsoft Teams announced a free of charge subscription at the start of the pandemic and that offer is going to come to an end in September. Businesses now need to think about installing a more permanent remote working solution for in and out of the office.
 
Managing a remote working team is different from having an office full of staff, but it can be just as or even more efficient. By using best practices, you can get the most from your team and promote a flexible hybrid working setup within your business.
 
This post shows best practices for remote working.

MANAGING A REMOTE TEAM
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​Follow these guidelines to successfully manage a remote workforce.
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• Engage with team members daily. Whether they're in or not in the office, doesn't mean they don't need some supervision or guidance. A daily morning web-meeting with the team can kick-start the working day together
• Make sure all the team are invited to events such as web-meetings and video training sessions. Making note whether attendance is mandatory.
• Staff can 'chat' to each other as they might do if they were sitting opposite in an office with embedded technology such as IM/chat with 3CX.
• Incorporating a unified communication solution in your business is fundamental to future proof your company in the new ways of remote working.

BEST PRACTICES FOR VIDEO/CONFERENCE CALLS

Video calls and web-meetings will be invaluable in business. They provide as close to face-to-face interaction as possible without being physically present. Your meetings can still establish more personal and trusting relationships, as well as a better understanding of conversations. They will also help to reduce decision-making time.

These points will ensure your video call or web meeting goes smoothly.

• Make sure you have good lighting, especially on your face. Avoid pointing the light at the laptop camera. Face the window for the best natural light.
• Make sure your web/laptop camera is facing you directly and not under your chin. Check your background is not cluttered as this could distract the other viewer on your call.
• Use headphones or a headset with a mouthpiece as this will deliver better sound quality on both ends. Minimise noise distractions with a sign to alert people around you, if necessary.
• Disable notifications on your laptop/computer and silence your mobile phone because you want to give your full attention to your call.
• Check your internet connectivity and optimise bandwidth. Stop other downloads or streaming services on the same internet connection. Also, close other unused computer programs or browser tabs that might be slowing your device or connection down.
• Do a test call to make sure everything looks and sounds good before you start your call. As well, it's a good idea to check your web-meeting settings.
• Prepare your notes and documents before your web-meeting. Any unnecessary notes or open documents could be distracting if you are screen sharing on your web-meeting.

BEST PRACTICES FOR REMOTE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Make sure that all your team have the correct tools that give them the ability to collaborate together on projects remotely. Shared cloud storage and a unified communication solution are critical for your business to work remotely.
• Make sure all team members understand the company jargon and know which communication channels to use. Using a mixture of channels such as WhatsApp and numerous emails can be unproductive and distracting for your team. Using a single Unified Business Communication Solution will result in more efficient use of your team’s time. It will also lessen the annoyance and disturbance of multiple channels.
• Web-meetings and video calls are better for communicating ideas across to ensure the goals of the project are understood. Also, each team members knows what role they will undertake.
• Keep your line of communication open and update your status on the presence board regularly. Make sure you inform your team and other remote workers on how they can reach you with any feedback or issues.​

BEST PRACTICE FOR SWITCHING TO HYBRID WORKING SET-UP

Utilising technology and collaboration tools will enable a smooth switch to a remote or office user and there are many benefits.  For example, where does your business phone number redirect to, if there is no-one in the office? Can team members use any device to work from if they're away from the office? Perhaps it's time to adapt to a hybrid remote working set-up with these best practice solutions.
 

• Choosing the right technology is first and foremost vital to a successful switch. The Technology Group specialise in unified communications and collaboration solutions. We can help you to switch and adapt to a remote office with ease, making sure your systems are right for you. We also provide full support with complete visibility throughout the process, during the install to offering 24/7 tech support post install.
• There is accessible visual team presence boards, where a team member can view each other and pick up the phone as though you were in the office. It can then be transferred to another colleague. This will give you the ability for your team to work as usual even if no one is in the office.
• Having and working with shared cloud storage and collaboration tools in the office allow the team to work remotely.
• A CRM (customer relationship management) system enables access for the team, viewed via a web-browser where the company can work from anywhere and any device.

CONCLUSION
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Keeping your remote workers happy and productive may be one of the most important things you do during these current times. Providing a flexible hybrid working setup amongst all your staff will help keep the whole team connected in or out of the office.Our experts can help whether you have an existing remote workforce and want to expand it, or are just thinking about it. We have the answers to any questions you may have.

Contact us to find out how we can install a Unified Communication solution allowing flexible and remote working to the highest levels possible, whilst maintaining great communication and culture in your teams. Now with the first 6 months free on new installations. 
 
Find out more about our services and solutions here.
​Contact us by calling our sales team on 0345 450 7444 or email info@technology-group.com