In England, government guidance is currently ‘you should work from home if you can’. Creating a positive remote working environment is imperative for your business’ success. This guidance is likely to continue into the new year and beyond. So, creating a happy remote working culture now will set you up for a great start to 2022. Here are just a few tips for creating a happy, positive remote working environment…
5 Tips For Creating A Positive Remote Working Environment
01. Create regular communication channels
Communication is crucial for good workflow. When in the office, regularly discussing a project is simple and can be done face-to-face. However, with remote working, getting up and walking over to someone’s desk to discuss a problem isn’t so simple. Creating the opportunity for regular communication enables people to collaborate more quickly and effectively. Whether it be allocated daily meetings and catch ups, or dedicated tools for communication, create a simple way for people to stay connected. For example, here at Yo, we use Slack. This is our tool for our internal communication both within teams and the entire company as a whole.
02. Encourage social interaction
Humans are social creatures. Remote working has many pros. But, for many people, the biggest con is the lack of interaction with colleagues. There are no lunchtime conversations in the kitchen or chats whilst making coffee in the morning. Encourage your team to have more informal chats at the start of meetings. Alternatively, create virtual break rooms where people can talk and be sociable with one another. A team bond can be harder to maintain with people working from various locations, so encouraging social interaction can help with camaraderie, and staff happiness more generally.
03. Provide all tools and equipment needed
It may sound obvious, but providing all of the tools that your team needs to work effectively from home is essential. Whilst some of your team might already have all of the equipment they need, others might need additional things to help them get started. Those that don’t have room to take their office PC and phone home might find a laptop and a headset is a better solution for them. Here at Yo, we can provide your business with laptops, headsets, softphones and business mobiles to help your team work effectively when out of the office.
04. Set boundaries
When people don’t have to physically leave the office to go home, creating a work/life balance can become more difficult. Particularly during those busier times of the year. One way to help foster a good remote working culture is by setting boundaries. Ask team members only to work within their set hours. When work needs to be done outside of this, make alternative working arrangements. If your team are using their personal devices for work, encourage them to turn off work notifications outside of their contracted hours.
05. Show appreciation and recognition
Keep morale and motivation high within your team by shouting out all of the good work that your team is doing. As people don’t see each other every day, good pieces of work and successes can often get missed. Not only that, isolated from the rest of the team it’s important to remind each person how crucial their role is to the company. Create a weekly bulletin full of employee recognition or schedule a monthly meeting to discuss all the great things being produced.
Whether a temporary set-up or a permanent fixture, a positive environment is crucial for successful remote working. If your business is in need of any remote working equipment including laptops, softphones, business mobiles or headsets, just enter your details in the form below and one of the team will be in touch!
