Best Practices You Can Incorporate for Effective Remote Working

A lot of companies have started to shift to having their employees comply with a remote working setup. Apart from having to enjoy the benefits of this setup for both parties, the rise of digital and cloud technology have developed several useful communication and collaboration tools that employees can utilize. These, in fact, made everyone’s lives easier. And given that more and more industries have eventually embraced the digital nomad lifestyle, it is still important to integrate effective practices to make the most out of the workforce in remote staff.

Remote Working Setup

A remote working setup is essentially the practice of working from any location instead of a physical office location. This structure practically allows employees to work at their own homes, at coffee shops, or any place convenient for them. It gives employees the flexibility to do their job and stay productive, while still being connected to the entire team.

This setup enables staff to work at the comfort of their own homes. However, this does not mean that they are free to do whatever they want. Business owners, leaders, and managers must rethink and reconsider some of the old ways of doing things and change them. This will enable them to carry off a more efficient workforce. Especially when they are used to working physically at the office itself. From team meetings and collaborations, to performance management and schedules, remote work has been evidently presenting the differences, and how it is a more plausible structure for working.

Remote working is not actually new, particularly for people who are outsourced by companies abroad. But despite this fact, a lot of employees are still figuring out how to effectively increase their overall productivity with this setup. They are even finding it hard to adjust in this state. In fact, the companies are also struggling at making remote work as well. But then, applying and integrating best practices will guarantee that both the companies and employees will effectively overcome the challenges of this kind of setup. This can result to a healthy, happy, and productive environment for both the managers and the team. And while incorporating best practices for remote working, they must develop a strategy focusing on four key areas — productivity, wellbeing, performance, and connectedness.

Prioritize Communication

One of the common struggles that employees in a remote working setup experience would be miscommunication within the team. Given that you are not working together in an office setting, it is a challenge to actually collaborate in person and socialize with the team. And while it is true that communicating with your team while working remotely can never be the same as that of working in-office, it does not mean that you will not be able to communicate effectively with your co-workers. There are a lot of ways and solutions to incorporate for everyone to be aligned. Ways to avoid and prevent miscommunications between the team.

Because of the digital and technological advancements that were developed, there are several tools, applications, and channels that remote teams can utilize. Decide on what channel your team would use moving forward. This will make you all be aligned without having to incur mistakes and confusions on certain tasks and responsibilities. This will lead you and your team to effectively collaborate, making use of the leading communication tools such as messaging and chat applications, video conferencing tools, and other software.

Frequent communication within the team is effective to help everyone stay on the same page. It is done while having to build better communications and relationships overall. Connect with your fellow employees, and you might not realize that you are having a productive day. You might even feel happier while working. And though you work alone, the feeling of connectedness with one another will help you enjoy the work you do. After all, the success of a remote team really is dependent on the degree as to how they will be able to communicate productively.

Set Healthy Work and Life Boundaries

As employees begin working in a remote working setup, boundaries might blur between work and personal life. The work and the home and life environment has a high tendency of merging into one entity. Given that employees can easily access and open their laptops, be on screen to respond to work emails and messages, and eventually accomplish tasks outside of working hours, it seems to be an unhealthy lifestyle that must be avoided at all costs. Instances like this actually is a common issue for most staff. This situation puts them at risk for extra stress, and even burnout as well.

Effective practices like limiting hours of availability, encouraging self-care, building wellness into team activities, and requiring regular breaks from the screen, can help keep employees happy and well. With these ways, employees can appreciate healthy boundaries set at work.

And you, as a remote worker, need to create boundaries yourself that will help you separate work from regular life. Unplug and disconnect from anything related to work once your day is done. In this way you will not work from sunup to sundown.

Experiment With What Makes You Productive

Being productive is not as easy as you think, especially if you are working remotely at home. Working from home has high possibilities to distract you from work. It tends to lose your focus on the responsibilities you have to accomplish.

An effective solution for this would be to experiment in finding the best way that you work. Give yourself the opportunity to try several practices. Try multiple productivity tools in making your remote life easier. This includes creating a working space for you to be able to focus more well. Avoiding scrolling through your phone during work hours. And plan what you have to do for the whole day. On top of that, factors like the temperature of your workspace, your computer and audio setup, the comfort level of your chair, and the desk you are using can affect the overall productivity levels you have while working. This shows that how productive you can be at work certainly depends on your own preference. On how it will make you feel comfortable while working.

Key Takeaway

Establishing proper and effective practices while in a remote working setup is key for a company to run smoothly. This will also ensure that the employees are working productively while accomplishing tasks on time. Having to prioritize communication and setting healthy work and life balance are also essential. This, then, keeps employees to always be at their peak with working on their responsibilities without having to experience stress and burnouts. Furthermore, experts believe that remote work is actually the future of the modern world. Thus, both the companies and employees must have to embrace them, and get used to the proper ways of efficient working.