How to Make a Work From Home Strategy Work for Your Business

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the number of remote employees has increased from 7% to a whopping 66%. Even before the pandemic, many companies were beginning to improve their work-from-home strategy due to the increase of demands from their employees.  

Remote work has become the new norm in the job force, and to have a healthy relationship between employers and remote employees, there needs to be an efficient work from home strategy. In fact, Twitter has recently told its staff can work from home “forever” if they wish.  

However, how can you ensure your business and employees perform efficiently while working from home?   

We’ve created this article to help answer those exact questions. Keep on reading to learn more about creating an efficient work-from-home strategy so that your business and employees are productive, well, and successful.  

1. Check In on Your Team  

While initiating your new work from home strategy, it can be nerve-wracking to think that your employees may lose their motivation while working from home. According to research, over 90% of employees claim that acknowledgment and recognition motivate them to work harder. The more you acknowledge your employees, the harder their work ethic will be.  

If you are the employer, you must come up with numerous ways to give recognition to each of your employees if you know that their performance hasn’t decreased. This helps them from feeling like they ‘slipped through the cracks’ while going remotely.   

2. Encourage a Functional Workplace  

According to a recent study done by the US Census Bureau, and Google trends, remote jobs and work completed outside of the office are on the rise.   

A functional workplace, whether at home or in the office, is key to high productivity. As an employer, it isn’t easy to fully trust if your employees are going to be able to maintain their productivity while working from home.   

To help your team create an outline on how to set up a functional workplace. Encourage them to work in a space away from the rest of the family, have plenty of natural light, and set it up ergonomically for their posture.  

3. Make Breaks Mandatory  

Employees that take breaks have overall higher job satisfaction than those who tend to skip their breaks. Studies and research show that taking more breaks helps accomplish more tasks. Breaks are essential for assisting the employees to de-stress and reset their minds to tackle their work projects again. Nearly 20% of employees feel that taking their required breaks will make them look like they are not working hard enough for their employers.   

By initiating a mandatory break time for your staff, you are showing them that you care about their mental well-being, which is especially crucial during this challenging transition time.   

4. Strengthen Communication  

Being able to stay in touch with your employees during this time is crucial for your business. Many business owners have struggled with the concept of staying in touch when their employees are not physically in the office.   

By using the right communication platform, you can keep communication flowing continuously. Doing so allows your team to stay in touch with one another uninterruptedly, while the team leader makes sure the deadlines are met. Such tools as Preparis can send a “checking-in” note as a text message or an email to a specific group of people based on their department or location. The note can simply ask to reply “1” if an employee plans to conduct work as usual, or “2” if there’s been a change of plans.  

There are many different business communication platforms, such as Zoom, that enable your team to see each other face to face and have a fully productive meeting without needing to be there physically.  

5. Be Open For Feedback  

As you and your team develop a work From Home Strategy, you must remain open for feedback and criticism. Because you have opened room for communication with your employees, you need to let them know that feedback is welcome.  

This helps your employees to see you as more of a leader than a boss and creates a more comfortable working environment.  

6. Create Working Hours  

If your workspace had set working hours such as 9-5, ask your staff if they would like to keep the same routine as this helps everyone to be available at the same time for communication.   

You can begin the day with a conference call to set the tone for the day and initiate communication. This is a perfect time to delegate tasks and see where everyone is in terms of well-being and productivity.   

If your staff is having a hard time making the same hours of work, offer flexible hours. This is a major time of transition, especially for those who have children at home with them. Work with everyone on an individual basis and allow them to show up when they can make it possible.  

Learn More About Creating a Work From Home Strategy That Works  

Creating a work from home strategy is all about testing to see what works for your business and what doesn’t. Each strategy depends on the type of business you have, the amount of communication you need, and your employee’s needs.  

If you would like to learn more about creating new strategies to keep your business alive during this time, feel free to reach out to us, and we would be happy to help you.