The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been raging for more than ten months now. And this prevailing health situation has rewritten most of the traditional workplace habits. One of the most significant changes that everyone saw and every industry employed is the remote working setup.
The work from home setup, which was mostly practiced by small and start-up companies before the pandemic hit, had always been a controversial approach to office work and productivity. Many companies refused to practice this before, but as COVID-19 began wreaking havoc on various businesses, they caved in. Everyone now mostly works from home. Here are three essential practices that companies and business owners must do to ensure seamless work and office productivity.
Continued Training and Learnings
The most essential of the three, continued training and learnings, are mostly sidelined by many companies. Some bosses take for granted the benefits that training and continued learning bring to the office’s productivity.
Employee Engagement
These training and learnings do not only increase productivity. Still, they are also expected to make employees more engaged and motivated with their work. Take note that as employees improve themselves, their productivity and contributions to the company are also likely to increase.
Virtual Training and Learning
Given the current health situation and strict COVID-19 restrictions on mobility and gatherings, the emergence of virtual training and learning services are highly convenient. Many companies, including Interaction Associates, provide comprehensive training services. They streamline the facilitation of training by deploying online tools and guides to conflict resolution and brokering agreements.
The virtual training method, which follows restrictions on large gatherings, is also compliant with prevailing biosecurity measures. The setup has no direct interaction but has the effectiveness of face-to-face training or seminar.
Unimpeded IT and Technological Support
This practice is basically for those companies that remain adamant in adopting a work from home setup. These companies are probably either unable to ensure excellent IT and technical support or just plainly afraid to make the change. Cybersecurity, of course, should be the number one priority. And if the company finally decides to adopt a remote work setup, securing network connectivity is expected to be not too expensive or difficult to obtain compared to before.
- Administrative Restrictions
Placing administrative restrictions on remote equipment, such as laptops or desktops, is the first step in securing a work from home setup. This step will ensure that no data will be stolen or damaged, and the office equipment will be safe from any form of tampering. Ensuring these restrictions will also lessen the vulnerability of the office laptop or desktop from virus infections and other security breaches.
- Invest in Digitalization
Lastly, invest in digitalization. The future of business and office work is digital and at-home. This will reduce expenditures on office rent and electric bills and increase productivity and output. Various companies consider their turn to digitalization as their contribution to a more sustainable and greener environment. Carbon footprint is lessened by lesser commutes, lesser car use, and by the use of less to no paper.
Invest in Employee Improvement
Investment in employee improvement must be prioritized. Although the companies’ employees work from home, this does not mean that their responsibility to improve their human resources’ morale should stop. Boosting the morale of the workforce is essential in increasing productivity. Efforts to care for the employees also lessen “burnouts” in their ranks.
Remote work is a risky setup, particularly for companies that handle confidential and other sensitive data, and understandably not too popular for conservative business owners. But what is this risk as compared to the risk of losing your employees over COVID-19?
