Remote working has been an aspirational goal for many employees and workplaces, but there is often a sense of hesitation in making it a reality. Employers ask How will I know my team are actually working? What if they have an accident while working from home? What about our team culture and customer interaction?
COVID-19 pushed many people to quickly establish a way for employees to work from home. A significant amount of feedback about people’s new-found levels of productivity, uninterrupted time to focus, and a better balance for work and life meant that returning to the workplace left many asking if they could continue to work from home, even for a portion of the workweek.
Remote working requires a level of trust, and employees mostly value this trusting relationship. There is a common fear that those who are working from home might not be actually working because you can’t see them. Focus on the outputs produced rather than the time spent working and remember that even when at work employees aren’t necessarily working.
Benefits for the Employer
· Where people have a regular work-from-home agreement, you can provide a smaller office space for those in the office, reducing costs significantly.
· Attracting talented employees is easier when you have a regular working-from-home policy or practice. Make sure you advertise this fact!
· Retaining your staff if they value the benefit of working from home.
· Productivity should increase with decreased distractions in the workplace. One of my clients noticed a 20% increase in billable hours from their workforce.
· Engaged employees who feel trusted.
Benefits for the Employees
· Reduced costs for commuting and parking costs.
· Better work/life balance with less time to get to work, and availability for people delivering items or tradespeople, or hanging out the washing in a break. Enjoy that sleep-in or drop the kids to school rather than sitting in an hour of traffic!
· More ability to focus and deliver work, creating better job satisfaction.
Areas for consideration
Nature of the work: Consider the type of work your employees undertake, and whether this can be done remotely. What are the reasons they need to be in the office, and how often could this be achieved? They may need to be present for specific meetings or be customer-facing at certain times.
Environment: Do your employees have the right environment to work in? For example, will there be others at home (young children at home during work time, flat mates who are home, an older family member requiring care)? Do they have an appropriate office space or separate area to work?
Different roles: Yo not have to have a consistent policy that applies to all people in all roles, for example you may have some roles that require 100%office-based work, such as frontline customer service, whereas other roles such as your Finance team may be able to work from home 2 days per week. Don’t be concerned about not having a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Your people have different roles, and therefore their ability to work from home can also be different. Just make sure you aren’t applying special treatment for certain people. Be fair and have logical reasons for your decisions, and don’t forget to communicate these to your team.
Maintaining team culture and collaboration: One concern about working remotely can be engaging with the rest of the team, especially forming relationships with new employees. Having set times when everyone is in the office, or a whole team can be together is one way to address this concern. Ensure that during meetings that everyone who needs to be there is included, even via video. Make sure you ensure videos are always on during meetings, as this helps with connections between people. Having tools for collaboration like chat functions can help keep people connected. Having regular team events or get-togethers like a morning tea or Friday drinks can help the team maintain their bond.
Have the right tools and tech: Ensuring your employees can access your systems without significant delays in accessing documents, will ensure they are effective when working remotely. Make sure they have the tools to do the job at home. Provide any additional equipment they will need to do their work, such as a printer or webcam.
Privacy and security: This can pose a big risk to the employer, if documents or equipment are accessed by the wrong people, stolen, or lost. Ensure you have documentation outlining your expectations for document control, and that there is insurance that covers any equipment belonging to the employer. You may need to provide a secure drawer or cabinet to store documents or equipment.
Steps to take
1. Have a working-from-home policy and agreement: An agreement for regular remote working can help set expectations. Having a policy that covers all important aspects will help your people work within your guidelines.
2. Set clear expectations and be consistent: Discuss the hours they can work, e.g. can they start at 6am and is it ok to send emails to customers then? Let them know the hours or times of the day/week they must be available, e.g. for a team meeting.
3. Have a safety checklist: It’s important to ensure that the work environment is safe, this includes the remote office. Having a checklist that the employee can complete or you can assess helps manage any risk and avoid H&S incidents. This includes light, space, ventilation, cords etc.
4. Review how it’s working: Things can change, like people’s personal circumstances, your office location/space, work that is conducted etc. Setting aside a regular time like every 6 months to review how each person’s remote working situation is working, both for the employer and employee, is essential. Let your employee know that if you believe it is not working then you have the right to change their ability to work remotely.
Tip: Seek advice from Highline HR to assist you with setting up your work-from-home policy and your H&S checklist, as well as implementing this great new benefit to your workforce.
Nina offers a very professional service. She is knowledgeable in all aspects of HR and has been available to support through complex situation. Her support and availability has been invaluable both professionally and personally.
