As it’s now likely that many workplaces will face a shutdown in the coming months it’s essential to make provisions for your workforce to work remotely (if possible).
Set up a practice day
Ask all staff to trial working remotely to test that everything is working and that you can communicate and collaborate as a team. This will allow you to iron out any issues before the situation requires all staff to operate remotely.
Equip staff with the tools they need to work remotely at short notice
Encourage all staff to take equipment (i.e. phones, laptops) home at the end of each day so that they are able to work at short notice if required. Instill this as standard practice so that the office can close if it needs to.
Get your systems in place
Make sure your IT systems support remote / home working and that your staff have access to team sharing / collaboration tools to make sure they don’t feel isolated and can stay in touch with the rest of the business.
Remind them of the importance of data security
Sensitive data should be locked away at night, and virus protection across all devices kept up to date. Remind staff to use secure networks whilst working.
Determine core working hours
In order to keep staff motivated and engaged it’s important to stress the level of expectation despite working from home. Establishing core working hours will help put structure into the day (particularly for those who may not be used to working in this way). Set times for meetings and catch ups to keep staff in the loop.
Useful tools:
- Slack or Microsoft Teams for instant messaging and team communications
- Google Drive or Dropbox for file sharing
- Skype, Google Hangouts or Zoom for conference calls
- Monday.com or Trello for project planning and team collaboration