It has been nearly a full calendar year since many office-based staff members have been introduced to working remotely for the first time, and it has progressed largely uninterrupted since then as a means to protect workers in the current circumstances.
According to the Office For National Statistics, 46 per cent of the population have worked from home at least one day over a 14 day period.
How effective and enjoyable working from home has been largely dependant on an individual’s drive, personality, and ability to work physically alone but connected to others, with different members of staff thriving in the environment better than others.
Technology also plays a part, with a business needing IT support and services built around remote working and cloud access.
With this said, there have been some common mistakes that several companies have made as they have rapidly adapted to the new normal, but through three simple steps, these issues can be improved.
Focus On Development
Remote working has been hardest for new staff members, apprentices and younger teammates who had recently joined before the initial lockdown period, as development has been significantly disrupted.
It is vitally important to ensure that they feel involved and able to shadow more experienced team members in meetings and discussions, to ensure they feel involved and can organically develop in the same way they could in a physical office.
Make Sure Meetings Are For People
One of the biggest mistakes that so many businesses make is to make a lot of meetings that are not efficiently run. “This could have been an email” is a common refrain among office staff, from the new starters up to the very top, so it is important to ensure your meetings are focused.
Meetings should be short unless there is a very good reason, should never be back to back and should be structured around discussions and decisions rather than powerpoints. Anything that could be a video, slideshow or email should be sent in advance.
Focus On Your People
Set aside some time each week for an unstructured catch-up session, where you can have some downtime and talk to staff. The closer your team feels the better they will knit together in more difficult times.
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