While remote working tools have kept businesses running over the last year, it’s important to consider people as well as productivity.
Over the last year, we have all become experts in tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams and subsequently IT teams scrambled to provide remote access to workers across the country. While this practical aspect was quickly addressed, this is only the start of making remote working a success.
Remote working fatigue is setting in
While many workers have expressed a preference for home working, some are starting to feel burnt out. Business owners and IT teams have been focused on making the system work and in many cases, it has put issues such as staff motivation and the personal connections within teams on the back burner.
There’s more to life than meetings
There are two different challenges with remote working. One is meeting fatigue, when employees are required to attend multiple video calls over the course of a day, often back to back, and struggle to complete their work. One way to avoid this is to schedule meeting-free days to allow people to catch up. Many companies are now scheduling meetings which start at five minutes past the hour or half hour and finish five minutes before. This builds in some rest time and can help with fatigue.
Use your tools to get sociable
The other issue is that while there are possibly more meetings than ever as people can’t catch up in the office, many people feel lonely. It might be worth scheduling a weekly coffee break where people can chat or consider monthly social events such as a virtual pub quiz. Building in some social time will keep teams connected and will also help those who may be struggling with loneliness during this second lockdown. As an added bonus, this may mean that overall, fewer meetings are being scheduled because people feel less need to create them when some of the social aspects of teamwork are being addressed.
Cloud tools help business owners focus on their teams
This year has brought so many challenges and many business owners are simply focused on keeping their business running. That’s why we’ve created JSPC cloud services designed specifically for SMEs. Transferring IT infrastructure to the cloud is a way to remove a major IT headache, making the switch to a solution that is secure and completely scalable. It’s a cost-effective solution and outsourcing this area of the business means that as well as cutting IT costs, it leaves more time to focus on team dynamics and motivation. It’s likely that whatever happens next, remote working is set to become more of a fixture in the business world and the JSPC private cloud for SMEs can provide the foundation for more flexible working solutions at home and in the office.
Click here to find out more - https://cloud.jspc.co.uk