Approximately, 80 percent of employees are doing work from home during the COVID pandemic. Now, more than half of employees can perform their jobs remotely. More than one-third of employees are willing to change their jobs and perform the tasks remotely.
Nowadays, people are looking for work-from-home job opportunities. This type of new working system is not just beneficial for employees, but good for employers as well. They can reduce the expense and increase the amount of profit.
But, maintaining a high level of productivity is not that easy. Therefore, employers must maintain remote work policies. Also, the employers should provide guidelines on how to set up laptops for employees?
These policies will protect the employees and employers from liabilities. Here, in this article, we have discussed certain important things that need to be considered before giving work from home to employees.
Procedures
The work from home procedures should be clear to the employees and employers as well. These procedures are important to stop disputes on discrimination. Before giving work from home to employees create the different procedures for different processes.
Also, make it mandatory for all employees to follow the procedure. Everything should be properly planned before giving work from home to the employee. Whether it is hiring, appraisal, or termination process.
Also, the employees should specify the working hours for the remote employees. Working hours should not exceed the specified time standards set by the governments. All companies should follow the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ensure High Eligibility
Not every position in the company is suitable for work from home. Therefore, before giving work from home to the employees, you should make the necessary arrangement.
You should define which position is eligible for telecommuting. In addition to this, you should also check some other factors such as minimum time with the company, organizational skills, self-motivation, efficiency in using the technology, satisfactory performance of an individual, etc.
Optimum Communication System
The optimum communication link between the employees is very important so that the remote workers can perform efficiently. The employers should do the weekly teleconferences so that they stay in touch with each other. The different types of communication systems should remain formal.
Whether it is communication with vendors, clients, customers, co-workers, and other parties, it is important to choose the right communication system which keeps everyone in the organization connected with each other. There are different types of applications such as skype, hangout, zoom, etc. which let the employees stay in touch with each other.
New Technology and Tools
When it comes to working from home, then employers are responsible for providing necessary tools, gadgets, and appliances to the employees. Therefore, employers need to think about providing equipment for remote workers.
It is important to provide all the equipment which is required to accomplish work from home. The most important tools are laptops, data lines, etc. In addition to this, employers should also provide necessary software and apps to remote workers.
The employers should be clear about the telecommute agreement and both parties should sign this agreement. This agreement will ensure that the employers will provide all necessary tools and appliances to the remotely working employees.
In addition to this, the agreement will make sure that employees will take care of the tools and appliances. Also, they will return them back safely when they are leaving the company.
Information Security
The data of the company is highly confidential and should not be leaked. Therefore, it is very important to create policies for information security. Ensuring the protection of confidential information is the topmost priority for the company.
The employee who is doing work from home should follow all rules and regulations. The remote employees should sign the agreement with the employer that they will not leak the data of the company.
They will follow all the security protocols and ensure data security. The different items include a locked file cabinet, adequate home security, a paper shredder that can help in information security.
Optimum Work Space
When employees do work from home, then the most ignored thing is an optimum workspace. We should not ignore the power of optimum working conditions. Otherwise, the productivity of employees reduces significantly.
Therefore, all employers should provide funds to their employees to purchase a good chair and table. In addition to this, they should also provide internet expenses along with the salary.
This kind of support will encourage the employee to set up an optimum workspace at their homes. Optimum working condition plays a very important role in improving the productivity of employees.
Final Words
Working from home is beneficial for both parties. But this system of working has a few challenges that need to be overcome. The above-mentioned ideas will help you to overcome the flaw in remote operation.
