Many employers have had to introduce home working. Although beneficial, there are also a number of disadvantages for employers. These will need to be taken into account when planning for a remote team working from home.

Increased Micro Managing

One of the disadvantages of working from home is that employee responsibility and accountability are diminished. They may be unsure of their responsibilities now that they are working from home. Hence employees will need more micro managing. Goals and expectations should be clearly set and agreed upon on a regular basis. They will have to be accountable for these responsibilities when working remotely. This will help with the micro managing of a remote team.

Less Collaboration

The amount of collaboration will decrease, as all communication will be remote. Hence communication will be more difficult and the need to stay in touch is a must. The use of messaging, video conferencing, using a shared calendar and VoIP will ensure that many channels of communication are open. This will ensure that collaboration will still be possible in some form even if your team are working from home.

Security Risks

Cyber security risks will increase as your remote team make use of many online tools to complete their work commitments. A clear set of security protocols need to be communicated to your remote team, which should be followed from home. One of the biggest risks for employees working from home comes from clicking on phishing emails. All computers and desktops should have anti-virus software installed and regularly updated. A good solution to increase security and minimise cyber threats is the use of a VPN or cloud service.

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Isolation

One of the biggest problems of home working is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. This can lead to decreased motivation, as employees no longer feel connected to their co-workers. This can impact their work productivity as well. Steps should be taken to connect with employees on a regular basis and hold virtual meetings as often as possible.

Decreased Employee morale

Normally employees would be praised and rewarded for work that was well executed, but with home working this is more difficult to achieve. Ensure that recognition is still given to employees even if they are working from home. This praise should be well communicated over remote communication channels. Increasing recognition to remote workers will boost their morale as well and keep them motivated to provide high quality work.

Increased distractions

The home office should be isolated in a quiet space as much as possible to ensure that distractions are kept to a minimal. This can be difficult to achieve when there are other members of the family working at home as well. It is important to ensure that employees working from home are given guidelines to keep distractions to a minimal and keep focused in the long run.

Find out more for on how to set up a successful home office

For more information and an obligation free discussion about how 4s Systems can help you implement the technology needed for Remote Working from home please call us now on 0203 92 66 999 or click here