In the past, the idea of a remote workforce was seen as a luxury reserved for only the largest and most successful enterprises. But with advancements in cloud computing and AI, more companies are realizing that they can compete with their larger competitors by leveraging an efficient infrastructure for a distributed workforce. Here’s what you need to know about enabling your own enterprise to run smoothly with a remote workforce.
Tools for Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a key factor in productivity, but it’s not the same as employee satisfaction. Employee engagement can be measured in various ways and includes a number of different factors. The employee’s connection to the company mission and its values is one aspect of employee engagement. Some companies do regular meetings or annual group events to help their staff stay connected.
Additionally, employees want to feel that their work makes an impact and that there is a sense of autonomy to do their best work. It also helps when employees are recognized for good performance by others within the company. Use technology that offers this feedback and even rewards to your staff.
Tools for Communication
When it comes to virtual teams, communication is key. You not only need to be able to communicate with each other, but you also need ways to communicate with clients and customers. Virtual doctors and medical professionals can use a medical answering service. Product-based businesses can leverage chat software for live and AI-assisted chats. Email can help you communicate with your teams in more formal ways. Then of course there are video chat tools that can give everyone a little face-to-face time.
Tools for Morale Boosting
While these tools are all designed to help your workforce stay connected and efficient, they also serve as morale boosters. Slack is a chat application that lets you share files, engage in chat rooms, and more with your team. It’s easy to use and can be accessed on any device. Slack has been called a virtual water cooler because it encourages informal communication between coworkers in the same way a traditional office water cooler does.
Another great tool that boosts morale is Trello, an online task management tool that makes it simple for you to assign tasks, manage projects and collaborate with your employees from anywhere at any time. This helps them to see their progress and can keep them from getting discouraged.
Also read: Top 5 Team Collaboration Tools Your Company
Tools for Training and Collaboration
When you’re bootstrapping a company and have no employees, finding the right tools for training, documentation, and collaboration becomes more important than ever. You’ll need to do everything from setting up your first shared document to creating custom courseware for internal training programs. When choosing the right platform for your business needs, there are a few things to look out for.
You want software that is accessible and easy to use. You want collaboration tools that have a small learning curve. You need to be able to share documents seamlessly and view who works in them. Microsoft Office Online and Google Docs are two of the most popular options with more companies leveraging Zoho as well.
Tools for Data Security
Data security is a top priority for most businesses, and it should be. But the question of data security is also important to employees. They have sensitive data on their devices, and they want to know that that information will be safe while they’re working remotely. Using secure cloud-based apps and communication apps can help.
Tools for Productivity
There are many tools available for remote employees. AI-based productivity tools, use artificial intelligence to help you be more productive and efficient at work. These tools can automate tasks that you would normally need to do by hand, freeing up time for other tasks.
Also read: 7 Tips To Improve Productivity While Working Remotely
Cloud Video Conferencing Tools
Video conferencing has become a staple in the modern workplace, and for good reason. It’s not just about staying in contact with your remote employees, but also about giving them the same level of training and support that you’d give to on-site employees. This can result in higher morale and productivity, which can lead to greater success for any business that uses it. Use video conferencing for training purposes. Most of them have a screen share option that allows you to show staff exactly what to do. You can even use the software to record training to be used later.
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