6 Essential Virtues Of Remote Work
When we think of ‘remote work,’ we tend to think of the COVID-19 pandemic and how many businesses responded to it by vacating the offices and allowing staff to conference via apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Of course, this is one implementation of how remote work can be applied. But it’s true that since the pandemic has at least lightened a little, more and more business owners are starting to discredit remote work and return back to the normal processes they once had.
It’s important to look at the full gamut of virtues that this working format offered, because the picture we’ve painted above is only a singular utility this very worthwhile approach offered to us. Remote work is never and has never been solely attributed to office workers sitting and lazing around in their pajamas all day, but an essential element of many industries and even a revolution in accessibility. As such, it should be celebrated, optimized, and adopted, even if to varying degrees based on your enterprise goals.
In this post, then, we’ll discuss the six virtues of remote work and why dismissing it so out of hand is a mistake.
Quick Meetings
It’s important not to understate the value of a quick meeting where members of the team can speak to one another face to face about a pressing issue. For example, it might be that an editor notices a small typo on the page of an upcoming brochure or a press release, and for this reason, they save having to push revisions at a later date.
Quick meetings can also be a healthy way to keep up to date with the team. To use another example, a human resources representative may wish to use a secure video channel to better take down the report of someone putting in a harassment complaint within the company. This way, no staff member has to ‘sneak’ into the human resources meeting rooms, and they’re afforded the privacy they should be allowed.
These meetings can of course be scheduled, but they can also be last-minute debriefs, early morning team conversations, or perhaps just a good way to get through a range of staff performance reports before the week is over without having to waste time waiting for people to show up at your office door, still allowing you the time to comprehensively discuss every measure in front of you. It’s hard not to see at least some value in that outlook.
Appointments
So far we’ve mentioned intra-business appointments designed to help everyone in the firm work at the same pace and move on as expected. But the truth is that appointments can also be quite important and part of the client or patient onboarding process. Think of how a doctor might use digital appointments to better reach their disabled patients, allowing them to give a well-being report without having to be there in person, instead scheduling all of their tests for another day where this is the sole focus.
In some cases, legal counsel might decide to have secure video conversations with their clients about updates to the court proceeding or even just to speak to possible clients about their case and if they’d like to take it on. This is becoming normalized in several sectors, and as such requires a respectful and willing approach to benefit from it entirely.
After all, investor calls have taken place in many publicly-traded companies, this way you digitize the meeting. It’s nothing new.
Staff Satisfaction
The truth is that remote work raises staff morale, because working from home or away from home can help open up the lifestyle decisions and autonomy of those taking on a new job. Many employees report that the chance of being able to work from home is a strong benefit in favor of one job over another, even if the salaries are mismatched.
If you’re unsure, it could be worth taking a thorough survey at your own firm to determine just what the general feeling is. We’re willing to bet that more wish to keep this provision, even if some are having a little trouble adapting to that sense of new normal. Of course, this doesn’t have to be an ‘either/or’ approach, as working from home one or two days a week is perfectly acceptable when needed – or can even keep your staff working when going through a bad head cold as opposed to passing it around the office.
Remote Tools
Remote tools can provide utilities in more directions than one. After all, ‘working remotely’ is more than just working from a home computer. With Teledyne FLIR SIRAS drones, for example, being able to accurately fly and record footage around a site, search for people through thermal imaging (which is great for mountain rescue teams, for example), and carry out basic land surveillance is possible.
So, it might just be that the remote tools and work you integrate involve making certain tasks easier to deal with, without a loss of productivity and professionalism. The same goes for integrating online collaborative working spaces for those using creative software around the office, rather than sat next to one another at their terminals – for instance, one may be typing on their laptop at lunch, and another may be sitting in a private meeting room with a manner. Flexibility, in other words, in productivity and the schedule of hours worked, can be unlocked with a wide array of remote tools which are suitable for your particular industry. It’s not hard to see where the value lies here.
Worldwide Collaboration
Collaborative focus is more than just a nice benefit for staff as laid out above, collaboration is essential in research and development, in marketing, in market research, even in logistics. As such, ensuring that your entire team is able to collaborate carefully, consistently, and in a recorded context is all aided by coherent remote working.
Think of a manager traveling to another country in order to meet with potential partners and assess the opportunity for you to expand to that market. Remote work gives this professional the chance to give daily updates, to showcase willing participants, and to determine their conclusions without you having to solely wait for the final report.
They can also take direction or questions from other members of the team to make sure the entire recce is flexible and thorough. All of this can take place via secured communication channels on the internet, through encrypted video and logged in via VPN. Not only is this cost-effective, but could potentially help you structure an up-to-the-minute plan in a market that moves more quickly than you’d ever expect.
Startup Business Opportunities
Remote work has allowed smaller, humble businesses to compete at a rate they have never had the chance to before. Now, a small business can be started by two people that have never met one another, solely collaborating online and delivering their unique value in a tiny corner of the market.
Home businesses, home blogs, insightful platforms, and further innovation and possibility, with reduced risk, is now here. No matter if you wish to start a website, support your small company with merchandise online, or even work with outsourced help from freelancers all over the word, business has become more open and flexible than ever. So – don’t be afraid to leverage this in your favor, no matter the size of your operation. Creative energies and accessing the best of human potential have been unlocked via this wonderful digital norm – even if that just means opening your hiring talent pool for a wider set of candidates.
With this advice, you’re sure to see the many virtues of remote work at every level of your business, but also view it as more than just working from home on a laptop for weeks on end, too.
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