The Remote Work Teething Issues You Need To Sink Your Teeth Into

Over recent weeks, the remote work revolution has taken over in office and business settings that might not even have considered it an option before. As lockdowns commence, continue, and change, adjusting to this new working model has undoubtedly become an indicator of long-term survival. Yet, as with any change at this scale and speed, the remote shift hasn’t been easy for everyone.

While some companies toy with the idea of never returning to traditional work models, others are having a pretty hard time. That’s not overly surprising considering that early pandemic surveys revealed the UK was the worst prepared for the remote world, with as many as 55% of participants reporting they had little or no experience working from home pre-pandemic. 

Given that you’re reading this article, I’m going to assume that you fall into the category of companies who are currently struggling. Welcome; you are among friends. But, the fact that you aren’t alone doesn’t stop you from needing to overcome the hurdle. After all, remote teething issues could trip you so severely that you don’t get up again after lockdown unless you address them in the following ways. 

Technology-based problems are, by far, the most prevalent of late. In fact, the moment companies shifted to home working, many experienced IT downtime and glitches. Worse, an increase in cybercrime during this uncertain period has left countless companies open to attack as they attempt to work across networks.

Luckily, the right tech help is on hand if you know where to look for it. Remember, remote work isn’t a new concept. As such, companies like Netstar are already adept in technology solving business issues that you can rely on, including continual monitoring and increased security. Even if you want to take care of things in-house, there are countless programmes to make this easier, no matter where your team works from. In other words, you have no excuse not to get this right in the coming weeks of lockdown.

Countless companies assumed that they could manage remote work without truly reassessing communications. They’ve still got email, right, and what’s wrong with the telephone? The trouble is that, as such businesses have since discovered, these long-winded techniques can lead to a sense of community that’s reduced by around -11.8%. That’s terrible news, especially where successful and speedy collaboration is concerned. 

Again, though, the communication tools you need are right at your fingertips, with programmes like Google Hangouts offering instant messaging for free. You could even take those benefits further with paid options like Slack that could see you, too, flourishing rather failing as remote efforts continue.

As much as they’re reluctant to embark on new communications, many managers are attempting to hold tight to now-outdated processes. This is just temporary, right? What’s the point in totally rehauling the way you do things? 

In truth, there’s every point, especially considering remote work may continue to reign once lockdowns end. Even if that’s not a path you’re planning to take, there’s no telling how long your team will need to operate remotely. As such, thinking about everything from cloud storage for file sharing to reshuffled delegation techniques is vital. 

After all, without rehauling these processes, the next weeks will be a mishmash of crossed wires, redundant efforts, and failures on your part. Yet, the moment you turn to every business problem with this in mind, you should find it easy to seek a remote way around. 

Even managers who have considered all of the above are still falling at one last hurdle – that of employee needs. After all, you might assume that this is something your team wanted given all those times they’ve requested remote work. Yet, the majority of employees would prefer to spend at least some time in the office. Besides, the speed with which work setups have changed are guaranteed to have taken their toll on employee mentality.

Only by acknowledging this struggle can you find new ways to engage your remote team and lift everyone’s spirits with Zoom-based pub quizzes, video chats, and more. Failing to achieve this, you might just find that you lose vital team members even once things are supposedly back to normal.

Is this the remote revolution? Who knows, but you could still undeniably benefit from taking each of these pointers into account. Otherwise, your team and enterprise are unlikely to survive long enough to find out!

For more help and information on remote working practices, contact me about remote working consultancy, or download my free eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Remote Working.