Even as countries begin to slowly reopen their businesses and operations, many employers around the world have decided to work remotely until further notice. By some estimates, 19 percent of employees will work remotely into 2021 and possibly beyond, compared to around 4 percent prior to the pandemic.
There are challenges. Organisations need to find new ways to measure work progress, success and to identify potential problem areas. Are you planning to bring your employees back to the office? Or will your workforce continue to work remotely into 2021? Keep reading to learn how to effectively and accurately prime your business for success in 2021.
Continue to Align Your Goals
In an office space, there are several ways top management and employees can measure success and identify challenges. Most medium or large companies have a hierarchy. They break down employees into teams that are each held accountable to certain standards of success.
When a member of one of these teams is falling behind or having trouble performing their job, it is the duty of managers to step in and guide them. The management of each team is also responsible for reporting to their own superiors any successes or shortcomings.
While your teams can’t meet in person, there’s no reason to let go of your previous team, branch or hierarchy system now. Encourage employees at every level to continue communicating daily, even if it is something outside their work-life. Virtual team meetings and check-ins help keep employees accountable for their work. They also help to build loyalty and enforce teamwork in a remote environment.
Another way to encourage teamwork while your employees are working remotely is to hold company-wide virtual events. These events are a great way to remind your staff of your goals and update them on how you’re doing in reaching them.
Utilize Remote Performance Management Software
When they aren’t face-to-face with managers, employees may feel reluctant to report issues. If you don’t have a universal reporting system, it may be difficult to track each team’s work or progress. Aligning various departments of your business becomes much more difficult. Especially when they are all working separately and can no longer communicate face-to-face.
That’s where performance management software comes into play. It helps to create a virtual office that enables:
- Better communication between different teams
- Track progress on goals
- Manage calendars across the organisation
- Access and share projects information and tasks in a single location
This helps bring your team together in the same way that a physical office space does. This means that nothing falls through the cracks. You can easily keep track of where every team and employee is at every step of a goal.
Make it less stressful for your employees
Working remotely has taken a toll on employees’ wellbeing at large. With so much stress and uncertainty looming around, a little breather will be appreciated. However, that doesn’t mean giving your employees ease and freedom at the cost of organisational goals. Rather shift your focus from attendance to outcomes. At the end of the day, the amount of work done matters more than the amount of time spent. Also, not putting a clock on their task will enable your employees to think freely and perform better.
Be Flexible in 2021
Around the world, more than 100,000 businesses that were forced to close temporarily due to COVID-19 are expected to shut down permanently. With many countries now enforcing new lockdowns as the virus has struck again, that number is likely to rise. Consumers, many of whom have faced layoffs and furloughs, are spending less. In turn, businesses are seeing fewer profits, which in turn affects B2B operations.
It’s likely that your company won’t quite reach the goals set in previous years. So, be flexible with creating new ones. This pandemic has taught us a lot more in one year than what we have learned during our entire career. First, we shouldn’t take our success for granted. Second, nobody knows what the future holds. To begin with, it is important to manage our expectations and be prepared to tackle the worst.
Even if your business is back to normal sales levels, making the transition to remote work can still be a challenge. It may result in slower work and other delays for a time. Align your teams and supply them with the tools they need to make the transition to remote work easier. As they adapt to the new normal, you will get back to setting and meeting your new goals.
