Although there are many benefits of the new modern way of working, there are also a few issues that require attention in order to make employers feel happy with the prospect of taking their businesses and growing them in the most beneficial way for themselves, their employees, and their customers. Here is a guide on how to tackle some of the issues of modern working.
Hire the best teams that you can
Modern working now encompasses remote working. Obviously, one of the main perks of this is that you can hire the best people for your teams so that your business profits and is propelled forward by their knowledge and experience. However, there are some downsides that you will have to think about too, and these include having teams spanning different time zones, language barriers, and the ability to work seamlessly together.
Encourage your teams to communicate
Following on from the previous point, you may find it difficult (to say the least) to get your people to communicate with each other in ways that they will understand—even if they are cohabiting the same hemisphere and speaking the same language.
This is where it is imperative that you invest in some good quality communication software, but finding the right one for your business could be time-consuming, especially as there are different types of software available on the market.
Protect your business
Security on the web is very important within any business that uses online facilities (which is basically all of them nowadays), and even more so when your employees are working remotely or on a hybrid basis. Keeping your business information, software, and all of the data (of both customers and employees) that you hold within your systems safe can be a nightmare, but there are steps you can take in order to provide your workers with as much security as possible. Installing anti-virus software is a start—but it is not the be-all and end-all scenario.
You will also require a state-of-the-art firewall, and a business cloud would also be highly beneficial, but most of all your business will be more secure if you hire the services of a dedicated cybersecurity expert to take care of all of your business needs including remote, hybrid, and office-based workers.
Create working schedules
From time to time you could very well find yourself with an employee who takes advantage of the situation of not being seen by the boss and therefore, not carrying out the working hours that perhaps they should. This, for many bosses, is the issue that keeps them awake at night; wondering if their workforce is just swinging the lead, not pulling their weight and that they are just paying wages to someone who quite frankly isn’t interested in their business or being a profitable asset to the business at all.
Although it is inevitable (though these people will be in the minority) it’s not worth getting wound up over or even losing sleep over, as there are ways in which you can make sure that all of your employees are pulling their own weight and working the hours that you have set them.
This is by drawing up working schedules for each and every one of your employees and providing them access to it so that they can adjust the information on it in real-time. You will then be able to see which projects or jobs they are working on and—by any notes that they have added or where they have moved the ticket to—what is actually happening within that particular job.
If you allow your employees to fill out computerized timesheets alongside this, you should be able to see the breakdown of any day’s work that you wish to, and therefore be able to question any employee who you do not feel is doing their part.
Deal with customer feedback
Although there should not be any more of an issue with customer feedback than there would be if all of your employees were under one roof, actually working on any problems that your customers may have could be harder to work out or more time-consuming to pass on if your employees work remotely.
For instance, if you feel that an employee requires more training, then it is not going to be a case of putting them in a little room with a trainer to get the knowledge across or even re-educate them completely on what they have done incorrectly. You will possibly need to schedule some time in with that employee and set up a face-to-face meeting either in person or via video link so that the message can be put across properly and understood well.
However, when it comes to sending out praise, you may have to make more of an effort than just sending out a general standard email to all of those concerned in order to make your teams feel valued and special.
