Remote Work Management During the Health Crisis

When it comes to remote work management, there are many reasons for encouraging employees to work from home. Remote work can be the result of something as ordinary as job-based travel, or as unexpected as the current health crisis that is forcing so many companies to put a home office policy into place. In our latest white paper, “How to Manage a Remote Work Scenario during the Health Crisis,” we try to lay out a guidebook to help companies continue to work as smoothly as possible, in a way that’s optimal for the well-being of employees, and that still allows the daily work of the company to proceed.

Click here to download the white paper on remote work management.

There are common mistakes when it comes to remote work management.

Part of what is explained in the white paper is the common mistakes that companies (and employees) make when trying to institute a remote work management scenario. The most common pitfalls discussed in the white paper are as follows:

#1: No Separate Work Space

Maintaining a “compatible” environment is key. To stay in the home office, it is essential to have a separate space where you can settle down to work, and from which you leave to stop working. It might sound odd, but it’s very important.

#2: No Plan for Managing the Kids

For parents who have to watch their children while they work from home, even the availability of a friend, nanny, or grandparent to take care of them does not solve all the problems. Especially if the children are between 2 and 8 years old.

#3: Too Much “Real-Time” Remote Communication

In such situations, it’s easy, in fact, to over-compensate when it comes to live chats. Employees and managers meet remotely, equipped with Microsoft Teams, Slack, or another application, without the possibility of seeing each other physically.

#4: Losing the Sense of Belonging and Motivation

A collaboration tool does allow you to work with others. But it does not guarantee that the employee remains motivated over time. In the context of a crisis, the need to understand the meaning of their work, to break the isolation, to have a reassuring feeling of belonging to an entity, is increased tenfold.

#5: Losing that Alignment

Even if the employees remain motivated, teleworking can hurt their alignment. Why? Because many companies live in a world of “fuzzy” objectives. These are informal discussions, heard in shared spaces, at the coffee machine or water cooler, for example, that allow a reframing of the work carried out.

#6: Onboarding New Employees Isn’t Working Out

In a remote office context, managing the arrival of new employees is a real challenge. Many companies rely on a more or less formal onboarding process. Managing the increase in skills, but also the necessary transmission of culture, values, and strategy, via telework and during a time of crisis, is extremely difficult.

#7: Different Scenarios for Workers are not Taken into Account

There isn’t just one type of employee. Many companies will have front-line workers, retail employees, office employees, salespeople, etc. And all in different cities and countries, at that. But in remote work scenarios, it’s often easy to overlook this fact, and not target communications accordingly.

But in this white paper, you’ll find the solutions.

These problems can be daunting, but if tackled correctly, the experience of instituting a “work from home” policy and encouraging employees to work remotely can turn out to be both a positive and productive one.

To learn more about what to avoid, as well as the solutions we suggest for managing remote workers effectively, we invite you to download our latest white paper, where you will find:

- The benefits of telework during challenging times, for the company and society
- Strategies for overcoming the most common hurdles, and teleworking successfully
- Specific suggestions for platforms and digital tools that can help
- Techniques for boosting motivation, alignment, and morale