How to Keep Business as Usual in the Remote Office

We’re often chastened to be careful about what we wish for…we may just get it. When it comes to working from home, many of us had this utopia-like vision of snuggling up in bed with our laptop and a steaming cup of coffee instead of braving the traffic in the icy rain.

The reality is probably not as great as we imagined. We sit hunched over our kitchen table while the children use all the internet for their group Fortnite game and the dog chews our computer cables.

Remote offices are, for the foreseeable future, the norm. As we move through the COVID crisis many businesses are debating whether to invest in home offices for their staff or wait for a vaccine. Others are considering smaller hub-style offices to mitigate the risk of infection, while others are contemplating staggered working hours.

There’s no right way of dealing with an unprecedented situation like this, but if you find yourself in the position where you or your team need to work remotely then you’ll want it to – well – work.

Solutions to Remote Office Challenges

Most of us have adapted to working from home, but as time goes on, we need to look for a more permanent solution.

What is the best way to keep your customers happy, your team productive and a positive business reputation? We have some thoughts on this.

Business connectivity in the remote office

Whatever you are doing, no matter your industry or the size of your team, you need to be connected. Business connectivity services are the very first things to implement or upgrade once you’ve decided to go remote to bridge the yawning communication gaps that are bound to exist.

Most team communication can be done online using some (often free) tools. For example, Zoom or Google Hangouts is perfect for team meetings which can be easily managed by a host and recorded for those who couldn’t attend. These also offer instant chat features and screen sharing – just as easy as turning around in your chair to ask a question in the office. 

We want to make sure that our new remote working challenges don’t impact our customers at all. How can we achieve this if the brick and mortar office is closed?

• Hosted PBX is the perfect choice to keep communication channels open between your team and your customers. 

This super-fast setup allows you to keep your landline number which can be forwarded to a laptop or even a cell number; your customers can contact you the same way they always have. In addition, (and to help keep costs down) this solution offers free calls between connected locations as well as a video conferencing option. 

• Fixed Voice GSM is another voice option available to you. Desktop or wireless phones are made available which can be used anywhere a mobile signal is present with the ability to port your landline number if needs be. Quick installations, low call costs and excellent call quality makes for a connected team and happy customers. 

Management of remote workers

Management will certainly have to make some adjustments to accommodate and care for their team. It’s important to remember that this is new to all of us, and we’re all doing our best. Some staff members may take longer than others to adapt to remote working, others may have personal or home challenges that make it difficult to connect or even to concentrate at times. 

The key to successfully managing remote teams is clear communication. 

Making use of project management tools is the best way to do this, adopting a more task-based method of working. Asana, Trello, or Basecamp are all free and pretty robust management tools available online. Once you’ve assigned a task you can monitor the time and progress of the team member to which it’s assigned. 

Remember though, that there may be a delay in responding to emails or messages so it’s good to bear this in mind when setting expectations for a project. Initially, some communication may get lost – did they send it on chat or email? These are teething problems which everyone will be facing.

Regular meetings with the team will ensure that nobody feels isolated and you maintain a spirit of camaraderie. Seeing a person’s face when you speak with them also tends to allay many misunderstandings that can occur on a message – so video conferencing is essential.

One article on managing a remote team has this to say, “Set up video conferencing around the office that’s always on, like a portal. “It might feel weird the first day it’s on, but by the tenth day, people are more comfortable,” he says, noting that video is especially good for this because it “brings us together and connects us, increasing the intimacy of our relationships with one another.”

The Best and Fastest Remote Office Setup

It’s clear that for the remote office to work seamlessly, there needs to be more than a little time spent on ensuring the best, fastest communication between members of the team, and between your team and your customers. 

If your remote team is currently being held together by a few old laptops, a cell phone and an ADSL connection then please give us a call. We have many affordable packages available to get your business back in business, quickly and efficiently.