Remote Employees

Remote work allows professionals to freely choose where they want to work. They are free to work wherever as long as they can work efficiently and bring the expected results. Some employers however can limit the flexibility within a contractual agreement to put controlling measures in place. That way employers can establish core business hours & meetings. This type of work allows recruiters to hire employees not limited to a specific city or country. It allows hiring qualified employees from a worldwide talent pool.

Co-Located Employees

Co-location is the most traditional way to work: Employees commute to a shared office building to collaborate & work face-to-face with co-workers. Usually, every worker has a designated desk and meeting rooms available. This type of work only allows hiring workers in the closer proximity of the office building.

Hybrid Employees

Hybrid work models are the way of the future as research indicates.  These employees usually work a set number of days per week remotely and come into an office for the rest of the time. The challenge with this model is to ensure the needs of the employees for both, remote and co-located.

Setting-up a workplace catering to different needs can be tricky but not impossible. Consider the following steps and come closer to a happy & productive work environment. Value the different needs equally & keep team spirit high. Do you have a hybrid workforce? Consider the tips for remote & co-located workers.

Provide the same equipment no matter the location

Just because your employees do not have a desk in one of your offices, does not mean they do not need one at all. To ensure that they have the same chance to be productive and successful as your co-located workers, you must acquire all equipment you usually would. Examples would be a laptop, second screen, office chair and access to specific software.

Set up clear rules & boundaries

Communicate the rules and boundaries for a remote position, including core working hours, work flexibility, meeting availability and company processes. Besides, make sure that the remote employee knows exactly who to contact for what issue. Contacts for IT and HR are a great way to start.

Ensure data security

Within a remote work set-up, you usually do not have much of an overview of how secure your company secrets are. Make sure that your company data security guidelines are applied and put restrictions on working in cafes or other such places if you worry about data security breaches.

Video conferencing tools

Video conferencing and collaboration software  (teams, webex, slack, etc.) are a must if you want to have a productive and collaborative team environment. Also, this allows remote workers to easily connect with co-located or other remote workers making working less “lonely“.

1:1 conversations

One-to-one-conversations are a big YES when it comes to remote work. There is little to no chance otherwise to get to know your remote worker, learn about their difficulties, their successes and start building a trusting relationship. Schedule regular meetings, listen and let your employee know that they are important.

Implementation of HR Software

HR Software is the go to for scheduling time off, checking working times and availability. This allows you to simply see when specific workers work and receive an overview of who is available in the office and remotely. Also, remote workers can simply track their time, check their overtime, put annual leave in or simply see who is working to better plan ahead.

nnual leave in or simply see who is working to better plan ahead.

Utilize your workspace

Co-located workers will utilize the office space differently, hence why you may need to reorganize & restructure it. Fewer workers will be working at a desk regularly, but more workers will come together to have meetings. Create more collaborating space and meeting corners to cater for these new needs.

Easy implementation of video conferencing tools with room booking

Try to implement a solution that allows room booking at the same time as scheduling video conferences. You ask why? In a hybrid working environment there will be many meetings where co-located and remote workers need to take part in a meeting. Not being able to book both in advance will result in co-workers wasting 10 minutes of the meeting time to find a room. Also, not having video conferencing equipment within the meeting room will make dialing in a challenge by itself.

Clarify rules & expectations

It is almost impossible to make it work, if you do not provide the employee enough information. Let the employee clearly know, when they must be in the office, to what degree they can choose their remote working hours/days and how to communicate. This will diminish any misunderstandings right at the start.

Apply same tips as for remote & co-located workers

Make sure to consider the points mentioned under remote and co-located workers. Hybrid workers have both needs as they do have two workplaces that they alternate.

If you want to find out more about how an intelligent and simple-to-use HR Software can benefit you and your team’s productivity & efficiency, check out this page.

#1  Opt for a smart system

With a smart system, you get a precise overview of your team’s activities and attendance at any time.

A smart HR software system will integrate a set of modules and functionalities to give you the best experience. It will take into account your employees’ absence data and integrate it into payroll, work scheduling or offer you a range of analysis based on the number of absences, type of absences and much more. In a remote working context, it will be one of your best allies to ensure efficient and accurate absence management.  

#2  Manage efficiently COVID-19 related absences

A clear and global overview of absences will be an asset when managing COVID-19 related absences. 

With COVID-19, HR departments have quickly been overwhelmed. Between absences due to sickness, those to childcare, employees having to stop working temporarily and those having to keep working full time, managing absences has not been easy. Managers and HR soon realized that a digital and smart system was needed to save a significant amount of time and gain clarity.

#3  Be clear about your expectations

By communicating clearly about when your employees are supposed to work, you will be better organized and avoid unplanned absences. 

When working remotely, it is more important than ever to make clear communication a priority. It is advisable to draw up a telework policy with conditions, expectations and objectives. For absence management, this is more than recommended. You should clearly say to your teams when it is mandatory to work (specific time slots, specific days…). The most effective solution would be to provide a shared space with these rules so that everyone can have access to it and stay informed.

#4  Encourage your team to plan their time off

Planning time off in advance will motivate your employees and will give you time to get ready and organized for when they will be off.

What could be more motivating than knowing you’re going to be on vacations soon? That’s definitely one of the main advantages of planning time off in advance! Your employees will be more productive and motivated and will be less likely to have unjustified absences. Also encourage them to take a long break so that they can fully rest and come back in great shape! For you as an employer, knowing when your team members are off, will allow you to distribute work & responsibilities to other employees straight away.

#5  Be flexible and available

Being flexible and available will show your employees that you care about their private life and well-being.

In unprecedent times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, being understanding and flexible is crucial. By allowing flexible working hours, you minimize the risk of unexpected absences showing your employees that you trust them in doing their job responsibly. Some of your teammates may be parents and will appreciate being able to organize their working day differently to respect the balance between professional and family life. Being available will allow you to understand the needs of your employees. It can be difficult to concretely measure employees’ progress and achievements when they are working remotely. That’s why communication plays a great role. Don’t forget to thank and congratulate them, it’s a great boost to motivation!

#6  Foster a friendly atmosphere at work

Having a nice and cheerful atmosphere at work is one of the most important factors of well-being. When the employees feel involved in the company’s success, they perform better.

Maintaining a positive and friendly atmosphere at work when most of the team behind a screen is a challenge, but it’s possible! You can always have the same little habits you used to have at the office like coffee time, relaxing moment, etc.

#7  Collect and analyze employee absence data

Analyzing absence data will allow you to see if your management is successful and to identify absence patterns.

Absence data is a very useful tool to identify absence patterns. For example, if you can see in the figures that there is a lot of unexpected and unplanned absences, you can try and change it by adopting a different management approach or implementing modified work schedules. It’s also opens the door to communicate with your team and ask them how they feel at work.