Moving can be a stressful time, especially if you run a business. Whether you’re moving house or office, this guide will show you how to run your business remotely without sacrificing productivity or quality. Here’s how to run your business remotely.
Take your business content online
The first step to successfully running a business remotely is moving all of your business content online. This includes documents, spreadsheets, intranet, and anything else that your business needs to survive. You can store all of your files in a cloud storage solution like Google Docs or DropBox. This will allow employees to access everything remotely. If everyone in your team is going to work remotely, this is a crucial step. Otherwise, you could risk having to delay a project because certain staff can’t access the files they need.
Embrace the power of video conferencing
Video conferencing is absolutely essential to running a business remotely. You and your team need to be comfortable meeting in a video conferencing app like Microsoft Teams. However, it’s worth remembering that this kind of meeting is different from a face-to-face meeting – some employees might feel awkward and not confident enough to speak up. Here are some tips to run a remote meeting using video conferencing software –
- Provide an audio option
- Test the technology before you get started
- Make sure everyone is visible
- Keep the meeting short and simple
- Keep presentations brief
- Ask everyone to sign in at the exact time the meeting starts
- Use an icebreaker
Pick the right communication tools
As well as video conferencing software, you will need to keep in contact with your team. That doesn’t mean you have to pick up the phone every time you need a question answered. Instead, you should use a team chat app like Slack or Skype. This will allow employees to instantly message each other and it also provides a record of your conversation. However, it’s important to keep conversations in one place. If you try to implement too many different apps and pieces of software, it can get confusing.
Provide your team with the right tech
The success of your remote business is dependent on the tech you use. This includes everything from laptops and phones to remote working software. Before you ask employees to work from home, you need to find out exactly what they need to do their job. This should be factored into the cost of each employee. For example, if they need to upgrade their internet provider at home, you should cover the costs.
Look after yourself and your people
It’s important to remember that, even though your employees are working from home, you still need to look after them. It’s easy for remote workers to feel undervalued and even forgotten. To combat this, you should schedule regular appraisals and check in on every employee regularly. Also, make sure that their home-working setup is good enough. For example, you could provide them with an ergonomic office chair and desk.
Set up regular meetings
It’s important to stay in touch with your remote employees. That’s why short, regular meetings are especially useful. You don’t need to have an hour-long catch-up every day but 20 minutes is definitely worth it. This will help you maintain a culture of communication in your team.
Outsource where possible
Outsourcing is especially useful for remote businesses. When your business doesn’t need premises to run effectively, you can reduce costs even further by outsourcing certain tasks. Take marketing as an example. Instead of having a fully functioning marketing team working from home on full-time pay, outsource it to an agency and have them provide you with performance metrics.
Make an effort to meet in person
Just because your team is working remotely, it doesn’t mean you should never meet face-to-face. It’s a good idea to organize regular meetings for your team. This could be as simple as meeting at a bar or restaurant once every couple of months. This will allow your employees to stay in touch and will make it easier for them to communicate effectively.
Use KPIs to measure performance
When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to measure performance. That’s why you should use KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These are a set of quantifiable measurements that can be used to gauge employee’s long-term performance. An example could be the number of qualified leads brought in by a salesperson each month. Just make sure the KPIs are easy to measure and are achievable. Otherwise, you will stress your employees out as they try to meet them.
