What You Need to Consider When Transitioning To Working Remotely

In fact, operating as a remote business has a number of benefits for both you and your team, such as lower operating costs – without the price of rent and other physical-office-related expenses to worry about – and higher staff retention, as your team is able to enjoy a healthier work-life balance.

But while operating remotely does have many pros, there are still certain aspects that need considering to make sure going fully remote is achievable and hassle-free.

Luckily, we’ve broken down exactly what you should be thinking about when preparing to transition to a remote office that is able to keep doing what it does best, with the added benefits that working from home can bring.

What You Should Consider Before Going Remote

Any Potential Security Concerns or Considerations

Security is an aspect that often falls to the bottom of the priority list when it comes to preparing to transition to a fully remote office. But protecting your business, and securing its data, becomes even more essential in a fully online environment where you may be more exposed.

Just a few aspects of security you should consider when going remote include:

• Whether multi-factor (or MFA) user authentication is set up for access to your online systems
• If your employees’ home devices have sufficient security protections
• Whether or not the policies surrounding access to your business network are clear and enforced
• How user access will be monitored to ensure your online systems remain secure

Whether Your Business Operations Are Online-Friendly

It’s a common misconception that the business that can successfully become fully remote will depend largely on the industry and offering that that business sits within. In reality, there are certain steps you can take to make your business operations more online-friendly regardless of the industry you’re in.

The first is to change the programs you may use for your everyday business processes to an online-friendly version. This could be as simple as moving to the cloud with Office 365, which allow for real-time remote collaboration between members of your team.

You could also encourage your team to discuss ideas via video or phone conferencing, or instant messaging systems such as Teams, which will ensure that remote collaboration is possible from anywhere.

Your IT provider will be more than happy to help you assess your options when it comes to transitioning to online business tools and applications and to make this transition as hassle-free as possible.

The Set-Up of Your Team Members’ Home Offices

When creating a fully remote working environment, it’s essential that your employees’ home working spaces are set-up correctly to ensure that they are able to continue performing their role without interruptions.

A few things that you should consider in regards to your employees’ home work-spaces include whether:

• Their homes have an internet connection with sufficient speed and data to support their workflow
• Your team members have a dedicated place to work that is guaranteed to be free from any distractions that may arise
• Their work-spaces are safe and healthy working environments, with sufficient light and the correct furniture to create a supportive environment
• You have full visibility and control over your corporate data on your employees’ personal devices

Your trusted IT provider will be an essential resource when determining whether your employees have the right spaces at home for productive remote work, as they can work with you to fix any problems that may occur when preparing to transition to a fully-remote office.

Maintaining A Positive Workplace Culture

Having a fully-remote office doesn’t have to mean sacrificing a healthy and inspiring workplace culture. The implementation of the online programs mentioned earlier into your everyday work processes can also double as tools you can use to maintain your workplace culture.

For example, your video and phone conferencing tools can also be used to check in daily with your team members to see where they’re at and whether or not they’re encountering any challenges the rest of the team can help them solve.

You could also consider implementing a task management system like Microsoft Planner, which gives you and the rest of your team the ability to see the progress of each task your team members are performing at a glance.

Finally, you could also use video conferencing tools to create spaces where your team members can provide encouragement and support for each other, despite not being physically in the same place, such as online team huddles or shout-out sessions.

Interested in learning more about how online tools and programs can make transitioning your office online achievable and hassle-free?

Download our working from home checklist to ensure a successful transition or get in contact if you have any questions.