Important Technologies for Businesses Continuing to Work from Home

As the world opens up again, certain businesses are slowly making the transition of bringing their employees back into the workplace. While some companies are opening up their business as they used to be, others are adapting to a new normal by allowing their workforce to continue to work from home. Various companies are realizing that there are many benefits of remote working staff and will continue to do so after the current pandemic. There are several things to keep in mind for businesses that will continue to have a remote working team.

What Is a Remote Workplace?

A remote workplace is basically a workplace that isn’t tied to one physical location. A remote working team doesn’t need a physical office because the team can work from just about anywhere. Many remote workers do their jobs from different places like their homes, coffee shops, community office spaces, and more. This trend has been common and continues to grow in popularity for many companies and industries as a whole. A recent survey found that 70 percent of professionals work remotely (telecommuting one day a week) and 53 percent work remotely at least half of the week.                           

This is beneficial for many small to medium-sized companies since the business doesn’t need to spend additional funds by renting out an office space for the staff. Companies can save an average of $11,000 per employee every year by not having office space and supplies. Employees also experience the benefits of not being confined to an office. They can move around from a home office to a coffee shop or a community office space. Research also shows that remote workers feel more productive when not confined to an office. It is also showing that remote workers are even happier than those working in an office setting. Remote workers feel a better work-life balance, more focus, and even less stress. They also find that remote works put in even longer hours than those working in a physical office space.

Besides the budget savings of not having an office and the increased productivity of the staff, there are other reasons companies are allowing their employees to work remotely. With the Covid-19 pandemic, we are experiencing one of the 10 deadliest plagues in history. Many working individuals found themselves working from home during the pandemic to slow down the spread of the disease. Working from home even after the pandemic can beneficial for the simple reason of keeping people healthier. Research has shown people are happier working remotely, but it can help keep people from getting sick whether from Covid-19 or even the common cold. Keeping people happy and healthy can only mean good things for a business.

What Technologies Are Needed from Remote Workers?

Working remotely is much more feasible these days because of the many advancements in technology. Even just a decade ago, it would’ve been more difficult to work outside of the office. Today, it seems like the best option for companies and their employees. Technology plays a vital role in how remote workers can stay on task and be productive from home.

Staying connected is an important part of working from home and there are several applications that can help with this. The first one that needs to be mentioned is Zoom. If it hadn’t already, most of the world has now heard of the video conferencing tool, Zoom. Zoom has kept many organizations connected throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so after the fact. Teachers are using it to tech class remotely. Company teams have been using it for weekly (even daily) meetings. It’s also been used to stay connected with family and friends. There are several different video conferencing tools including Skype Meet Now, Google Hangouts, Google Meet, GoToMeeting, and more. But Zoom may the most well-known because you can have up to 100 people for free with 720p quality. Zoom will continue to be vital to many businesses continuing to allow their employees to work remotely.

The next technology that will be important is a management tool that keeps track of the team’s work, projects, and tasks. There are a couple of different platforms that can be useful, and Asana is one of the best ones around. Communication is imperative when it comes to working remotely, and a management tool like Asana helps organize the team’s work and keeps everyone connected. The entire team can be aware of everyone’s to-do list, what’s in progress, and what’s completed. Management and organization tools make the workflow easier and more manageable no matter where the team is working from. This especially helps if members of the team are in different time zones.

Sometimes you don’t need an entire video conference call on Zoom, but still, need to contact a member of your team and get an answer for a question promptly. A direct messaging service is just as crucial when working remotely. Because work communication is important there are many different versions of this including Slack, Skype, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, and more. Slack is a great one for remote workers because it is a channel-based messaging platform, which means you can have multiple channels with different work teams. This allows you to message one or more people without messaging people that don’t need to be notified. You can even make calls directly onto the application.

Another thing to consider for remote workers is partnering with a data center provider. A company that is entirely remote most likely won’t have an on-premise data center, which means it will need to find a data center provider to partner with. Data centers can offer many benefits besides storage.

Conclusion

Many businesses have found the idea of working remotely beneficial for the company and its employees in several different ways. Not having to rent out an office space can potentially save overheard prices which can go directly to the company’s profit margin. Studies have shown remote workers are also happier and more productive not being confined to a physical office setting. And working from home can also keep the staff healthier because they aren’t being exposed as much to the outside world. There are several technologies to keep in mind when working remotely. Communication is the most important thing when working outside of an office setting. Video conference calling capabilities, work management tools, and team instant message applications will continue to be important as many businesses continue to work remotely.