Most employees for any business are required to come into the office to do their work. There are two main reasons for this; first being the fact that you can monitor their progress and the second being that they are required to collaborate with other employees to do their job. However, especially if you are a software company or an online content provider, the need to have your employees come into the office is almost non-existent. In fact, many businesses save a lot of money each year compared to having an actual office location which allows them to hire more workers and increase productivity. However, there are some large pitfalls that can hitch a ride with utilizing the idea of remote workers, and many of them are not what you think. If you are planning on managing a team of remote workers for your business, there are many things you’ll want to consider and plan for well in advance before you actually go ahead with this notion. Here are some things to consider before you hire a team of workers and allow them to remotely work from home.
Working Too Little
One of the most obvious things that a business owner will think of when they consider letting their employees hold the reins themselves is that they will sit on their hands and collect a paycheck. When an employee comes into the office, you can monitor their activities and make sure they are getting a certain amount of work done. When an employee works from home, you can never be sure how much time they are actually putting in. A good idea to keep your employees honest is to have them send in a weekly progress report so you can see what they actually got done. This will not only encourage them to do the proper amount of work, but will also let you see where they are in their project.
Working Too Much
A bigger problem than you might think is that remote workers often work way too much. This is actually a much bigger problem than remote workers doing too little, but often times an employer is oblivious to this because they are just interested in productivity. The fact is that many people when left unmonitored and responsible for work feel like they can never do enough to please their boss. This can lead to relationship problems, drinking, or other negative problems that will stunt their quality of work. The best thing you can do is reward your remote workers for their hard work and insist that they take the appropriate amount of time off. This isn’t to say that they get a free ride, but working 18 hours a day, 7 days per week is too much for anyone.
Communication and Periodic Meetings
Another way to make sure you’re managing your remote workers properly is to encourage open communication between all the staff members. Have your workers email each other daily, and even spend a half hour communicating over a video conference program to get some human interaction. Also, you should plan periodic meeting to get all of the staff together in one room occasionally; at least quarterly. This will help keep all of your remote works feeling fresh and on track which will make the job of managing their needs a lot simpler in the long run.
