Offices are opening up at a lot of places but many companies are open to adopting a hybrid model to keep their employees happy who have got used to the comfortable WFH environment. Know why it makes sense to invest in Remove Work Software in such a case.
A typical office setup has become agile with the remote work culture. It is flexible, cost-effective, and productive. Remote work confronts the need for a smart working system and assists businesses in creating value across their workforce and business operations irrespective of any geographical boundary limitation. Few industries were practising remote work way before the pandemic hit the world, but the adoption rate was relatively low and taking place at a glacial pace. But after the Covid hit, the remote work culture has picked its pace and is becoming a normal mode of working these days. Besides flexibility and continuity in work, gives complete access to a vast pool of talented employees and minimizes the indirect costs to the organization. As per McKinsey, most C-suite executives report improvement in their organization productivity, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction by adopting hybrid remote work culture. The same report also suggests that hybrid work models will become far more common in the future.
Whether hybrid or full-time remote work, the pandemic has thrown a challenge to which business enterprises responded well, and it ensured that remote work is here to stay. As per Statista, the trend of permanent remote work will increase in the future.
During the pandemic, the world also witnessed a wave of great resignation, and it has left organizations baffled about retaining their employees. As per the GoodFirms survey, 70% of HR managers have cited work flexibility as the reason for resignation. In another survey, 48% of remote workers stated that they would start looking for another job if they could not work remotely. Work flexibility plays a significant role in employee retention; moving forward, employers need to configure their working policies to reduce the effect of great resignation.
Remote work is the future of work, and managers have to master their remote work strategy. It has its unique challenges, and managers have to become more strategic in mitigating them. They need to equip employees with the right skill sets and tools to make remote work efficient. Right from segmenting employees as per their working patterns, to following the remote work policies, setting goals, assigning tasks, tracking progress, providing training, gathering feedback, and tracking work hours, everything is possible with the right remote work strategy. Investing in the right remote work software can fine-tune the remote work process and achieve higher efficiency. Remote work software can address the unique challenges of remote work and tap on various touchpoints that enhance remote employees' overall experience.
Benefits of Remote Work Software
Track and measure performance: Remote work software can help organizations measure the employees' performance and status of tasks. The software gives real-time insights into the employees' work and even schedules tasks for them. Users can track employees on various KPIs such as average task completion time, overtime per employee, revenue per employee, etc.
Project management: Project management could become a challenging task when team members are not physically present. Any small error in communicating the project details could prove costly to the organization. It can take teams an ample amount of time to identify and rectify the errors; therefore, remote teams must have real-time insights into project work. Remote work software with project management provides users with real-time insights on project tasks. Its support for the Kanban board gives them better visibility on each member's tasks – the to-do list, tasks in progress, and completed work. Project leaders can manage and approve requests remotely and accelerate the project work. They can plan, organize, and track the entire project with the help of remote work software.
Better team collaboration: Remote work software allows screen sharing, live chat, and file-sharing in real time. It facilitates smooth team collaboration and assists in many activities such as product demonstrations, meetings, and webinar presentations, playing pre-recorded videos, etc. In addition to that, the advanced remote work software enables users to leave comments or annotations directly on images, videos, or documents. It helps to get the attention of the concerned person and respond to it spontaneously.
Do more with less: With remote work software, users can do more with less. Team members can attend more meetings without moving from one room to another and save a lot of time in scheduling and preparing for the meeting. Having access to the shared network, the employees don't need to inform other colleagues about important updates or leave sticky notes about new updates on their desks. There are many things that remote work software can help to manage things smartly.
Data-analytics (resource management and risk management): The data-analytics features give more insights into the employee engagement level and satisfaction. Based on this employers can draft their employee engagement program. The data analytics also help to reduce security threats by analyzing the employees' activity tracker. The employees' activity tracker gives information about any violation of security guidelines or whether they have ignored any precautionary steps. Besides that, remote work software gives real-time updates on the project, which means they can track the resource and budget utilization more efficiently.
Training employees: Training is one of the routines for both new and old employees. It helps to nurture skills that enable them to achieve organizational goals. Remote work software can support employees with various training activities; sharing training material, conducting video sessions, monitoring training programs, collecting employees' feedback, etc.
Access document anytime: Remote work software with centralized document management allows users to access files or documents at any time and from anywhere. Different time zones could be a barrier when the organization is operating business operations or projects cross-border. Remote work software could fill this gap and respond better to team members operating in different time zones.
As per flexjobs, 65% of employees prefer working remotely full-time, and 33% prefer hybrid work. Another report stated that 25% of all jobs in North America are offered in a non-traditional format (remote/hybrid). It indicates the employees' inclination towards remote work. Employers need to think about implementing remote work in some form (full-time/ hybrid) to survive in the dynamic business world. Remote work is no more a temporary adjustment but a long-term work strategy. Considering this fact, the role of remote work software becomes critical in establishing an effective remote work culture. With the help of remote work solutions, organizations can accurately execute their remote work strategy and gain control over it. Different organizations' needs for remote work software could vary based on their criteria, and to get maximum value out of the software, there are certain aspects that users can consider while shortlisting it.
Tips to Select the Best Remote Work Tool
Analyze software features: Selecting remote work software could be crucial as different organizations could have different requirements. So aligning software features with the organization's needs could be a critical factor in shortlisting remote work software. Some software comes with a handful of features such as project management, video conferencing, document management, screen sharing, data analytics, etc., whereas the other software offers end-to-end features and addresses all the concerns related to remote work.
Customer support: While working remotely, IT support is critical. As per one of the surveys, being unable to solve technical problems and get IT support quickly is the main barrier in remote work. For remote work software, they must have robust customer support that is responsive and quick.
Security: Security is a key concern while working remotely, and if it gets compromised, it can expose the organization's confidential data. Remote work software must offer robust security features such as two-factor authentication, encrypted communication, role-based access, etc. Besides that, it should support users with data backup.
Scalable: One of the important aspects of remote work software is that it should be scalable. The organization can expand its operations as its business grows, and it needs to hire more people, manage more projects, and schedule more tasks. In such circumstances, if the remote work software is not scalable, it could be a concern for the organization and add extra cost to the organization for buying new software. Therefore, it is necessary that remote work software is scalable and aligns with the growing needs of an organization.
Mobile app support: To keep the remote team connected and gain unparalleled engagement, mobile apps can be pretty valuable. Remote working software supporting mobile apps is essential in the hyper-connected world and keeps employees updated on the tasks on the go.
Customization: When it comes to remote working software, the choice could differ from company to company, and no one size fits all. Some organizations have precise requirements for their remote work team, and customization could be an ideal option for them. Customization assists administrators in managing users and controlling their access to the system. So, remote working software with customization could be an added advantage for the users.
Third-party tool integration: Remote work software can extend its usability by supporting third-party tool integration. It can increase team collaboration and accelerate project execution by integrating with third-party tools such as Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom.
Pricing: While shortlisting the remote software, pricing is an important factor. Many elements influence remote software pricing, such as features, software deployment, customer support, licensing, add-ons, etc. Besides that, some software solutions have hidden charges for providing additional services like ticket generation, phone support, or providing knowledge resources. The organization must verify all the costs associated with the remote work software before finalizing it. If required, they can compare them on various parameters such as features and services. From employees to HR staff and accountants, while working remotely, they all have different needs, and therefore it becomes necessary that organizations filter the software based on its needs and budget.
Cloud storage: Cloud computing allows employees to access remote software from anywhere and keep them updated with the latest changes.
The battle against COVID-19 is going to be longer as it evolves with new variants at regular intervals. It is difficult to predict when it will end, or even if it ends, there is no certainty that businesses will not face such a critical situation in the future. Therefore, employees demand autonomy in determining their work schedule and keeping the remote work option open. On the other end, employers are also showing readiness to introduce remote work culture in their organization as they are equipped with tools such as remote work software that helps to collaborate better with team members, and there is no need to micromanage them. So, remote work software is becoming an important link between employers and employees in propagating remote work.
Conclusion
Longer commuting time, work-life balance, and high anxiety have been issues for employees working within the office. The work-from-home concept has always been thought of as a solution to meet employees' pain points, but it was a pandemic that compelled the organization to run for a trial. The success of remote work has given confidence to organizations, and they don't hesitate to call it the "future of the work ."The pandemic-induced work-from-home has eliminated employers' reservations about remote work and their fear of its effectiveness. It has helped employers develop a progressive workplace and boost employees' productivity. It has taken a permanent place in their plan to mitigate the work-related crisis and shape the new work culture. Remote work is the future, and organizations that implement remote work policies early in their structure can position themselves better in retaining employees and organization growth. Business leaders can prioritize remote work in their organization in the coming days, and technology could be pivotal in implementing it. They can invest heavily in software solutions such as remote work software that assist them in building a work culture that is healthier, happier, and more productive. It holds the power to resume work under any situation and supports the next-generation agile workforce.
Author-Bio Jimmy Johnson is a senior content writer at GoodFirms' specializing in various technology topics. Currently, Jimmy writes on project development strategies, software solutions, SEO, latest technology trends, and scouts on many exciting technologies that empower businesses.
