Invitation and Greeting

To plan the session better, you should set a deadline for when topics can be registered, for example, until 12 noon the day before. Ideally, it would help if you also asked about the urgency and the time needed to discuss the items on the agenda. If topics are new or if a controversial discussion is to be expected, it is important to discuss them when the receptiveness of the participants is particularly high. Likewise, some topics should first be discussed in small groups before they are put on the agenda of a meeting in which the entire team participates. If in doubt, you should clarify such points when registering.

In addition to the key dates of the appointment, the dial-in link should be visible in the e-mail or invitation to the appointment. For new colleagues or customers, the instructions for the conference system should be sent via link or PDF. These instructions for use can also be displayed as a graphic as the start image at the beginning of the video conference.

Since there are no social icebreakers, such as small talk in a video conference, you should offer a small warm-up at the beginning so that everyone can get mentally involved. This can consist, for example, of a short question-and-answer session in which everyone makes a short statement. Even a little game can increase focus on the meeting.

Communication of The Rules

At the beginning of the conference, it is important to establish clear rules. These can also be displayed. For example, what content is posted in the chat (e.g., questions or links) is explained there. It is also advisable that everyone turns off their microphones. It must also be clarified how contributions can be registered. Finally, the timing of the meeting should be communicated.

Your Self-Image As a Moderator

Your task as moderator is to behave neutrally and release all participants’ energy in a targeted manner. They ensure that the meeting is conducted in a focused manner. To do this, plan the process and the weighting of the topics in advance. You will also ensure that presentations can be shown, for example. It is therefore also important that you are very familiar with the functions of your conference system.

With your friendly and open manner, you promote a good discussion atmosphere and ensure balance, especially when conflict situations arise. They are responsible for ensuring that the quality of the substantive debate is right and, in the event of excess, reminds you of the core of the discussion. At the same time, however, you also ensure that follow-up questions are channeled, for example, by recording them in the minutes or picking them up again at another point in the meeting. Finally, it is important to activate passive participants and address them specifically, for example, if a topic needs their expertise.

Timeboxing and Breaks

Everyone is probably familiar with the problem that meetings take longer than they should and waste time. This is because the participants and the moderator are usually too badly prepared, or nobody has an eye on the clock. Therefore, good preparation and minutes are the be-all and end-all of an efficient and satisfying meeting.

In addition to prioritizing the topics, the timeboxing method also helps to organize the meeting in a focused manner. In principle, these sessions should always be limited to a certain time. If they walk longer than half an hour, then short breaks should be taken, during which the participants are asked to stretch, get something to drink, or air their home office.

This is how timeboxing works: After you have collected all the items on the agenda, sort them by priority and allocate time quotas. These depend on your experience. It would help if you allowed more time for presentations and new topics. Also, let the participants who want to present something know how much time they can take. You should also limit speaking times during the debate. A speaking time of 2 minutes has proven itself. It is also helpful to regularly display the remaining time with a moderation card so that all participants can be put on the speaking list in good time. The last minute should be reserved for a summary of speeches and votes.

Support for Moderation

For larger groups, it makes sense to use a second moderator. This can, for example, take over the technical support, such as the speech list, keeping to the times, and monitoring the chat. In principle, a person who is not moderate should always take the minutes. In any case, a second screen should be used for moderation so that you, as a moderator, can view the documents and avoid long switching and searching. In the case of conference systems that do not allow functions such as “raising hands” or voting, it can make sense to use moderation cards, which all participants should have. The prerequisite for this is, of course, that the video function is activated. You can also display the remaining time of the agenda item on a map,

Agenda and Collection of Questions

The agenda should appear at the beginning. Additional registrations (if permitted) can also be entered here. Questions can also be noted on a pad so they can be addressed during the discussion (quasi-like a flipchart, e on a whiteboard, or a meta plan wall used in real meetings). Follow-up questions that cannot be discussed in their entirety should be noted in the minutes with work orders and may automatically be placed on the next meeting’s agenda. During a discussion, it can make sense to show the specific question and keep an eye on the common thread. The use of a mind map, which is created at the same time, can also help to better structure the thoughts of the participants.

Voting Techniques

It is also often criticized that everyone wants to have their say in a discussion and then say almost the same thing as the previous speakers. Often the only reason behind it is the need to support the opinion of colleagues. It makes sense to have the mood voted on in between. There are various voting techniques for this.

For example, the resistance query. Here the moderator asks how the participants feel about the topic or the idea. The participants then indicate their agreement with their fingers or a voting tool (e.g., Tricider or centimeter). The number 1 means against, and the five means completely agree. Now the moderator can ask the two participants who are furthest apart for a dialogue. A third person is appointed as moderator and makes suggestions for a compromise, but does not enter into the discussion concerning content.

Overall, a mood query should always be offered, consisting of simple for and against. If the topic is not developed within the specified time, it should be adjourned, or an extra date should be set.

Visualization of The Themes

Especially with more complex topics, it isn’t easy to follow the auditory for a long time. Just like in a face-to-face meeting, in a video conference, it is also important to visualize the topic with a presentation, on a virtual whiteboard, or with pictures. To be on the safe side, the documents should be sent to the moderator in advance in case of difficulties sharing the screen.

Break-out Session And Other Tools

As a rule, the brain shuts down relatively quickly if it doesn’t have variety. For most people, video conferences tire even faster than regular meetings because the facial expressions and gestures on the screen that are important for communication are harder for people to read. Therefore, it makes sense to use other formats and tools in between.

Many conferencing systems offer the option of arranging break-out sessions, equivalent to working groups having their video chat for a short time. Here, individual topics can be discussed before the results are presented to the whole group.

The use of project management tools during the meeting makes sense. Anyone who uses SCRUM or the Kanban method in their company can address the individual points on the board live during the status meeting and enter or edit new tasks.

Create Log

All discussed content should be logged briefly and result-oriented. A recording of the session is not sufficient.

Part of the log should be

• Date and time of the meeting
• participants
• a topic overview
• possible arguments and counter-arguments
• List of work orders + contractors
• all presentations and links mentioned

Also Read: Online Meetings – Tips To Make Them Productive

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Currently, teleworking is offered in many companies, regardless of the sector to which they belong, since most of the daily tasks do not require the worker’s physical presence in a specific place. Workers can carry out their work remotely thanks to the digital transformation. Their home is their office. However, this does not prevent them from participating in the company’s daily schedule in virtual meetings, calls, emails and decision-making in real-time. However, some sectors that promote teleworking is an almost impossible task, such as customer service. The employee is forced to work in person due to functions such as receiving clients at the office that prevent them from working from home. Below we analyze all the advantages that teleworking offers both for employees and for the company.

Lower Cost In Facilities And Infrastructures

The costs for facilities and furniture represent the second-highest value in the budget items of most companies. Therefore, more and more companies are promoting teleworking. Instead of assigning employees a permanent position in the office, they reserve it only for the days they need it. In this way, the company only pays for the space it needs to establish its office, which is much smaller and thus eliminates a multitude of expenses such as utilities, insurance, taxes, cleaning, maintenance, repair or security.

Accelerate Business Speed

The ability of a company to flexibly increase staff and tasks is a weapon of great competitive power. Teleworking allows workers to be located in the areas or regions where they do business, providing more effective support and achieving greater control over it. In this way, a global strategy where work follows the schedules of different countries through offshoring allows companies to achieve productivity 24 hours, seven days a week.

Business Continuity

Companies that offer telework to their employees must guarantee them uninterrupted access to all the data and applications that are necessary for them. A well-developed virtual structure that allows maintaining good teleworking conditions will provide an efficient basis to keep the business running in the face of any interruption, planned or not, such as a maintenance task or a natural disaster.

Work Without Borders

Teleworking offers the possibility of creating multi-geographic work teams made up of managers, clients and partners from different companies from various locations. Until a few years ago, these teams worked through conferences or meetings that they held in person in a specific place, and that involved a significant investment of time and money, forcing members to spend a lot of time outside their homes. Now, teleworking offers the possibility of carrying out all these meetings and meetings digitally, saving on the costs and time that these trips require.

Also Read: COVID-19 – Tips For Teleworking Without Losing Productivity

Recruit The Best Employees

All companies that want to hire new personnel must face a generational change that brings a large number of highly qualified professionals who are perfectly knowledgeable about new technologies. The teleworking modality allows hiring personnel beyond geographical limitations, allowing the most talented employees to be obtained regardless of residence.

Increase Employee Retention Rate

When an employee adopts telecommuting, employment, personal business, and family life are rarely kept separate. Mobile work policies offer workers the flexibility they need to balance work and family life. This formula is beneficial for the company as it allows employees to increase their performance while keeping them satisfied and predisposed to continue working thanks to good working conditions.

Running a business is not a simple matter. To increase job performance and retain talent, it is essential to allow optimal work and family reconciliation conditions for workers. Thanks to the advantages offered by new technologies, it is possible to achieve this. In addition to teleworking, other tools can help you automate other management processes in your company.

The post Advantages Of Promoting Teleworking Among Your Workers appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

Starting your day at work not at a fixed workplace in the office, but at home, in a café, or a co-working space? Managing virtual collaboration using digital tools? Working when you are most productive? This is already part of everyday life for many companies. More and more organizations are discovering remote work as a modern working model.

This form of work is not just a buzzword. Still, it has been an unstoppable megatrend since the Corona pandemic at the latest, also in many German companies and even public authorities and executives. It promises a better (work)life balance, more productivity, and a flexible working day.

Every Third Employee Worldwide Works Remotely.

According to a study by CNBC, around the world, 70 percent of employees now work remotely at least one day a week. But what does remote work mean? What is the difference between the home office and where can I find remote jobs?

What Is Remote Work?

Remote work means not having a fixed place of work but pursuing your tasks independently of location – with flexible time management. This independence and flexibility make the whole world a “workplace.” The term “remote work” means distance work or telework and therefore does not require a specific workplace.

In this way, any location can – at least theoretically – become a “mobile office”: your own four walls, your favorite café in town, or the beach bar in Bali. However, there is no fixed definition of the concept since every employee and organization can adapt the implementation to their own needs. How far the freedoms go and what jointly agreed framework conditions are, is to be determined individually. A synonym is the term mobile office.

Remote Work vs. Home Office – These Are The Differences.

Employees who work from any location are usually less involved in everyday office life. On the other hand, the home office concept is often about transferring the regulated working hours and company processes from the office to one’s own home. This keeps the structure of everyday office life intact.

Classic Home Office

With the home office, a permanent workplace is created in the private sphere, including working hours agreed with the employer. Furthermore, many employees who work from home still have the opportunity to work in the office if necessary. For employees who are dissatisfied with the structures in the office, however, the home office offers less room for change.

At the same time, the home office now has a rather negative image. Common associations are less concentration and discipline, evoking images such as working “out of bed” or a laptop between the laundry basket and the ironing board. On the other hand, remote work enjoys a more professional reputation due to its more explicit focus on one’s productivity.

Remote Work Is Tailored To Your Own Needs.

In contrast to the home office, the remote worker does not have a permanent workplace. Maybe you work more concentrated at your desk at home, but your creativity is encouraged by the hustle and bustle in co-working spaces, such as those in so-called smart cities? Then you can adapt your way of working and working environment.

Employees at Remote decide where they work and how their working day is structured. Start earlier in the morning and free up in the afternoon? The aim is to exploit the full potential to achieve the best possible results.

Remote Jobs: Where Can I Find Suitable Positions?

Those looking for remote work should read job advertisements correctly and carefully. There is often talk of “working from home,” which is not to be equated with remote work. If you are specifically looking for remote work, then the work should theoretically be able to be done from anywhere in the world. There are now specially designed job portals that specialize in remote jobs.

New Work-Life

The job portal “New Work-Life” is – as the name suggests – specialized in new forms of work. B. Remote work. The sectors are distributed over human resources, IT and marketing, product and project management, editorial activities, service, and support. Full-time, part-time, freelance, and working student jobs are offered.

Tools & Technical Requirements

Working anywhere or the “feasibility” depends heavily on the available work tools. Tools for video conferencing, social networks, and collaboration software collect relevant information for all employees and are essential for teamwork.

These tools help with digital collaboration :

• Infrastructure: A good internet connection is a basis for the concept of remote work.
• Hardware: Laptop and company cell phone are part of the essential equipment
• Software: Open chat for ongoing communication. Slack, Zoom, or Skype are ideal here.
• VPN access is an advantage for dialing into the company network without security risks.
• Document management: Google Drive and Dropbox, for example, offer collaborative work on a document.
• Project management tools: Project management software like factor structures the distribution of tasks in the team.

Tips For Working Remotely

Transparent Communication

Success with remote work: Only through transparent communication in the team. It is easier to discuss in advance with the team which digital tools are considered helpful and which can be omitted. One thing is straightforward – digital tools only provide support if people share their knowledge with other remote workers.

Set Time Limits

Personal time management: Precisely structured time planning is underestimated – a template makes sense in recurring projects – even without specifications from the employer. Those who do not set precise time limits usually work longer and do not necessarily achieve more. Another finding is that the average hours worked are increasing for remote workers.

Promote Team Culture Despite Location-Independent Work

Due to the lack of physical proximity, the team spirit and the common goal can be lost. The team culture should be promoted regularly so that teamwork, togetherness, and communication within the company do not suffer. Digital tools help for a simple exchange and team-building games and joint (virtual) events.

Five Helpful Tips For Working From Anywhere

• create rituals
• Scheduling the day
• Communicate clearly
• Create a feel-good workplace
• Set clear goals

Even in remote work, a clear structure for the working day is essential to schedule tasks and achieve set goals. Daily rituals, such as fixed lunch breaks, help here, even without a fixed place of work.

Conclusion: Flexible Working Only Works With The Structure

Remote work has become indispensable in the working world. The concept extends the home office, which is now well-known in many places, with additional components and thus creates its form of work. It is mainly about the flexible design of the day, tailored to the needs of people. This includes a free choice of place of work, better adaptation to the personal situation, and optimal use of one’s high performance.

Also Read: Workplace – Home Office

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The technically possible location independence does not only lead to globalized activities. It also leads to completion options independent of fixed locations. The growing number of startups in e-commerce has created many new job profiles, such as online marketing managers. With the convergence of the analog and digital business world, there are increasing opportunities for employers and employees to do their work from home or have it done. The employment models range from part-time outsourcing to complete exemption from compulsory attendance.

Working From Home Is Becoming Increasingly Common.

If you look around in the modern labor and job market, you will come across many models offered in a way specific to the industry. Internationally active companies cushion time differences and business hours. Young e-commerce startups can expand their business activities with limited office space investment. All industries can appeal to workers who would otherwise not be available to the labor market. The creative possibilities also lead to increased outsourced employees in long-established and conservatively managed companies. With your home office, you not only provide independence in terms of time and space. Depending on the contract, you vary your workload according to seasonal developments.

More Freedom With Greater Responsibility

An unavoidable consequence of the outsourced work arises from a change in the weighting of the work content. The tasks and goals must be defined and evaluated in a more result-oriented manner. As you work from home, you take greater responsibility for achieving these goals. Failing technical equipment or other external influencing factors are not “absorbed.” Only the result in the given time window counts. Viewed from the opposite perspective, this form of work enables you to create paid freedom through effective work. This would quickly be perceived as “lazing around” in a conventional company or office.” They are expressions of your accomplishments and abilities.

Characteristics Develop Into Advantages or Disadvantages.

Right away, working from home sounds more tempting than daunting. Depending on the job and industry, a stable internet connection and a computer are often sufficient to set up and run your home office. This form of work, also known as telework and remote work or e-work, has many advantages for you. However, it would help to consider specific factors that can quickly trigger adverse effects. The following five main advantages and possible disadvantages apply to a home office.

The Advantages

• Flexibility: Working from home gives you the greatest flexibility imaginable in connection with work for you as an employee. Childcare, lonely pets, and unpunctual delivery people or meter readers no longer require organizational miracles from you. You design your working environment according to your taste and look out of the window at work or sit in a work chair. You determine work breaks according to your taste.
• Saving time and money: The daily way to the conventional workplace generates costs and loss of time. Even with shorter distances, repeating at least ten times a week saves money and time. You save on travel and fuel costs in the home office and are “off work” as soon as you finish your work. Bad weather and traffic-related delays are no longer an issue.
• Concentration: In many companies and offices, open-plan offices accommodate the workplaces. Noises, noise levels, and room air conditions disturb people’s concentration. When you work at home, you design your way of working and your environment consistently according to your personal needs.
• Time management: Apart from the no longer required arrival and departure times, the timing of your work content is solely your responsibility. How you implement the targets in detail is up to you. Typical creative freedoms are typical of lots of short breaks, a few longer breaks from work, and the completion of difficult and unloved tasks at the beginning or end of your working day.
• Self-discipline and motivation: If you work from home, you can individually consider personal habits and your character imprints in your working hours. In times of high productivity, you “work away” the largest workload. Your performance doesn’t matter, and no one cares if you’re doing quarterly closing in your pajamas.

The Disadvantages

• Separation of work and leisure: Theoretically, a separation can be created, for example, by a lockable study. In practice, however, it has been shown that private calls and visits and contacts made by other household members mix with the actual working hours. In the worst case, you may have the effect of doing both, but nothing right.
• Disturbances from the private sphere: The advantage of the higher ability to concentrate in the self-designed environment can be lost due to the private life situation. The finished laundry, the whistling kettle, and a family member’s question are disturbing and can only be prevented with rigid and undesirable means.
• No social working life & communicative exchange: Working individually and alone lacks many social components that can be very important for working people. At home, you forgo the chat in the tea kitchen. A question from a colleague can turn into an extensive e-mail exchange with great potential for misunderstandings from just a few exchanged words. There is no mutual personal motivation and the notion of solidarity among “fellow sufferers” decreases.
• The sole responsibility for technical matters: Even if your employer provides sufficient and reliable equipment, you assume the unavoidable responsibility in your home office. An in-house call to the administrator does not resolve power and system failures.
• Self-discipline and motivation: You should have a basic disposition to exercise self-discipline when working alone. At first, nobody tells you what to do, when, and how. However, this supposed freedom harbors the pitfall of regularly missing the actual goals. You should be able to design and follow a time corset. To motivate yourself, you can develop rituals.

Requirements And Contract Design

In addition to considering whether you are the type to work from home, your employment relationship must be clearly defined organizationally and legally. Financial or material expenses and equipment should be planned in consultation with the supervisor. Time and target specifications are an important basis. However, they should be formulated in an adaptable and changeable manner. Liability and insurance for damage to company property or non-compliance with work specifications must be contractually fixed.

Plan Secure Communication Channels

Even if you work from home, communication with colleagues, customers, and superiors must function smoothly and reliably. The formulation of the reporting obligation from the business world is helpful. The reporting and documentation system should be carried out in as much detail as possible in the contract. Decentralized work situations always risk destroying valuable work performance due to transmission errors. At least two mutually independent communication levels are recommended to be on the safe side. Even if your employer does not require you to be present, you should consider voluntary, informal meetings at reasonable intervals.

Individual Means To The Desired End

Without a doubt, your home office offers you the greatest possible freedom in organizing your work. For this freedom, you have to take on more personal responsibility. To act successfully and according to plan, you have to assess your work efficiency, optimize your time management and develop sufficient self-motivation again and again. Creative freedom has the hidden advantage of using any means that helps you with self-organization. It doesn’t matter whether you appreciate classical music in the background, want to work in business clothes or tracksuits, or use lots of chocolates as a reward for the stages you have set yourself. As a central answer to whether working from home is suitable for you, you should give room to your employer’s wishes. It expects defined results from you at specified points in time. How you got there is irrelevant. Find out how much time you spend completing which tasks and what gives you strength and motivation.

Also Read: Steps To A Secure Home Office

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Cost-Effectiveness

One of the best reasons to host a virtual event or conference is because it will be cost-effective.

You won’t have to worry about things like travel costs, product samples, or other expenses that can take a massive bite out of your budget. And this is especially true if you plan to host an event with multiple stops around the country, which means you’d have to factor in transportation and lodging costs for attendees as well as your travel costs.

If you choose to keep your engagement purely digital through on any video platform, the only thing you’ll need to invest in is equipment (i.e., cameras) and space to host the participants who are joining remotely.

Even better, virtual events force marketers to minimize their footprint by bringing together people from across the country who don’t even have to be in the same city.

Cons: While virtual events can be much cheaper than physical events, they still come at a cost that businesses must pay. The main problem with this is that companies are often unwilling to spend the money to make their event genuinely successful, nor can they see if it was useful for marketing purposes.

Flexibility

One of the most significant benefits of online engagement is that it’s flexible. You can choose a time and date for your virtual engagements that fit your marketing budget and schedule, unlike physical events where you’re limited by geographical region and available dates.

In addition, instead of hosting one type of event with a predetermined length that all participants must attend, marketers can hold several shorter sessions over a more extended period. Doing so allows them to reach out to people on different schedules rather than those who will only have time for an hour-long meeting during business hours.

The more flexible you are with your online engagement strategy, the more people you’ll be able to reach.

Cons: While it may seem like this would help businesses more than hurt them, too much flexibility can often lead to misuse of funds or data collection causing significant problems for any company involved.

Mass Data Collection

With online engagement, marketers can collect data from many users at once through surveys and polls. This also means they don’t have to expend resources on the logistics of hosting an event with hundreds or thousands of participants, which makes it even easier to break even on your investment.

You can host several smaller virtual events over a more extended period with better results than holding one mass-scale offline option that would be cost-prohibitive anyway.

Cons: At times, data collected by virtual means is far less reliable due to the anonymity of the internet, which allows users to give false or incomplete information. This can lead to misguided marketing campaigns, products being designed with ineffective features, and the inability to effectively track ROI because the collected data is no longer up-to-date.

Long-Term ROI Effect

Everyone knows the longer something sticks with people, the more likely their likelihood of purchasing items related to that information or brand in some way becomes.

With offline events, even those that last only half a day, marketers typically have people’s attention for no more than eight hours. This can be significantly limited if you’re trying to reach out to new people, like those who might not attend offline events.

Virtual engagements allow marketers to keep their brands top of mind for potential customers, even during the time of year when they don’t have any physical events scheduled (like winter). A simple email newsletter with information on an upcoming virtual event can help keep your brand high in the minds of people who might even be on vacation at the time.

Cons: While virtual events may benefit a company in data collection and networking at first, the long-term effects are often negligible. Within a year, so much has changed online and offline that the initial data is no longer relevant or useful.

Networking Events

One of the best benefits of hosting a virtual event is that everyone who participates becomes part of a more extensive community to create relationships and go deeper with engagement outside of one session.

Because online events tend to be shorter, networkers who attend them are more likely to go in-depth than collect a business card and never follow up. In addition, with the rise of mobile technology and websites with integrated social media apps that make it easy to connect, marketers can build relationships with their audience any time they want.

Cons: Most of our time online is spent interacting with others who already share common interests/opinions, meaning that it’s difficult for businesses to find new clients or ideas for their products.

The lack of diversity online means that networking opportunities are missed out on, which could have led to an even more successful virtual event had participants been different from one another in some way.

The Bottom Line

Consider how often you attend offline events throughout the year versus how many virtual events you engage participants. If your business typically holds offline events, such as seminars at a hotel or conventions in another city, then you’re already paying for marketing materials and promotional items to be printed and shipped to the event.
Plus, if you want to send staff members there to represent your business, that can add even more costs associated with travel expenses, food and beverages during the event, accommodations, signage, and other marketing materials (e.g., flyers) made available at the engagement.
However, when marketers decide on virtual events, they will incur many of these same expenses but only once per year instead of once an offline event is held.
A virtual event may be exactly what you need to get results. These digital engagements allow marketers to access a broader range of geographic locations where potential buyers might be while avoiding logistical challenges typically associated with offline events.
When done right, virtual events allow businesses and individuals interested in specific topics or products to gain educational information on particular areas of interest while also providing the opportunity for networking with other attendees.

The post Pros and Cons: Virtual Events vs Physical Events appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

Precedents, Let’s Know The Origin Of Telework.

It is known that there were exceptional cases during the seventeenth century during which teleworking was needed to continue production. It happened, for example, in the case of the University of Cambridge in 1665, which had to be temporarily closed by the plague. However, it would not be until the twentieth century and the development of New Technologies, which would develop and make productive remote work more viable.

Current Situation

Now and for a time, it will be the way to make the maintenance of productive activities and protection against the virus compatible, making this work model the main one for a few months. In 2019, only 4.8% of the employees were working under this model, and in many cases, it was circumstantial or semi-face-to-face. However, during the weeks of restrictions due to the pandemic, it has been increased to 34% of the total.

Already in 2018, there was a considerable increase in monthly searches related to ‘telecommuting,’ ‘working from home, or ‘working remotely.’ For this reason, among others, the increase in the trend in terms of changing the habits of the worker was known. The level of demand and need for family conciliation has led many people to no longer want but instead, need to work in another way.

For this reason, it is necessary to understand the change that working from home will bring about not only for workers but also how teleworking affects companies.

Advantage

Productivity Improvement

The engine of a company is its workers, and teleworking has been shown to influence happiness and well-being, lowering stress levels. Once the objectives are established, everything translates into an increase in productivity in business activity.

Reduction Of Work Absenteeism

The convenience of avoiding commuting, the advantage of working from home, and the responsibility for oneself reduce absenteeism compared to working in the office.

Social Integration

In the century we are in, it is an obligation to facilitate the inclusion of profiles with various disabilities.

Job Opportunities

Geographic barriers no longer exist, so companies can expand their range of qualified professionals and improve their level of specialization.

Saving

Companies can save on infrastructures, physical spaces, energy, water, and more resources, and at the same time, workers save on trips, time, etc.

Improvement of Family Conciliation

Greater flexibility is offered to manage both professional and personal life to be more autonomous and independent.

Disadvantages

Control Over The Employee

From the beginning, the most significant ‘but’ has been the lack of physical control over the employee. It is true that currently, thanks to the development of technologies in this area, there are many options to manage this disadvantage. Applications such as organizational, work distribution, time control, and others have made companies fully manage their employees’ activity.

Lack of Personal Contact

Change like communications means that interactions between colleagues, bosses, and others are through devices, which can affect workers emotionally, reducing their bond with colleagues and even affecting the visibility of their work and, therefore, the lack of due recognition.

Organizational Changes

Managing change to implement the new remote work model requires adaptation for all team members. For this reason, it is necessary to seek changes in methodologies, times, and others, which will sometimes be a challenge for entrepreneurs without adequate tools and communication channels.

Teamwork

Directly related to the methodological change, it will be necessary to facilitate team management so that the work is not affected by the digital nature of the communications.

Communication Security

We cannot forget that cybersecurity is an increasingly important issue, and legality in that sense is getting serious about it. That is why the computer systems and all the networks used must have the appropriate protection to avoid leaks of any kind and protect company data.

Therefore, the main objective is to know how teleworking affects companies for which they want to stay afloat and continue to prosper, to know how to adapt as quickly and efficiently as possible. And without a doubt, we will do it by being aware of all the resources we have to carry out the projects and fulfill the business activity.

Also Read: The Mix Of Management Strategies That Your Company Needs

The post How Does Teleworking Affect Companies, And What Does it Mean For Them? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

But the period of confinement had this particular: teleworking was sometimes suffered, total and carried out in cohabitation with his relatives. All the more reason to look into the best practices to put in place to avoid pitfalls as best as possible!

There are 10 of them, and we reveal them to you in this article. 

Use a teleworking charter

In order to lay down a framework and establish clear rules, it is recommended that companies draw up a charter of good practices in teleworking. By defining the conditions of the home office, the employer is reassured and each employee has the same level of information.

This charter may, for example, relate to the definition:

• teleworking days, some companies preferring to maintain mandatory face-to-face days in order to preserve team cohesion
• In possible workplaces. Does the employee have to work at home? Is working remotely with relatives or from a coworking space possible? 
• time slots during which everyone must stay connected;
• communication rules. Which channels to favor? Should we allow an employee not to be disturbed while performing tasks requiring high concentration? 
• Also Read: Massive Use Of Teleworking For IT Professions In 2021

Adopt Good Management Practices In Teleworking

If you are a manager, you will have to adopt a number of practices to offer a better telecommuting experience to both the employee and the company.

Some good practices for learning to manage remotely  :

• Avoid micro-management. It is already not recommended in normal times, and all the more so in teleworking where the desire to control everything is more felt among some managers.
• So how do you do it? Set goals and deadlines for your teams, then let them organize themselves to achieve them on time.
• Take care of communication. Always be clear about the objectives and challenges of the missions entrusted to your employees. Also establish frameworks for your exchanges, by establishing in advance the recurrence of the points as well as their object.
• Empower and trust. It is recognized, an employee who feels empowered is more engaged and productive. So even in the context of remote work, trust!
• Remain available. Even if you give your teams some freedom, be available and responsive when they need your support. 
• Listening. Some employees sometimes encounter difficulties, especially in the event of forced teleworking. By way of illustration, confinement has forced some parents to juggle their professional missions and their children. Show empathy and adapt, for example by adjusting meeting times.
• Support the handling of tools. Finally, note that managerial support also operates within the framework of the appropriation of digital tools. If they prove to be absolutely essential in such a context, keep in mind that some teleworkers encounter great difficulties in using them.

Use The Right Tools To Collaborate

The homework needs to continue to communicate and collaborate with his team, without the virtual becomes a barrier.

To do this, it is important to use professional tools designed to facilitate and secure exchanges and processes.

For example :

• Communication software → like Slack, these tools are recommended for spontaneous communication, when you need to unblock a situation, to raise a difficulty for example. They also allow you to stay connected to the company and reachable, a pledge of confidence for your managers.
• Videoconferencing software → solutions such as Zoom are essential for keeping work meetings and other one-to-one meetings at a distance. In addition, they make it possible to humanize long-distance relationships, a benefit for isolated people.
• Document management software → with a tool like Google Drive, you create, share and store your work documents. It is also possible to collaborate remotely on the same text, spreadsheet, etc.
• Project management software → project management solutions, such as Project Monitor, make it possible to distribute and monitor the various tasks and missions and to organize work and resources in general.
• Collaborative platforms → this software, like SharePlace, go even further by offering a wide range of functionalities relating to collaboration and communication (project management, task management, document management, messaging, etc.).

Guarantee IT Security

The confinement linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has seen an increase in cyber attacks … all the more so in a context where many companies do not sufficiently train their employees on IT risks.

Some good practices to know:

• If your company has an IT security charter, adhere to it scrupulously, particularly when you practice at home.
• Use only the material provided by your company, and never your personal tools. In fact, your professional computer is already configured to ensure its security, in particular in terms of antivirus. Likewise, do not install applications that are not authorized by your company.
• Secure your access to the various company tools. We recommend that you use a password manager such as  LockPass, this software allows you to centralize all the identifiers of your organization, share some of them, and simplify access to your applications.
• Be sure to install the various updates, which are often offered to address security vulnerabilities.
• Stay alert for phishing attempts. Beware, for example, of emails and attachments from unknown senders.
• Also Read: Teleworking In Digital Marketing

Have The Right Equipment

If we have seen that you must first use the computer or mobile phone provided by the company, we also suggest that you have:

• an external screen, useful if you work with several tabs;
• a headset and a microphone to ensure your videoconferences with complete peace of mind, especially if you exercise near your loved ones;
• and of course a good wifi connection.

Work From A Dedicated Space

Whenever possible (because we are not all in the same boat), recreate a real workspace in your home. Avoid going about your tasks from your bed or sofa, as this forces you to adopt positions that are not very ergonomic and not recommended for your health.

The ideal remains to dedicate a room of your home to your teleworking, or at least an office. Not only do these adjustments prove to be beneficial for your posture and your productivity, but you also create a necessary border between professional and personal life.

Make The Rules

Getting organized at home requires discipline … for you and your loved ones.

For example, set daily and weekly goals and strive to meet them. Also set yourself strict schedules (start and end times of the day in particular), with break times, as you would in the office.

At the same time, establish rules with the people who live with you so that you are not disturbed all the time during your work. In particular, communicate your meeting times, or the time slots during which you need maximum concentration. And of course, plan joint breaks with them, like at lunchtime.

Structure Your Working Day

Knowing where to start is sometimes more complicated in telework than face-to-face. This is why we suggest that you structure your day, using an online agenda for example. This allows in particular:

• to plan the urgent tasks or those that require more concentration in the morning, before fatigue will be felt;
• to avoid multitasking, a practice is known to seriously affect productivity;
• to inform your colleagues of the time slots during which you do not wish to be disturbed;
• to take breaks, which are essential for recharging your batteries.

Create Moments Of Conviviality With Your Colleagues

Informal communications are a pillar of the company. And good news, it is possible to reproduce them remotely!

Your company should not deprive yourself of it, because moments of conviviality and spontaneous exchanges maintain the social bond between employees, but also prevent the isolation of certain people in the event of forced teleworking. Encouragement, celebrating victories, taking the news … more than ever we need it in the home office.

Disconnect!

Remember, the border between professional and private life is narrowing in teleworking. That’s why you need to learn how to disconnect  :

• It is out of the question to check your emails in the evening after your working day. The right to disconnect also applies at home!
• Take advantage of your lunch break to do some exercise or meditation. You will quickly see the benefits that these practices bring to your health, both physical and mental.
• Listen to your body. When the need arises, take a break to get yourself some tea or stretch your legs.

All these moments of disconnection are so many opportunities to recharge your batteries and to come back even more productive in order to get down to your missions with the greatest efficiency.

Also Read: In 2021 Companies Will Make The Final Leap Towards Digitization

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